Hidden Heritage
by Hyena Cub
Summary: Even Muggles know of magic. And one boy finds out just how real a book can be. This story is in seven parts, one for each year at Hogwarts.
1. Year 1, Chapter 1: Muggle Magic

**HIDDEN HERITAGE**

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_Author's Note: This adventure is loosely based on a plotline that was run in a roleplaying game that I play; White Wolf Changeling. My character in that genre is a seven-year old boy named Cody DeDannan, who had an adventure in a realm that is based on what people dream. In this realm, he found Hogwarts Castle, and was able to go through the first two years of it, along with the students from the Harry Potter stories. (We haven't gotten to the other years, yet!) And so, that inspired me to write this._

_This story contains the HP stories seen through Cody's eyes. Please realize that as this takes place in the same time frame as Harry's years at Hogwarts, this fanfic involves a great deal of direct quoting in order to show things through the main character's eyes. Any descriptions, I have put into my own words, but a great deal of the dialogue is quoted._

_Furthermore, that which I have directly quoted, I lay no claim to whatsoever, and the same goes for any characters that are taken from the books. My original creations (that is, my character concepts, which I use in other capacities), however, I do claim. No one may use them without my permission._

**And so I come to my plea: Ms. Rowling (and those associated with her), please don't sue me! I claim nothing that came from you, whether it be a scene, a character, a place, or a story. I have written this fanfiction because, frankly, it's what I always wished would happen. (Yes, I am a 28 year old adult.) I have written this fanfiction because I love your world and want to be a part of it, and so I made my character in order to enjoy it. : ) I certainly make no money with this, only the enjoyment of sharing my imagination with others.**

**Oh, and to all you who might live in the U.K.: In trying to keep the whole setting accurate, I have done a lot of research online, as well as asking my dad (who is from England) and my friend (who lived in England for a year) about things like slang, terms, weather, and the like. So if I screw something up, please don't lynch me! :grin: Though if anyone does spot that kind of mistake, feel free to let me know!**

_Note: The first two years are not my best...but come third year I started getting a little more comfortable with my main character; I get to know him a little better and things start to flow a bit more. The first two years are still good; I just think the later ones are better! And don't worry, I don't make any ridiculous changes in the storyline!_

_And so, with that, I invite you to enjoy this story!_   
  


**YEAR ONE**

**Chapter 1: Muggle Magic**

Even Muggles know of magic. Most grow up and forget how it works, but children know of magic, and Muggle or Mage, they can use the most basic, natural forms of it. Any child who plays pretend, or reads an exciting book is using this magic without even knowing it. Even television and movies create this sort of magic, though it's a weak form of it. It is sad that when Muggles grow up, they forget how to travel to other worlds, and even some children stop believing far too early. 

Then there are those who are quite a bit more proficient in this kind of travel than in others. Like one boy who lived near the beach, and loved to read. 

This is his story. 

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Cody DeDannan was a seven year old boy who lived in the United States of America, in the state of Florida, which he thought was a great place to live. There were tons of thunderstorms, and it never got very cold. He lived with his mother and his little sister, Samantha, near a small stretch of woods, or at least he did since he turned seven. Before that, he had lived in an orphanage. Cody loved his new family, and considered himself the luckiest boy in the world. His mom was great; his sister was a pain sometimes but he loved her too, and would never let anything happen to her. 

Cody liked a lot of things, and all were things that let him pretend to be whatever it was he wanted to be at the time. He loved ThunderCats, in fact he had a toy Sword of Omens that his father had left with him at the orphanage (so he assumed), the only thing he had that belonged to him. He also loved pirates, and spent a good deal of time pretending to be one of those, sword fighting, and saying "ARRR" a lot. The Harry Potter book series was another one of Cody's loves, and he often wished that he could go to Hogwarts, too! 

Like most children and some very lucky adults, Cody knew that imagination was powerful. It was one of the most powerful things in the entire world, and it could make anything happen. It was people that didn't believe in magic anymore that forgot this fact. A lot of people didn't see the things he did, and even fewer people realized that those things were real. He realized that most adults never really noticed anything anyway unless it made logical since, and sometimes not even thenThat was one reason Cody had decided that he was never going to grow up. 

It was summer vacation, which was Cody's favorite. He did not like school very much; everything was so rigid and boring. He liked learning, he just did not like school. The only time he really liked it was when they did art stuff, and when they went to P.E., and when they read. Cody read quite well for a child his age, and he loved to do this more than anything else in the world (although eating dessert was a close second!) 

It was up in his room one afternoon, when he discovered just how powerful imagination was. He was reading, for the fourth time, the first of the Harry Potter books. A screech at his window made him look up from his book, and he stared in delighted astonishment. An owl struggled to maintain a sort of hover outside his window, clearly wanting inside. The child leaped from his bed, shoved his window up as hard as he could, and struggled to pop the screen from its frame. After a few moments, he managed it, and the screen fell to the ground below. 

He took a step back, wide-eyed, as the bird soared into the room and lit on his bed. The child stared at it for nearly a full minute, before asking it in a shaking voice who it was. In answer, the pretty gray bird held out its leg. Cody frowned and looked at it, and realized that there was some rolled-up paper on the large owl's leg. He bit his lip and took a step forward. He did not know a whole lot about owls, but he knew that all birds like them, birds that hunted other animals, had very sharp beaks and could hurt a person. Still, this one did not seem keen to attack him, even when he got right up next to it. 

Summoning his nerve, the little boy reached out towards its leg. The owl simply stood there, looking a bit impatient, as Cody slowly un-worked the slim leather thong that held the paper to the owl's leg. Once it was off, the owl spread its wings and soared back out the window. 

Cody stared after it for a few moments, then eagerly unrolled the paper. His eyes got very wide as he looked at the writing on the paper. Parchment, more like. "Dear Mr. DeDannan," he read slowly, frowning at the strange, fancy printing. "You have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizard...ry?" But how could this be? Cody ran to the window and stared out of it, searching for the owl, but it was gone. Was someone playing a trick on him? 

But no, how could they get an owl to deliver a message? Cody frowned down at his letter, wondering how he was going to get there. It was in England, wasn't it? Not to mention how he was going to get all the supplies that were in the letter. 

After a moment, he shrugged. He would find a way. If they asked him to the school, then a way would be provided for him to go, right? He had faith in that. And refusing to go was definitely not an option. One did not deny adventure when it landed right under one's nose! 

Once he had read the letter three whole times, the child carefully put it in his dresser, and went back to reading his book, this time with a new purpose. He was paying more attention to the things the students did at the school, to prepare himself for what he might be experiencing. It never occurred to him that this was highly unusual; impossible, as the adults would say. His mind was not yet anywhere close to being shut tightly, as the adults' were. He simply accepted what happened, and anticipated the adventure to come! 

It turned out that the way to accomplish his goal was presented the very next day, as he went outside to play after breakfast in the nearby woods. A tremendous BANG made him scream in startlement, and spin around, only to see a hideously purple, triple-decker bus careening towards him. The child yelped again and dove behind a tree, only just avoiding being squashed by the vehicle. Wide-eyed, he stared at it, actually more fascinated by the fact that the bus had three stories, than by the fact that it was purple, or even that it had appeared out of nowhere. 

A teenage boy, perhaps seventeen ot eighteen, stuck his face out of the folding door and looked around. "Oy!" called a nasal voice. "'Ey! There someone out there?" 

Cody tentatively stepped out from behind his tree, his eyebrows raised, a half amazed, half delighted smile on his face. "Yeah," he said in answer. 

The teenager, who sported many pimples on his face, and a very scrawny body, gestured to him. "Well, get in, then," he said impatiently. The teen had an accent so strong that Cody nearly could not understand it. Any stronger or any more slang-ish a dialect, and Cody would have sworn he was speaking an alien language. 

Cody hesitated only a moment. Would his parents be mad if he went? They were always telling him about "stranger danger", and even at school, they taught him that. But then, this couldn't possibly be included in all of that, could it? This was real magic. It had come out of nowhere, hadn't it? Again, he had faith that things would turn out the way they were supposed to, and simply took the opportunity for adventure. 

"'Bout time," the teen grumbled. "Go on an' 'ave a seat." 

"Okay." Staring at the teenager, Cody felt his way back until he came across a plush armchair, and climbed onto it. Only then did he take his eyes off the front of the bus. He asked how much fare was, and was told that his fare had already been covered. The boy wondered about this, but accepted it. His eyes widened, and he clutched the arms of the chair he was in as the bus started with a mighty BANG, and a lurched violently ahead. 

The ride was nothing less than terrifying, lurching forward at great intervals, making chairs slide all over the floor of the bus, and often scattering the occupants and their belongings. It was fun, but very difficult to keep oneself in the chairs! 

After a while, Cody got used to the bus' erratic journey, and was able to sit back and enjoy the scenery. Once they got across the ocean (and he never stopped to wonder about the strangeness of taking a bus across the water), more people got on and off the bus. Most were dressed in robes and cloaks, and none seemed to give the small boy a second glance. Witches and wizards, Cody realized. He saw wands in some pockets and bags, and many had pointed hats. 

The countryside grew more and more unfamiliar, made up of moors and fields of the greenest grass Cody had ever seen. He saw old fashioned houses and manors, and even thought he saw a castle as the bus sped by! For quite a while, Cody could not stop staring in awe. 

But as the trip droned on, Cody began to yawn, and curled up in the armchair to have a little rest. He was still young enough to take naps on occasion, and was a little tired from all the excitement. And except for the initial lurch and the screech each time the bus stopped, the motion was actually very lulling. He closed his eyes and dozed. 

It was an hour or two later when the bus screeched to a halt, and the pimply-faced teen's loud voice woke the sleeping child. "Oy, Cody DeDannan!" he called. "'Ere's your stop!" 

Cody sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "Huh?" he said, looking bewildered. A moment later, he was wide awake, remembering where he was. "Oh neat!" he exclaimed, jumping out of his armchair. He ran past a bedraggled looking witch and a wizard in an overcoat. "Where are we?" 

The teen gave him a strange look. "Where d'you think? Diagon Alley!" 

_"Diagon Alley_?" 

"Well, the Leaky Cauldron, at any rate. 'Uo've got to go t'rou it to get to Diagon Alley." Cody's wide eyes got yet wider, and he jumped eagerly from the bus, waving to those inside as he did. He left Stan Shunpike standing in the doorway of the bus, shaking his head, before they zoomed off once more. 

The Leaky Cauldron was a dingy little pub on a London street, and Cody looked up at it for several moments, feeling a slight surge of fear. He was in _England_. He looked around, and saw that the Knight Bus was already gone, and bit his lip. Had it been there at all? What if he couldn't get back home? What if someone realized that he was here alone, in a completely different country? Would they try and take him to the police? Try to contact his mother? She would surely want to know how on Earth he had gotten to England, and Cody wouldn't be able to tell her! The London street suddenly looked very intimidating. 

Cody took a deep breath, and looked nervously back at the little pub, squinting to see what was inside, all he could see through the filthy windows were vague shapes moving about. Finally, he scowled. Did he believe in magic, or not? Yes. And so he walked forward and with a bit of difficulty, pulled the heavy door open. 

The pub was not much lighter inside as it had been through the dingy windows, but it was fascinating. Cody's doubts were immediately put to rest as he looked at the assortment of cloaked and robed figures sitting at the tables and at the bar. A few turned to look at him, but most seemed uninterested in the small visitor. 

Nervously, Cody walked up to the bar and climbed with some difficulty up onto a barstool. 

"Hello there, lad," said the man behind the counter. "My name is Tom. What can I do for you?" 

"W-well," said Cody, unsure how to proceed from here. "I-I have to get to Diagon Alley, but I don't know how to." 

Tom raised a brow and looked the boy over. Cody was dressed in red shorts and a blue T-Shirt with a faded picture of a ThunderCat on it. He supposed he did not look much like a wizard. "Where are your mother and father?" the barkeep asked. 

Cody shook his head. "I'm here alone." He hoped that saying this would not make things difficult. He frowned, and then brought out the letter he had gotten the previous day, holding it out to show the man. "I have to get this stuff for school." 

The man raised a brow, gazing at the letter. "How strange. Even most of the older students are accompanied by their parents..." For a moment he seemed like he was trying to make a decision of some sort, but finally shrugged and pointed to a door at the other side of the room. "That door there leads to a little courtyard outside. Go on outside, I'll be there in a moment to let you through the gateway." 

Unsure of what else he could do, Cody only nodded, and climbed down from the stool. He felt very conspicuous and a bit uncertain as he pulled open the back door and walked outside. 

The air here was cooler than he was used to at the beginning of summer, and he wished he had worn pants. He looked around the tiny "courtyard", which looked to him like a concrete patch surrounded by brick walls. He could hear a great deal of activity beyond one wall, and cocked his head to listen. 

He looked up just then to see the barkeep coming out of the pub, with what Cody realized to be a wand in his hand. He watched in fascination as Tom tapped a few bricks in a very specific order, and Cody's astonished eyes watched a hole begin to materialize in the wall. It got bigger and bigger, until it was a great, wide archway. "Wow," Cody breathed, and then looked up at the man, who was watching him curiously. "Cool! Thanks!" 

"You're welcome, lad. Tell me, are you American?" 

Cody nodded. 

"How strange; well I suppose stranger things have happened. Good luck, lad." 

"Thanks..." Cody smiled a little and looked through the doorway, and then stepped through. 

This was Diagon Alley, all right. For the moment, Cody could only stand and gape at the fascinating scene before him. It's just like in the book, he thought excitedly. Exactly. Witches and wizards milled everywhere, browsing the windows of exotic shops, and going in and out of old-fashioned doorways. Cody laughed and ran into the street, eager to begin exploring. 

The whole area was the dream of any imaginative child. Stores selling everything from secondhand robes to shiny new broomsticks were everywhere Cody looked. He looked in every store that he passed, gazing at the fascinating products of the street. He grinned up at the warm sun as he ran along the cobbled street, and smiling at anyone that looked at him. He did draw a few strange looks, but then he was the only one on the street dressed like a Muggle. He looked down at his cargo shorts, sandals, and his ThunderCat T-Shirt, and shrugged, giggling. Of course his age and the fact that he did not seem to be with a parent might contribute to the looks he got as well. He thought that being in such a strange place alone would intimidate him, but he found he wasn't scared in the least. 

As he paused outside an ice cream parlor, he began wondering how he was going to get wizard money to pay for everything he needed for Hogwarts. But that question was immediately answered, as a pretty little black owl startled him by landing on his shoulder, and pecking at his hair. 

Cody blinked, and looked up, and the owl stuck out her leg. Frowning, Cody took a tiny package off the owl's leg, and then watched it fly off. "Thanks," he said quietly, looking down at the little package. It had his name on it. He eagerly opened it, and was puzzled to find a small key. After a moment, he looked at the parchment the key had been wrapped in, and it said simply, "Vault 118". The child's brows rose, and he looked around, finally spotting the imposing edifice that was Gringotts bank. But why would he have a vault there? 

But then he shrugged, and headed in that direction. Who was he to question the adventure he was being presented with? 

When Cody approached the great doors of the bank, he had to struggle a moment to get them open. When he managed to slip inside, his eyes widened at a small man with a strange, rough face, who stood next to another set of doors. Cody stopped short at the sight of this creature, who could only be a goblin, but the goblin only opened the second set of doors for Cody, who sidled nervously through them. 

Once over his shock at seeing a goblin right there in front of him, the boy took in a breath at the sight that greeted his eyes. A great chamber stretched before him, reminiscent of the sort of building that existed in England many years ago. The ceiling arched high above, and great, tall desks lined each side of the room. Seated at these desks were creatures that peered malevolently at him as they worked on their ledgers. Most of them were his height or smaller, but were so alien in appearance and hostile in nature that they made for quite frightening beings. 

The goblin that sat at the far desk looked at him with a sneer twisting his wide mouth. "Yes?" 

Cody swallowed hard, summoned his courage, and stepped up to the desk, which had a top he could not even reach if he stood on his toes. "I-I c-came to visit my vault," he said. The goblin looked suspiciously at him, and Cody supposed it wasn't every day that a Muggle was seen in Diagon Alley, period, without coming to the wizards' bank to make a withdrawal. But then this brought up the question: _was_ he a Muggle? For that matter, wasn't he too young to attend Hogwarts? He knew school was different in England, but he knew that you didn't start the higher grades there until you were eleven. But then Dumbledore wouldn't have made a mistake, would he? 

He realized that the goblin in front of him had asked him something, and was giving him quite a glare for having failed to answer. Cody took a step backwards, his eyes wide. The goblins were intimidating enough, without deliberately glaring down at him! "Wh-what?" he said. 

"I asked if you had your key, child," the goblin said. "And I need to know your name." 

"C-Cody DeDannan," the boy stammered, holding out his key in his shaking hands. "A-and I have a key. It's...it's vault 118." 

The goblin examined the key, nodded grimly, then called to one of the other workers in the bank. "Take this one to his vault," he commanded, handing the key back to Cody. He peered at the boy. "Follow." 

"Y-yes, sir," said Cody, slinking away towards the second goblin, who was shorter than Cody and whose countenance was far less grim. 

The ride to his vault was like the best roller coaster ride he had ever taken, and quite effectively dispelled his foreboding. There were no safety restraints, no seats, just a mine car and a goblin companion who seemed utterly unimpressed by the exhilarating ride. Cody screamed and laughed with delight the entire way, holding on for dear life to the front of the mining car. 

He was a little dizzy when he climbed from the car, but a big grin was plastered all over his face, and he didn't think it would leave soon. When the goblin requested, "Key, please," in an all-business voice, Cody handed it over. 

When the vault was opened, Cody looked in with surprise on his face. There was gold in there! Gold, and silver, and bronze. A good amount, in fact! Enough to get Cody through seven years at Hogwarts, for sure. "Wow," he said, the grin he'd thought would be there all day fading to a look of astonishment. "Is that all mine?" 

The goblin raised his hairless brow at Cody. "Well I hope so, this vault is in your name, and you've got the key to it, haven't you?" 

"Yeah...but - how much should I take?" 

"Well, if you don't know, I certainly don't. Please hurry, I've other tasks to accomplish." 

Sheesh, Cody thought, but he stepped into the vault, anyway. After careful consideration, and looking at the list that he had been sent, he scooped out an amount of the gold, silver, and bronze into his pockets. He had to get a money pouch, he decided. 

After the equally thrilling ride back to the lobby of the bank, Cody stepped again out into the bright sunshine of Diagon Alley. Now: what did he need? 

First of all, a wand, he decided. That was what he was most eager to get. He had not seen the wand place from the book yet, and it took a little asking around to find it. It was weird being around so many people with English accents! But then, since he was the only American, he supposed he was probably the one with an accent. An American accent? That seemed awfully strange to him. 

Ollivander's shop was a small, dark, dusty place with a big, old-fashioned counter in the front, and shelves upon shelves of long, thin boxes. Just like I always thought it looked like, Cody thought to himself. Exactly. But there seemed to be no one minding the store. "Um, i-is...is anyone here?" 

An old, wrinkled face appeared among the shelves of what Cody assumed were wand boxes, and looked him over. The man, dressed in a robe of deep crimson, emerged from the ancient gloom of the shop, and peered at Cody. "A little young to be buying a wand, aren't you?" 

Cody blinked, as this was the first person to question him so bluntly on this point. But then in the book, the wandmaker seemed to have this creepy way of knowing way too much about people. Still, Cody didn't mind, and he shrugged with a grin. "Well, I'm going to Hogwarts, right?" he said, showing the old man the papers. 

Ollivander peered at them, and nodded slowly. "Yes," he said. "I suppose you are. Well then. We'll have to find you the wand that fits, won't we?" He took out a tape measure from under the counter and began measuring Cody's body Everything from his arm length to his head size was being measured, and after a moment, the old man left the tape to measure on its own. Cody watched in fascination for a few moments while Ollivander began searching the shelves. 

After a moment, the old man told the tape measure to stop, and it did, falling to the floor. Ollivander then handed Cody a box, and told him to wave the wand that was inside it. He did so, and very little happened. Another wand was tried, and another, and another. 

It actually only took about a dozen tries before Cody was startled by a shower of silver sparks spraying the ground from the wand when he waved it. He gaped at it, wondering distractedly if it was possible for a person's eyes to fall out from getting too wide open too often. If so, he was in danger of it! He laughed in sheer delight. It was a little wand of redwood, eight and three-quarter inches long, with a phoenix feather at its core. 

"Well, then," said Ollivander. "Seems that this is your wand, little wizard. A strong wood, very sturdy. That will be seven gold Galleons." 

Cody nodded, and carefully counted out the Galleons, and handed them to the man. "Thanks!" he said as he carried his wand, again in its box, outside the shop. 

He wanted to start experimenting with the wand right away, but he feared he might do something that he didn't intend, and either break something, or hurt someone. He was going to have to wait, as hard as it was, until he got to school. 

Now what? A cauldron. He located this shop and asked the witch at the counter about where the kind he needed were, and was pointed towards the back. There were other youths there, older than he, also buying their cauldrons. None of them said anything to him about someone so young was buying what seemed to be Hogwarts supplies, but he did get a few strange looks. 

The cauldron was not entirely easy to carry around, and Cody was delighted to find a place that rented carts for carrying around purchases. To the boy's amazement, these carts hovered, and were self-propelling. Magic, of course! He set his cauldron and wand on it, and rode the thing around for a while before tiring of the novelty, and continuing his shopping. 

He had to figure out what the heck "phials" were, found out it was an old word for "vials", and then had to find out what _those_ were. Then he got the ones he needed, along with the telescope and scales. 

Now, the books. There were eight or so that he needed as a first year, although most looked fairly boring to Cody. Schoolbooks, of course. One, "Fantastic Beasts, and Where to Find Them" looked fairly interesting, though, and he paged through this. Pens and quills were also available in the immediate area, and he got some of these as well. And then he proceeded to write his name in all of his books. At first, he got ink all over himself and his books, but he did manage to get a somewhat legible "Cody DeDannan" written on his books' inner covers. 

The last thing that Cody had to buy was his uniform. Three sets of robes, a pointed hat, dragon-hide gloves – did they make those in his size? – and a winter cloak. 

The robe fitting was fun; he stood on a little platform, and the witch there, Madame Malkin, tried a few robes on his frame. "We're going to have to get a smaller size for you, child," she said to him. "And put a Hogwarts patch on them. We don't get many students your size in here." And Madame Malkin did just that. She fitted the boy for his robes, and told him to come back in ten minutes or so, and they should be done. Tired out by this point, Cody opted to slump on one of the benches to wait. 

"Hey, kid, you're going to Hogwarts?" 

Cody looked up; a black boy of thirteen or so, with dreadlocks in his hair, had sat down next to him, and looked curiously down on him. He nodded. 

"What's your name?" 

"Cody DeDannan," said Cody. "What's yours?" 

"Lee Jordan." If the older boy noticed Cody's eyes threatening once more to pop out of his head, he made no mention of it. "Don't usually see kids your age in the school," he went on. "But if you've been invited, and accepted, then there's a reason for it." He grinned at Cody, but Cody was not entirely reassured by this. For the first time, he thought, well, what if I don't do well? What if they kick me out? What if they _don't_ kick me out? I can't spend a whole school year away from home, can I? Mom would freak out! 

But then he thought for several moments, and the familiar sense of faith reasserted itself in his mind. Everything would be fine; like Lee had said, there was a reason for it! He thought again how imagination could do anything, make anything real, and nodded. "I hope I do okay." 

"Well, you are awful young. But it's okay, I'm sure you'll do fine." He looked up as Madame Malkin called him over to try his new robes on, and answered. "Be there in a minute!" Lee looked back at Cody and grinned. "You'll do fine. See you at Hogwarts." 

Cody could not help grinning back. "Okay!" 

About five minutes later, he was also called to try his altered robes, found they fit perfectly, and nodded to Madame Malkin. Once these robes were bought, and a winter cloak purchased along with them, he carried these packages out to his cart. Now he needed two more things: he needed a trunk to keep his stuff in, and he needed a pet. Yes, definitely a pet. 

The trunk was easily taken care of, and the boy ended up getting a neon green one. It was obnoxious, but it was bright, and it was fun. He put all his things in it, save for the cauldron, and nodded in satisfaction. And now...the pet. 

This proved a little more difficult to accomplish. He did not want an owl. They were useful for carrying mail, and they were very pretty, but he was never someone who liked birds a lot. And so he passed the owlery without going inside. He didn't think that he wanted a rat or a toad, and he wasn't sure about cats. The letter said a cat, and owl, or a toad, but were other pets allowed? This seemed an important thing to know! They must be, he thought, thinking of Ron Weasley's rat. 

It took a while to find another Hogwarts student, but after about twenty minutes of searching, Cody did manage to bump into a girl entering her seventh year. He asked her if other pets were allowed at Hogwarts, and she said that so long as they weren't too much bigger than a cat, and if they weren't dangerous or illegal, that they were allowed. He thanked her, and returned to a shop that had caught his eye. 

In here, there were somewhat more unusual animals. There were lizards and other reptiles, like snakes. He thought that considering how bad a reputation Slytherin and snakes had in general in the wizarding world, that getting a snake might be a bad plan. He was tempted, especially looking at the fantastic colors and patterns on the snakes, but he did not end up getting one. 

There were ferrets and rats, bats and little simian creatures. He saw an animal that he recognized as a lemur; they had them at the zoo that Mom sometimes took him to. They even had a koala bear! He hesitated over this, but then he saw that it was a lot more money that he cared to spend, and so he ruled that one out. 

What Cody ended up falling in love with was a young fruit bat that was hanging upside down in a corner of the shop. The pretty little creature flapped down from its perch to land on Cody's shoulder, digging its claws into Cody's shirt and hanging down against his body. Cody giggled happily, and knew that this creature, without a doubt, was meant for him. He took the bat to the clerk and paid for him, and he did not end up costing so much. People did not like bats so often, the clerk explained. "I'm glad this one has found a home." 

"How long will he live?" Cody asked him. 

"Fruit bats live about twenty years, normally, if there's nothing magic about them." 

"Is this one magic?" 

"Not sure, young sir. You usually don't find out unless they exhibit some sort of abilities within their lifetimes." 

"Oh. Is this one a grown-up? And is it a boy or a girl?" 

The clerk peered at the bat, took it gently from Cody's shirt, and looked it over. "Well, it's a little boy, and no, actually, this one's still a pup. He'll get a deal bigger, about nine inches. He's trained to deliver mail already, though, as good as any owl! Can't handle large packages, of course, but anything else should be fine." 

"Cool!" Cody exclaimed. "Thanks!" He paid for the animal, got a big cage, food, and water feeder for him, then after a moment decided to get him a leash made for such creatures...just in case he needed it for some reason. He had the feeling that this bat would not leave him on purpose, though. They had been meant for each other. 

And now, Cody had finished his shopping, and could hardly wait for the school term. He suddenly realized that he had no clue when that was! He supposed that he would be contacted when the time came. But for now, he was hungry. Should he stay here, or go home first? If he was gonna stay at Hogwarts, he did want to bring some of his stuff along, so he supposed he should go home. But how? 

A loud BANG and the sight of a purple triple-decker bus arriving on the scene answered that question for him. He giggled as he climbed aboard, looking down at the cart. Should he return it? He should, he decided. With great difficulty, he dragged his trunk and his bat's cage onto the bus, told the teen driving it "Hold on a second!" and sprinted with his cart to return it to its shop. He waved to the attendant, then ran back to the bus and collapsed in one of the chairs. 

The ride back home was as interesting as the ride to Diagon Alley. He did not nap this time around, but he was very tired by the time he got home! The bus dropped him off in front of his house, and Cody was amazed to see that it was early, yet, and that he didn't feel tired anymore. Well, he supposed, magic was like that! 

He _was_ still hungry, though! He dragged his trunk inside, made it to his room unnoticed, and ran downstairs to where his mother was cooking dinner. It was almost done, she told him, and he was to wash his hands before coming to the table. They were very dirty. She mock-threatened him with a bath later, as well. 

Over dinner, Cody excitedly told his mother and sister about his day at Diagon Alley. Both were very used to the child's forays into imagination, and listened with interest. To his mother, it was a glimpse into another world, a world she no longer remembered how to get to. To his sister, it was like listening to stories, which was one of her favorite things to do. Neither of them could know, Cody realized, how real this adventure was. Even more real than his normal journeys! 

After dinner, he did bathe, then went up to bed. For once he gave no argument for this, and curled up in his nice, soft bed. He let a sigh of contentment, even too tired to feel much of his excitement over the coming school term. The _real_ adventure was yet to come! 


	2. Year 1, Chapter 2: Slytherin

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._******

**Chapter 2: Slytherin**

--- 

The real adventure, it turned out, was to start the very next day. While his mother slept in, as this was her day off, there was a tremendous BANG outside Cody's house, and wondered why the stupid bus had to be so noisy! He ran downstairs, hearing his mother's sleepy voice from the master bedroom asking what that was. Shrugging, Cody called, "It's okay! I'm just going to Hogwarts now, okay?" 

"Okay," said his mother sleepily. "Have fun!" 

"I will!" Cody poked his head out of the front door, and waved at the purple bus, holding up a finger to indicate he needed to have a minute. He raced upstairs, threw some socks and underwear in his trunk, then took his pajamas off and threw those in as well. After a moment, he added a few of his favorite books, a couple of action figures he liked, his Simba stuffed animal, his Sword of Omens, and a few toys. Then he pushed the heavy trunk towards the stairs, with his bat's cage on top of it. He needed a name for his bat, he realized! A good magic type name. Merlin! He thought that plenty of people probably named their pets Merlin, but that was okay, he didn't mind. He liked the name. 

"Are we going to King's Cross Station?" Cody asked eagerly, once he was on board. 

"Well of course we are," said the teen, sounding irritable. "'Ow else d'you fink we're goin' to get you to 'Ogwarts, eh?" 

"Um, I dunno! Doesn't the Knight Bus go there?" 

The teen snorted. "Course not. We're not allowed, well not usually, anyway. Students are s'possed to take the train. Go on back and get a seat now, willya? We've got a sched-ul, 'ere." 

Cody shrugged agreeably, dragged his neon-colored trunk into the back, and climbed into a chair. He tried to read on the way there, but one of two things always happened; either he got distracted by the scenery outside, or perhaps the people inside the bus, or he dropped the book every time they made a gigantic leap ahead in the bus. 

During one of the quieter spells, Cody let Merlin out to fly around a bit, and discovered that the reason he never heard anything from him last night was because the cage somehow cut out the sound. It must have a spell on it, he decided. 

Soon, however, the bus pulled into London, at the train station. Feeling an almost unbearable burst of hyperactivity and excitement, Cody jumped up and down, waiting for the doors to open. When it did, Cody dragged his trunk and Merlin's cage out of the bus, and looked around, at a bit of a loss. He was in London, a city he had never been in before, save for when he was in Diagon Alley. Should he just go into the station? He supposed that he ought to. Cody wondered what time it was. He knew that it should be a very different time here than in America, but strangely, when he looked at a clock inside the station, that it was just about the same time, around ten AM. 

It took a lot of asking, but Cody finally found an employee at the station who was not too busy to lead him to the gates, and very soon he found himself at gate 9 in King's Cross station. He giggled nervously, as he looked around the familiar place. He thanked the staff member and looked around, wondering where it was he was supposed to go through the barrier. He went around, feeling all the brick walls, but could not seem to find one that would let his hand through. Maybe he had to walk or run into it, like in the book? What if it was the wrong one? He'd run right into the wall, if that were the case. 

Well, he had time. In the end, he decided to wait and see if anyone else went through one of the barriers. Surely he was not the only one here going to Hogwarts! 

At ten to eleven, Cody finally got a break, when a blond-haired boy of sixteen or so passed him with a trolley full of three suitcases and a cage of white mice. "Hey!" Cody called eagerly, running to push his cart to meet up with the boy. "Um...hi, are you...are you going to..." He trailed off, wondering what this boy would think if he were not a wizard, and Cody went asking about Hogwarts. But then he noticed that there was a design on the boy's suitcases, one that was an H surrounded by a badger, a raven, a lion, and a snake, and Cody realized this was the right person to talk to. "How do you get to the platform?" 

The boy seemed a little surprised that Cody would be going on the train, but shrugged it off. "Follow me," he said. "I'll take you to the right one." 

"Thanks," Cody said gratefully, and tagged along. 

Once they reached the correct place, Cody saw others who had strange pets, or odd clothing. Definitely wizards, he thought. 

"There," the older boy said, pointing to a brick pillar between platforms nine and ten. "See?" Cody looked, and saw two young girls walk right through it, as if it were only illusion. "Go on ahead, kid, I'll see that you make it through okay." 

"Okay, thanks." Cody frowned, shrugged, then ran all out towards the brick. Expecting to collide, he gasped as he reached it, but the collision was not forthcoming. In fact, he went right on through, just like he was supposed to! "Cool!" he exclaimed, moving out of the way so that the next person through didn't run into him. 

The blond kid came through a moment later, and smiled at the boy. "Good job. Need some help with your luggage?" 

"Yes, please," Cody said politely. The older boy helped him willingly enough with his trunk, while Cody carried Merlin's cage into the train. "Thanks! Oh...I'm Cody DeDannan. What's your name?" 

"Kyle Tiller." The boy extended a hand, and Cody shook it. "Good luck, kid." 

"Thanks!" As the older boy walked away, Cody saw that the crest on his luggage next to the Hogwarts one was a Slytherin logo. Well, he thought, of course they're not all jerks. 

Cody found a compartment that had some space left, and ended up with a bunch of Ravenclaws and a few Hufflepuffs. A few asked him why he was going to Hogwarts when he was so young, and he had shrugged and said he didn't know. He just got the letter out of nowhere. This was readily accepted, and the rest of the trip consisted of mostly talk about Hogwarts, and what they were going to be doing that year. Cody felt a little left out, but the conversations were interesting enough that he didn't mind. 

When the lunch cart came around, Cody got some goodies off of it, including some Bertie Botts' Every Flavor Beans. He was feeling adventurous! Most of those tasted okay, but there were a few that he wasn't entirely impressed with, and one nasty enough that he spit it out of the train's window. A couple of the other students giggled at this. "What flavor was that one?" one of the girls asked. 

"I dunno!" said Cody, looking utterly disgusted. "It was really gross, though!" 

"I hear Professor Dumbledore ate a vomit flavored one once," the girl said, looking like she might gag just from the thought. "I haven't been brave enough yet to try ones that I can't identify for sure." 

Cody didn't really blame her. The Chocolate Frogs were better, though. He had three, and watched them hop around before eating the chocolate, which was the best he had ever had. Plus, he got a card of Dumbledore, one of Gilderoy Lockhart (which he snickered at), and one of Merlin, which he thought was totally and completely cool. He showed his bat. "See? That's who I named you after!" 

Cody was excited, but he was also tired from all the activity. He ended up napping for much of the way to Hogwarts, despite all the people talking, and kids yelling back and forth, and even the occasional spell being set off. 

When the train stopped, and there was the call for everyone to get off the train, Cody woke, his eyes going wide. They were really there! 

The boy started for where he had stowed his stuff, but was told by an older student that their belongings would be sent up while they were at the opening feast. The opening feast! Just like in the books, where Dumbledore would give out the announcements, and he'd get Sorted – Sorted! Cody bit his lip, suddenly feeling a sort of stage fright. What if he ended up in Hufflepuff, or worse, Slytherin? He wasn't bad enough to be in Slytherin, was he? 

He followed the crowd towards the ground of Hogwarts, and got his first astonished glimpse of the castle. It was huge! He found himself both awed and intimidated by its size. How could he ever find his way around something that big? 

And speaking of big, Cody's attention was caught by a gruff voice calling "Firs' years this way!" He supposed he was a first year. He turned towards the voice and his eyes widened. Hagrid! And boy, was he huge! Especially to a boy as small as Cody was. And he noticed he was not the only first year that was gaping at the man-mountain; the others seemed as awed. 

After a moment, Cody began looking around, hoping eagerly to catch a glimpse of more people that he would recognize, but they were being ushered along so fast he had hardly any chance to look. 

The little group of first years was led down to a lake, black in the night, and told to get into the boats that awaited them. Each boat had a lantern on a pole to light the way, but the light did not reach far through the inky air. It did shine eerily on the black water, though. Hagrid filled one boat all by himself, while the others held four students each. Cody sat at the bow of one of the boats, staring in fascination at the lit castle before them. 

The ride was smooth, and no one took a dive into the lake, like Cody remembered happened later in the series. He himself made sure he stayed sitting down, so he didn't embarrass himself by doing just that. He tried to get a glimpse of the giant squid, but could see nothing in the black water. 

When the boats reached the far side of the lake, the first years were led up to the castle, where a severe looking Professor McGonagall led them upstairs, to right outside the Great Hall. She explained to them how the Houses worked, and about earning and losing points. It was a completely alien concept for Cody, and he was a little nervous. What if he lost a bunch of points for Gryffindor? Could he change the outcome of the story? And then once that was thought, he wondered if he would now be in the book. 

While McGonagall headed inside to see if they were ready for the first years, the students talked among themselves, but this was soon interrupted by a screech from one of the first years, and then a few more. Cody looked up and gasped. The ghosts! The Hogwarts ghosts were trailing past them and into the Great Hall. He stared, and then laughed. A real ghost! Just wait until he told Mom about this! 

After a while, the children were led into the Great Hall, which was grander and more breathtaking than Cody could have imagined. He could not only see the magic in the place, but he could feel it, too. He could hear it, and even smell it. Even reading could not have put such a place in his imagination. 

They were all gathered in a line before a stool that held the Sorting Hat, an ancient, battered, torn hat that looked far too big for anyone there to be able to wear and still be able to see. It was covered in rips, and as each student sat on the stool and tried the hat on, a rip in the hat shouted out the name. Cody blinked, wondering how the hat talked, if it didn't have a throat or lungs! He supposed that magical things didn't have to have either of these to be able to talk, but it was still a very strange sight. 

With a name beginning with "d", Cody was one of the first to be sorted, and he swallowed hard when his name was read for everyone to hear. Well, that settled whether he was supposed to be here or not! He stepped up to the stool, giving the hat an uncertain look. He looked up at Professor McGonagall, who gave him an impatient look, then picked up the hat. He climbed up into the stool, shut his eyes tight, and put the hat on. 

The hat sank all the way down below his nose, and he heard some muffled giggles from outside the hat. That was okay, he thought. He probably looked pretty funny! He adjusted it a little so that his breathing wasn't restricted, and then waited. 

"Interesting," the hat said quietly in his ear, and the boy nearly jumped off the stool. "Don't see many your age here, now do we? Hmm. Plenty of adventure and rebellion in your mind here, some cleverness and mischief. Hmm." Cody waited, holding his breath, and hoping sincerely to hear "Gryffindor" from the hat's mouth. "Well, I think you'll fit well in...." The hat raised its voice to shout, "Slytherin!" and Cody once again nearly feel off the stool, this time in astonishment. 

"Slytherin?" he cried in disbelief, as the professor nudged him off the stool. How'd he end up in Slytherin? A little dazed, the child wandered down towards the table that was a mass of black, green, and silver, and was welcomed by the students there. He ended up sitting next to Marcus Flint, he realized, who was captain of the Quidditch team. The older boy clapped Cody on the shoulder. Cody was still trying to figure out how he had ended up in Slytherin, when "Potter, Harry" was called up front. Like most everyone else, Cody stood, craning his neck to see. He ended up having to stand on the bench to see over the older students. 

Wow, Cody thought. He looks as nervous as I was! Harry was pronounced a Gryffindor, and the Sorting went on. Weird, Cody thought. Weird, how he had ended up in Slytherin. He wasn't sure if he thought that was cool, or if it upset him. He certainly didn't like Snape much! He hoped Snape wouldn't be as mean to Cody as he had been to Harry. And what if he was mean to people in front of Cody? He didn't think that he could just stand there and let them! Teachers in England seemed meaner than teachers in America; at least they were in all the stories. And if he stood up for Harry Potter against the Slytherin teacher... 

Frowning a bit, Cody settled back down as the Sorting concluded. 

Dumbledore greeted the students, bid them welcome, and invited the feast to begin! 

The food appeared on the tables as if from nowhere, to the gasps of surprise and awe from the newer students. There was no end to the things that kept delighting Cody in this place, and he looked at the food first, before indulging. And then, as the whiffs of fantastic food greeted his nostrils, Cody realized how hungry he was. He looked down at his shiny plate and goblet, then shrugged, taking a little of everything to try. A lot of things he could not recognize, and he seemed to remember that Hogwarts had some weird sounding stuff. Either that, or England just had weird food! 

He didn't care for the pumpkin juice, or for some of the food, but the rest was to his liking. He nabbed some of what tasted like a very refreshing apple juice, and was content with that as his drink. He picked out Draco Malfoy, who was sitting next to the Bloody Baron, the ghost of Slytherin. Draco looked less than pleased, and Cody didn't blame him! That Bloody Baron was _really_ creepy! Cody was glad it was Draco, and not him! 

Cody listened to the conversations as he ate; mostly it seemed to be about their lineage, whose father was in what house, and how many siblings people had, and the like. There was a bit of talk about Muggles, both unfavorable and fairly neutral, and then someone asked Cody a question. "Your name's Cody, huh?" It was Marcus, the one Cody was sitting next to. Cody looked up and nodded. "So how old are you, anyway?" 

Cody finished his mouthful and answered. "Seven." 

Marcus raised his brows. "Seven? You sure, kid? I mean, I've heard of people starting early, but..." 

Feeling mildly offended, Cody nodded. "I'm sure. My birthday's March thirteenth! I'm gonna be eight when it's spring again." Or would he? He thought. It only just then occurred to him that it had been early summer when he first got on the Knight Bus, and Hogwarts didn't start until the fall! But then, who said magic had to make sense? 

"Wow. Well you got your letter, someone must know what they're doing. DeDannan...never heard of that family. But then you're from America, right? Probably the only American here." 

Cody was silent a moment, finishing a delicious bite of the bird whose drumstick he had been dining on. He wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his robe, and answered. "I don't know who my real mom and dad are...were," he said. "I was a baby, and they died. I got adopted, an' that's where I got my last name!" 

"Your adopted parents are magic folk, right?" a girl asked. Cody thought she might be Millicent Bulstrode, but he wasn't sure. Her voice was annoying enough, certainly. Maybe Pansy Parkinson. 

"I don't think they are." 

The girl frowned. "So they're Muggles?" 

Cody nodded. "Yep! But they're really good Muggles, not the jerk kind. So no making fun of 'em!" Cody tended to be protective of his family. "Besides, it's just a mom that adopted me. An' she adopted another kid that's my little sister now." 

Cody found he was getting a few strange looks, as if the ones wearing those looks weren't sure how to take Cody, but he didn't mind. He had said what he said, and he meant it! Soon, the conversation shifted to the classes, how hard they were going to be, and all the other things that the first years wanted to know about. Cody listened to these with interest, again worrying that being so much younger than everyone else, that he would not do as well. He sure hoped that he didn't make _too_ much of a fool of himself! After all, Slytherins were supposed to be clever at least! 

Once everyone had stuffed themselves silly, the food and plates disappeared from the tables, and Dumbledore again stood to address the students. 

The start of term notices were given, all ones he recognized from the book. He did not have a whole lot of interest in the third floor, knowing what was up there, but the forest sounded like a grand place to explore! He was wondering just how hard it would be to sneak off into there and look around a little. He blushed a little bit as he realized he was already thinking about rule-breaking, and remembered what the Sorting Hat had said about mischief. Well, maybe Slytherin wasn't _that_ strange for him, after all. 

When Dumbledore used his wand to write the school song in the air, and told everyone to pick their favorite tune, Cody was little taken aback. To the horrid "singing" that followed, with each student singing a different song from his neighbor, he giggled. But then he joined in, singing the school words to the theme song of the ThunderCats. He thought it sounded pretty good! And once the twins were done droning their version of the song, it was time for bed. 

The Slytherin common room and dormitories were down in the dungeon, and Cody shivered a little bit as they descended. It was cold and clammy down here, and he didn't much like the cold. He heard that it was never very warm in England, and he supposed that was true. That's the only thing he thought he wouldn't like about the place! 

The Slytherin prefect led the first years down gray, stone steps, until they reached a blank bit of wall, and Cody hoped he could remember where it was. Getting to classes the first couple of weeks wasn't going to be all too easy if he had to do it alone! The prefect stopped by the door, and turned to the students. "You need a password to get inside," he told them. "This password is not to be given to anyone outside of Slytherin. Now remember this: the password for now is: Serpent Tongue. If the password gets changed, you'll need to find one of the prefects and ask what it is." The boy turned back around, repeated the password, and the cleverly hidden stone door slid open, opening the way. 

Cody thought the common room kind of creepy, with its stone walls and greenish lamps all around the room. He half expected to see shackles hanging from the ceiling, but there were none. It was warm, though, as there was a fire blazing in the fireplace. Several high-backed chairs sat near the fire, with several more scattered around the room. A few tables sat here and there, as well as a sofa along one wall. 

"The dormitories are to either side of the common room," the prefect said, gesturing to opposite sides of the room. "Girls to the left, boys to the right. Your things have been brought there already, and your beds have been made up." 

Cody wanted badly to stay up and explore, but he figured he had all the time in the world for that. For now he was staggering, he was so tired, and he could not quit yawning. When the other first year boys headed for their dorm, Cody followed. 

The boys' dormitory consisted of a long, dark hallway with seven doors. One for each year, he realized, which he was happy about. He didn't want to sleep with too many people, especially if they snored! 

When the first years opened their door, Cody peered around Vincent Crabbe's robes into the room. It was a largish chamber, with a handful of four-poster beds in them, the kind that Ebeneezer Scrooge slept in, in A Christmas Carol. "Neat!" he exclaimed, creeping into the room. 

Cody's bed was to the right, near the wall a little ways from the door, with his trunk and Merlin's cage between the wall and the bed. He grinned and said hello to his bat, who seemed to squeak back, but the enchanted cage prevented the noise from reaching Cody's ears. He intended to bring Merlin everywhere with him at school. 

Draco Malfoy expressed an interest in Cody's bat, and Cody showed him off to the other boys in the dorm. Draco introduced himself, Crabbe, and Goyle, and Cody told them his name. "And this is Merlin," he said, indicating the bat. 

Draco nodded. "He's pretty cool. Better get some sleep, kid. Classes are gonna be hard at first, to someone who's never studied magic before." 

The trio turned away towards their own bunks, and Cody wasn't sure if he'd just been insulted, or not. Finally, he figured it was Draco, and that was probably as nice as he got! Yawning, he rubbed his eyes and pulled back the drapes around his bed. It looked warm and cozy. Cody climbed inside, spent a few moments struggling to close the drapes, and slipped under the covers. 

The bed was surprisingly comfortable, and Cody sank into the soft mattress. This was just the kind of bed he would like to have at home, he decided, laying his head on the down pillow. He let out a contented sigh, closed his eyes, and was out within seconds. 


	3. Year 1, Chapter 3: Major Adjustments

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._******

**Chapter 3: Major Adjustments**

The next day, Cody was wakened by a hand shaking him. Draco Malfoy was there, looking impatient. "Come on," he said. "We're going to be late for breakfast!" 

Breakfast? Cody wondered. And who was waking him? It certainly didn't sound like his sister. That was just... Cody sat bolt upright, nearly knocking heads with Draco, as he remembered where he was. "Oh, wow!" 

Draco rolled his eyes, and left Cody's bedside, and pulling his robe on. Cody, still in his pajamas, leapt out of bed with a laugh of excitement. He wondered which class would be first! Cody let Merlin out of his cage and watched him soar out into the early day. Finding some fruit to eat, Cody bet. Still, just in case, he put some fruit in his cage, and made sure he had water, before opening his trunk for his clothing. 

Once he was dressed, he hastily pulled on his robes, and the green and silver tie that identified him as a Slytherin. He blinked at it, shrugged, and tied it loosely around his neck, before racing out after the other Slytherin first years. 

The Great Hall was again filled with long tables. Cody felt that he would not want much to eat, after the monster feast of the night before. And once the food appeared, he found that not a whole lot appealed to him. There was no cereal, for one, only some weird, hot oatmeal stuff. He did manage to find some of that that he liked, but only after he had put a whole lot of cinnamon and sugar on it. 

Merlin flew in after a while, along with the owls that were bringing the kids their mail. Cody did not expect to get any, as his parents didn't know that he was here. He frowned a bit, wondering if he should send them a note, but then he remembered they were all the way across the ocean. He didn't think that a fruit bat could fly that far, and certainly it would take ages. But then he shrugged. Last time he'd returned from Diagon Alley, no time had really passed; perhaps it would do the same this time. 

Merlin decided that he liked hanging from Cody's robes, down from his shoulder, and rode there as the Slytherins went to their first lesson of the day: Transfiguration. Oh, great, Cody thought. This was a really hard class! 

There were disadvantages to being years younger than the youngest students; he couldn't see over the desk. Scowling, and ignoring the couple of quiet chuckles from other students, he got up on his knees so that he could see. 

The first class wasn't horrible, but that was all that Cody could say about it. McGonagall talked a lot, had them write down some notes (and quills and ink just were not easy to handle! Cody's hands and paper were equally spotted with the black ink before he was done) and then practice the incantation they were to use to change matches into needles. 

Then came the part that Cody had been waiting for ever since that first owl appeared in his bedroom. The students were told to take their wands out and practice the correct movement. There was a big grin on Cody's face as he waved the wand in unison with most of the class. 

Once Professor McGonagall felt that they had practiced enough, she held her own match up, then set it on the desk, and put everything together; the spell, the wand movement, and the magic. Before the students' eyes, the match suddenly gleamed silver, elongated, and grew sharp at one end. A hole appeared where the match head had been, making the eye of the needle. Cody was glad he was up front so that he could see. 

When the time came for the students to try this, Cody got so nervous that he dropped his wand, where it clattered to the floor. To his horror, a jet of purple light shot out of its end and his the leg of one of the nearby benches, toppling its two occupants to the floor. "Oops, sorry..." he said, picking up his wand. He heard a couple of the Slytherin boys behind him snickering, and Cody gave the toppled girls a sheepish grin. Professor McGonagall pointed her wand at the broken bench and mended it without having to utter a word. Cody supposed that when you were that good, you didn't need to say anything for simple spells. 

"Mr. DeDannan," said McGonagall, stepping over to look down at him. She sure was tall! "Please be more careful. Now, let's see you perform this spell." 

"Yes, ma'am," said Cody in a little voice, wishing at the moment that he could go crawl back up into bed. He swallowed hard, tried to ignore Merlin, who was climbing around on his robes, and pointed his wand at the match. His hand was shaking, and he hoped he didn't hit anything else. 

The spell did not work, as Cody had not really expected it to. But McGonagall seemed satisfied that he had tried, and told him to simply persevere. He had to ask the girl sharing the desk he was at what that meant. 

"It means don't give up." 

"Oh." Well, at least the teacher wasn't mad at him! 

By the end of the class, only one of the students, some skinny boy Cody recognized from the Slytherin common room, was able to make any kind of change in his match. "Sheesh," Cody said, sticking out his tongue at his match. He had the awful thought that maybe he would never be able to do this spell! But they wouldn't have sent him a letter to join the school if he was a complete Muggle, would they? 

He would have left the class feeling totally discouraged, but as the other students were leaving, McGonagall stopped him and the girl he was sitting with. The girl, a first-year Slytherin nearly as little as Cody, was named Jessica. "Let me adjust that desk for you two," McGonagall said to the pair. She smiled a little, and with a spell Cody couldn't even understand, McGonagall enveloped the desk in a glow of silvery light. Cody watched it shorten itself by a few inches. "There. Is that a little better, Mr. DeDannan?" 

Cody sat in the bench and found that the desk was now a perfect height, and the girl, Jessica, said it was okay for her too. "Thanks," he said shyly to the professor. 

She simply nodded. "Now go on, you've got Herbology next, I believe." 

Cody nodded. "Yes, ma'am." 

Boy, this was hard! Cody thought as he ran for the front doors, heading for the greenhouse outside. _Really_ hard! He hoped he would get the hang of it as the school year went on! 

Herbology was not bad, although Cody had to resist sneezing all period, and was not always successful. The worst thing about that was that there were some of the plants that kept snickering at this! Bad enough that the other students be amused, but the _plants_? He ended up telling a few of them off. It didn't stop them from laughing at him, but it made Cody feel better! 

After Herbology was lunch, and Cody was amazed at how long the classes were! Still, even for a child with his short attention span, the classes were interesting enough to keep his attention. 

Cody ate his lunch ravenously, as the excitement and action of the day had given him quite an appetite. Again, he hoped he would get the hang of things, so that he wouldn't be on the verge of being late to everything, and so he would have time to check out the other places in the school! 

After a Charms class, which he enjoyed, and a History of Magic class that was excruciatingly boring, the students were finally free to do as they liked. At first, Cody flopped in a chair in the Slytherin common room and pretended he was dead, because that's how he felt. Merlin lay on his belly, clinging to his robes with the claws on his wings, and looking at Cody as if to say "Well, what now?" But soon, Cody was rested enough that he felt the excitement of being at Hogwarts once more, and stood from his chair. 

He spent some time talking with the other Slytherins, declining a game of Gobstones (having remembered what they do when you lose a point and had no desire to be squirted with smelly stuff), and playing a game of Exploding Snap, which a fourth-year taught him to play. That was scary, and sometimes singed his hair or his robes, but that was easily fixable to those that knew how. 

He got along surprisingly well with most of the Slytherins, and realized that most of them were not nearly as bad as Malfoy and some of the others, and some were downright nice. But then he supposed that only a few of them had Death Eaters for parents. He recognized Kyle Tiller, the boy who had helped him at the train station, and grinned at him. 

--- 

After a while, he began getting restless, and slipped out of the common room, intending to explore the castle some. After all, he needed to know the layout of the place, didn't he? And the students didn't have to be in their common rooms just yet. 

With Merlin alternately hanging from his robes or flying in circles above, Cody made his way down the various corridors. He carefully avoided the ones that led to the third floor, as he had no desire whatsoever to meet Fluffy. There was just something wrong about three-headed dogs. 

He did find the Gryffindor common room's entrance, and got a dirty look from the portrait of a fat lady who guarded the entrance. "What business has a Slytherin at Gryffindor Tower?" she demanded. 

Cody frowned. "I'm just looking around." 

"Indeed? Well, you've looked here long enough, I believe. Students don't generally hang about other houses' entrances." 

Cody looked at the woman for a very long time, realizing just how utterly bizarre it was to be talking to a painting, and having it talk back. "I'm not gonna do anything," he said, a trifle indignantly. "Besides I can't even get in, I dunno the password." 

"Still, your house and this one don't always get along so well, do they? Do you really want to risk running into a Gryffindor student who might think you're up to something, hmmm?" 

Cody scowled. He thought that that kind of rivalry was kind of stupid. "Fine." He turned on his heel, his robe sweeping behind him with the force of the spin, and stalked off in the opposite direction. He wasn't about to stay where he wasn't wanted! At least not unless he had a reason to. And for now, he didn't. After that, Cody stayed to the more friendly areas of the castle. He found himself in the Great Hall a few times, following the different corridors, and he found a few bathrooms and shower rooms. 

All in all, he spent a good three hours exploring the castle and its chambers and corridors, and hoped that eventually he would remember at least a good deal of it! 

Once he was finished exploring, he decided to head back to the common room, and realized that he had no idea where it was. He didn't even know where _he_ was! He wondered what happened to kids that were outside their corridors past the hour where they were supposed to be in their respective house areas. Detention, he supposed. But what if it wasn't his fault? That didn't always seem to matter in the book, though, which he had always thought quite unfair. 

After twenty minutes of trying to find somewhere that was familiar, he began to get frustrated, and was trying very hard not to cry. Not only could he find nothing familiar, there didn't seem to be anyone around to ask! He sat on a staircase in a dimly lit corridor, wiping at his eyes. He was quite tired of exploring, and wanted to go back somewhere he could rest, and maybe read his books. Merlin crept up onto his shoulder and nuzzled his ear, which made him laugh a little. He picked the little bat up and rubbed noses with him. "I sure am glad I found you," he said to Merlin. "You're definitely my pet. An' I'm your person." He put the bat back on his robes, where he hung upside down once more, apparently satisfied that he had cheered his master up. 

Cody was just about to stand and continue his attempts to find his common room when there was a sickening lurch, and the staircase began to fall. Cody panicked at first, thinking that it was going to crash, and he grabbed the railing with a cry of alarm. But after a moment it was clear that the staircase wasn't falling, it was simply moving. "Stupid thing!" he exclaimed, glaring at it. And the worst of it was, it was descending right towards the door of the third floor corridor! He scowled at the hallway that was forbidden to all students, and looked behind him. The staircase, if he backtracked, would just lead him back to the area he had gotten lost in. Torn, Cody stayed still for a few minutes, wondering if maybe the stairs wouldn't move again. After five minutes, it was clear to Cody that they had no intentions of going anywhere. 

The boy was badly startled by a rough hand on his shoulder, that spun him around, and he was very surprised to see Professor Quirrell standing there, looking angry. "Wh-what're you doing here?" he demanded. 

Cody took a step back, swallowing hard. After all, he _knew_ what was under Quirrell's turban! "I-I'm lost," he said, hastily wiping the last of his tears from his eyes with the sleeve of his school robe. "I've been looking for my common room a really long time, and then the stairs moved, and -" 

Sighing, Quirrell cut him off. "O-okay, okay...C-Cody, is it?" Cody nodded. "F-Follow me." The teacher turned and walked back along the stairs, clearly expecting Cody to follow. He did, if somewhat reluctantly. He wondered if he'd get in trouble. But no, Quirrell seemed to be leading him back through the school to get him back to familiar territory. As he walked, Cody thought. He wondered if he hadn't just interrupted an attempt by Quirrell to get at the trapdoor under which the Sorcerer's Stone was hidden. Maybe that's why he was so mad! Cool, he thought with some satisfaction. I stopped him from getting in! He wouldn't want to try with a student there, so me being there made him stop! 

Unfortunately, he couldn't really tell anyone, because no one else knew about the Stone yet, not even the Gryffindors. 

Eventually, Quirrell had led Cody into an area he recognized, and the child let a little cheer. "Cool! Thanks...I know where I am, now." 

Quirrell forced a smile that didn't even look close to real. "Good," he said, patting Cody on the head. "S-sorry I yelled. A l-lot on my m-mind, you know. R-run along, now." 

Cody nodded, and headed down towards the dungeons. He sure did have a lot on his mind! the boy thought. Like Voldemort! He had definitely scared Cody for a minute there, though. He shuddered, trying not to think what it was like, having Voldemort attached to you, sticking out of the back of your head. 

He winced as he scrutinized the walls, searching for the blank area that was the entrance to the common room. When finally he located it, he breathed a huge sigh of relief when the door closed behind him. 

"We wondered if you were gonna get back," Draco Malfoy said from a table across the room, where he was playing a game of Gobstones with Crabbe. Cody noticed that Draco's wand was in his hand, under the table, and every once in a while, a little stream of light would emit from it towards the Gobstones game. What a cheater! Cody thought. 

"I was exploring," Cody said, shrugging. It was kinda funny, now that the imminent danger had passed. "But I got lost. Professor Quirrell helped me find where I was, though." 

"So where were you?" 

"Well, the stairs moved and kinda put me near the third floor, but I didn't go in so I didn't get in trouble. That's where Professor Quirrell found me, 'cuz I was sitting on the steps." 

Draco nodded, seeming to lose interest in the conversation as he went back to his game. 

"What time do we have to go to bed?" Cody asked. 

Draco shrugged. "There's not really a time. We're not allowed outside out common room at night, but they don't care when we go to bed, just so we get up in time for lessons." 

Cody's eyebrows rose at this, and his eyes widened happily. "No bedtime? Cool!" 

Crabbe snickered a bit. "You've got a bedtime, then? I haven't had one since I was eight." 

Cody shrugged, not offended in the least. "Yep! Eight-thirty on school nights, but I get to stay up 'til ten on weekends, an' in the summer! Besides, I'm only seven." 

Crabbe snorted, and then growled as once again, he was sprayed by the foul-smelling liquid inside the Gobstones. Cody could have told Crabbe that Malfoy was cheating, but decided not to. Served Crabbe right for making fun of Cody's bedtime! Grinning, the boy headed for the dormitory. 

He spent a while lying on his bed, looking through some of his schoolbooks, while Merlin ate the fruit that Cody had given him. After a while, though, Cody yawned, and put the schoolbooks away. He would read his own book until he fell asleep, he decided. But first, he got into his pajamas, and climbed under the covers. He read his favorite Bunnicula book, "Howliday Inn", until his eyelids began to droop. Finally he sighed, curled up with his book, and fell asleep. 

--- 

The first week at school was a hectic one for Cody, and several times he wished he could just go home for a while. But he stuck it out. He found that Astronomy was his absolute favorite class, although he was often very tired by the time that class took place. Still, he did fairly well in it, better than the others, at least. 

He found that the hardest part for him was the writing. He did read and write very well for the age of seven, but he _was_ only seven, and a lot of words were difficult for him. He had to keep looking things up and asking people what they meant. But he was learning a whole lot! His writing wasn't the best, but none of the teachers chewed him out for it, at least. And, there were fewer and fewer ink blots as he began to get the hang of writing with a quill, and ink from a bottle. Still, he managed to get ink all over his fingers, no matter what he did. 

Potions on Friday was an interesting class. He didn't care much for Snape, who was gruff, contemptuous, and had absolutely no humor anywhere in his body. He was even rude to half the Slytherins in the class, though not as mean as he was to the Gryffindors; Draco was the only one he really seemed to like. He certainly favored him! What a teacher's pet. 

Still, the class itself was very interesting. Cody knew a girl in third grade back home that had a chemistry set, and this was a lot like that! Mixing strange ingredients, stirring it all up in his cauldron, to get a certain kind of potion. 

Despite the interesting factor, it seemed that like everything else, Cody would take a while getting the hang of the class. His potion was making an ominous humming sound, and he gave it a wary look. "U-um, Professor Snape?" he said reluctantly, wincing as his potion sputtered. "I-I think my potion's gonna – gonna explode, or something." 

Snape strode over, his usual sneer on his face, and peered into the cauldron. It was a sick sort of white, like the skin of a very sick person. Cody was pretty sure it wasn't supposed to look like that! "Did you not listen to me, DeDannan?" Snape said irritably, causing Cody to scowl in indignation. "You were supposed to write down all the ingredients. Let me see your notes." 

Cody handed them over, and Snape looked at the childish scrawl. "I don't see nettles on this list." 

"Uh, nettles?" Cody stood on his toes and peered at his own notes. He must have missed that one! He looked up at Snape, an uncertain, sheepish grin on his face. "Um, oops?" 

He was saved by the likely telling-off he could have gotten by a commotion on the other side of the room. He felt a strange sort of deja-vu as he watched Seamus' cauldron collapse thanks to Neville's abysmal potion-making, and watched the ensuing chaos. He winced and jumped up onto his chair to avoid the caustic stuff getting on his feet and legs. Poor Neville, though, was whimpering in pain from the potion that had coated his body. 

While Snape dealt with the situation, Cody snuck a peek at one of the others' notes, to see how many nettles he would need. The measurements were hard! He frowned in concentration as he used his brass scales to measure out what was hopefully the right amount, and added them to his potion. Immediately, it changed its sickly color, and the ominous humming sound stopped. Satisfied, he nodded, and sat back, looking pleased with himself. 

Once Seamus had taken Neville out of the room, heading for the hospital wing, Snape peered back into Cody's cauldron. He gave the boy a level look. "Let's see if you can manage to do it right the first time next class," he said, before returning to his desk. Cody scowled and stuck his tongue out at him when his back was turned. 

When class was over, Snape dismissed everyone, but held Cody back. Cody, his brows raised, looked up at him. 

"I think," said Snape, "That you need to come and see me after classes today, Mr. DeDannan. I think a couple of hours' worth of detention might convince you to keep your tongue in your head, hmm?" 

How had he known? Cody wondered furiously. He wanted to protest, but could not think of a whole lot to say. He _had_ stuck out his tongue, and Snape had noticed. He scowled. 

Snape raised a brow. "Well? You are dismissed. Meet me here today after school." 

"Yes, sir," said Cody crossly, and headed for lunch. Boy, Snape sure was a jerk! He was glad, at least that day, that he wasn't in Gryffindor! He couldn't imagine how many kinds of jerks Snape might be to him then! 

After the school day, grumbling and muttering, Cody made his way down to the basement for his detention. This was the first time he'd ever had detention, including his normal school! He was a bit anxious as to what he would be doing. 

Turned out it wasn't as bad as it could be. He ended up assisting Professor Snape in organizing and restocking the supply cupboards, and that included the ones that only the older students used, and Snape's personal supply. Several times, Snape told him to fetch something from the crates that contained them, and he had to say "The _what?_" Snape got a little impatient a few times, but at least he did always describe to Cody what was needed. It was actually very interesting. 

When he got back to the common room, a few of the Slytherins asked where he was, and when they learned he was in detention, asked how he managed that on the first week of school. Cody just shrugged, grinned a little sheepishly, and said that he'd stuck out his tongue at Professor Snape. 

--- 

The weekend was strange. Unusual enough to sleep at school during the school week, but on the weekend, there was no school at all – and he was still at school! Boarding schools had to be very boring, he thought. At least normal ones. Hogwarts, at least, was one of the most fascinating places that Cody had ever seen. 

He spent some of the time playing with the Slytherins, things like Exploding Snap, and even a sort cross between dodgeball and tag that involved the person who was "it" running around and hurling showers of sparks at people that turned their hair different colors. The person who got caught was then it, and chose a different color to turn people's hair. Before the game was finished, Cody's hair had been green, red, chartreuse, and a sort of neon blue. He giggled, looking up at his new blue hair, and then looked at everyone else, who had a rainbow of interesting hues. The person currently "it", a third year Slytherin, set to returning everyone's hair to normal. 

Once Cody had brown hair again, he wandered off across the grounds, checking out the whole area. Even without going into the forest, the place was interesting. He watched the lake for a while, and caught a glimpse or two of the giant squid in it. He got the heck surprised out of him by Nearly Headless Nick floating out of a nearby building. He considered asking him who had tried to behead him and why, not to mention why he was so bad at his job, but remembered how defensive Nick was about it. Maybe another time, when he was more in the mood to deal with being told off by a ghost. 

Something else caught Cody's interest had nothing to do with Hogwarts or magic. It had to do with the fact that he was the only American in a school full of people from Great Britain. He soon realized that it wasn't only English people, it was people from Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, too, and he had never even heard of Wales before now! He loved listening to how they talked, and some of their words puzzled him. He overhead two Ravenclaws talking about someone's pants, and it took him quite a while to realize they meant his underwear. He wondered what they called real pants, then! 

By the same token, some of the kids there were equally fascinated by the fact that Cody was American. In fact this brought more interest than his young age, and he was often asked about what America was like, and their "strange" customs. He liked being asked about America, and liked answering their questions. He took hold of the leg of his jeans once, and told them that those were pants. Jeans, to be exact. And underwear was, well, underwear. This seemed very odd to the first years he was speaking to. 

On Sunday, Cody saw Hagrid working in his garden behind his house, and went to watch him. The giant man fascinated him, and he climbed up and sat on the fence watching him for ten minutes or so before Hagrid noticed him there. He raised a brow, and looked at him for a minute. "So how come yer not out playin' with the other Slytherins, eh?" he asked curiously. 

Cody shrugged. "I dunno. I got bored. They're all older than me anyways. I don't like all the stuff they do, it's boring." 

Hagrid nodded. "Fair enough, I suppose. What's yer name?" 

"Cody DeDannan...and you're Hagrid, right?' 

Hagrid nodded. "Guess you've heard of me from the other Slytherins, eh?" 

Cody knew that half the Slytherins were fairly contemptuous of Hagrid, but he also knew that there were a few that liked him just fine. "Some," he said. "But also from other kids, too, from other houses." 

This honest answer seemed to take Hagrid slightly by surprise, but then he nodded. "That's all righ', then," he said. He nodded towards Merlin. "Who's yer friend, there?" 

"Oh! This is Merlin, he's a fruit bat! Isn't he great?" He scratched the young bat's head, which was something Merlin always seemed to like. 

Hagrid chuckled. "Of course he is. But then I think most livin' creatures are great. He got any magical powers?' 

"I dunno," said Cody. "The guy at the store said he didn't know, either, but he could show powers when he gets older." Cody giggled a bit. "He was mad at me yesterday." 

"Why's that?" 

Cody could swear that Merlin was giving him a dirty look as he spoke. "Well, I was playin' tag with the other Slytherins, well, it was kinda tag. The person that was 'it' turned people's hair different colors. Well, I moved so I wouldn't get hit, but Merlin was just landing on me, and he got hit instead, and all his fur turned purple." Cody's shoulders shook as he stifled his giggles. "I had to find him later an' find someone who could put his fur right again." 

Hagrid laughed aloud as Merlin flapped his wings in Cody's face, which only made him giggle some more, and nearly fall off the fence. Once Merlin was finished showing his displeasure at Cody's mirth, Cody got his balance again. 

After a little while, Cody pointed. "Are those pumpkins?" 

Hagrid grinned. "Yep! Fer Halloween. I reckon they'll be three times this size by then." They were already quite large, larger than the ones Cody's family always got for Halloween. 

"How do you get them so big? I never saw ones that big before." 

Hagrid cleared his throat. "Well, you know, jus' good gardenin' skills..." 

Cody hid a grin, knowing full well Hagrid was using magic to help the garden, but said nothing. 

"Yeh want to help?" 

"Sure!" Cody hopped down from the fence and walked over to the giant. "How?" 

"Well, yeh can help me get rid of some of these confounded weeds, they're tryin' to choke me plants out. An' if yeh see one of these, zap it." He pointed out a nasty looking little slug, that he then stepped on with his massive boots. "Flesh eatin' slugs," he explained. 

Cody made a face. "I don't know any spells for zapping things, though," he said to Hagrid. "Should I just step on them?" 

"That'll do," Hagrid agreed. "Just don' let 'em touch yer skin. There's a reason they're called flesh eatin' slugs." 

"Yuck." And so, for the next hour or so, Cody helped Hagrid in his garden, talking to him as they worked. Hagrid really was a pretty cool guy, he decided, and when he gave Cody a big piece of chocolate for helping him out, Cody was delighted. "Thanks!" he said, his eyes going big. For Hagrid it was just a sample, but to Cody, it was a huge piece! On impulse, Cody went to hug the giant, but could not even come close to getting his arms around him. A bit surprised, Hagrid laughed and hugged him back, only gently. Even so, he ended up knocking the breath out of the boy, and Cody made a note never to make Hagrid really mad. 

Cody wandered back over to the lake to eat his chocolate, and when he was done, he was on a sugar high. He found a group of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff first years engaging in a game of tag (the normal kind), and asked if he could join in. After a bit of reluctance over the fact that he was a Slytherin, they finally let him join, and Cody spent a good while expending his energy. 

He returned when it was time for supper, having had a fantastic weekend, and found he was very hungry. He stuffed himself silly, then sat back with a look of sheer contentment on his face. 


	4. Year 1, Chapter 4: Flying Lessons

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._******

**Chapter 4: Flying Lessons**

The next week went a little bit smoother. Cody still got lost here and there, but usually found someone who would help him get where he needed to go. He wished that he could Apparate! Then he wouldn't have to run not to be late! Not that he minded running; he had an endless supply of energy, but he sometimes _was_ late, and on occasion, it earned him some extra work. 

There was an announcement, Tuesday, in the common room which excited Cody a great deal. Flying lessons! Thursday! He had obviously never flown a broom before, and had been somewhat jealous, hearing all the Slytherins talking about their flying experiences. Obviously, none of them were Muggle born, and so there wasn't a one who hadn't ridden a broom before coming to Hogwarts. 

Thursday found the Slytherin and Gryffindor first years out on the grounds, each with a broomstick at his or her feet. Cody had to resist the urge to pick it up right away. 

Madame Hooch was creepy, Cody decided when she came out onto the grounds. He wondered why her eyes were so strange. Yellow! Still, if she was going to teach them to fly, he didn't care. With only a brief greeting, she got right down to business, telling the students to say "Up!", to get their brooms in their hands. Cody looked down, shrugging, then he held his hand out and called, "Up!" Very little happened, except that his broom rolled over on the ground as if quite unimpressed by the whole deal. 

He noticed that Harry Potter was in this class, and was distracted for a few minutes by watching him. His broom had jumped into his hand at once. Cody looked the other boy over, realizing with some fascination that this was the boy that had defeated the most powerful evil wizard in the whole country, maybe even many countries. Harry didn't seem to notice Cody's scrutiny. Used to it, Cody supposed. He knew others had shown the same fascination. 

After a bit, Cody went back to trying to get his broom to leap into his hand. It didn't. Finally, Cody scowled at it, bent, and picked the blasted thing up. 

Once everyone had mounted their brooms, and Madame Hooch had corrected the way they held the handles, she told them to rise into the air a few feet, then come back down. Cody frowned, wondering just how to do that, and experimentally pulled up slightly on the handle of the broom. The child gasped as it rose four feet or so, and he stopped pulling on it. The broom stopped. Cody let a laugh of sheer delight, holding tightly to his broom. 

A commotion on the Gryffindor side caught his attention, and still in the air, Cody glanced over. It was Neville Longbottom. He had kicked off too hard, and was now trying not to fall off his broom, which was very high in the air! "Push down!" Cody advised. He winced as Neville fell, and decided that being on the ground might not be a bad idea at the moment. Again, the feeling of deja-vu, as Cody watched the teacher lead Neville towards the hospital, watched Harry and Draco have it out over Neville's Remembrall, and watched them both zoom up into the air. Cody considered doing the same, but while he knew Harry hadn't gotten into trouble, Cody probably would. He had no desire to be expelled! 

It was times like this that he did not like most of the Slytherins. There were a few that were perfectly decent, and very nice, and a few who didn't care one way or another. But a lot of them were just plain mean! Especially Malfoy. Malfoy and that girl, Pansy. He could not stand Pansy Parkinson. That voice of hers alone made him want to cringe, and she was such a snotty brat of a girl! She and Cody did not get along. In fact, there was a time when they were hurling insults at each other, Cody had threatened to kick her where it counted. She sneered, saying that she didn't have those parts, and Cody had snorted, telling her she had more nuts than any boy in the world! Needless to say, Pansy hadn't been too happy with this, and Cody had ended up sprinting from the common room, dodging hexes. 

As for Malfoy, Cody's emotions about him were mixed. When he had read the books, Cody always thought Malfoy to be a miserable little brat. But now he had also seen that he could be a fairly decent person. He helped Cody sometimes, although he put up a front as if Cody were an annoying little brother. Cody didn't mind; he knew if Draco didn't want to help him, he wouldn't. But then there were the times that he was so mean! 

Cody spent a lot of time trying to figure out how the heck he had ended up in Slytherin. He wished he could go ask the Sorting Hat, but that was up in Dumbledore's office. And he didn't think it would be a spectacular idea to try and sneak up there to talk to it! Not that it wouldn't be a cool adventure, but he could get into a lot of trouble. 

The child was broken out of his reverie by a very stern sounding voice. Professor McGonagall had come storming out of the building, looking furious, and telling Harry off for having flown when he wasn't supposed to. And of course she had not seen Draco up in the air. Cody listened to the Slytherins laughing, and the Gryffindors trying to defend Harry, but he knew Harry wasn't going to get kicked out. He let himself laugh aloud, knowing this fact. The other Slytherins, of course, figured he was laughing with them, and that was all right. He let them think that. It kept him out of trouble with them, but let him revel in his own knowledge that Harry would come out on top. 

There was something very strange about seeing the story from his own, unique point of view, and even someone so small and young as Cody knew that. As an outsider from Gryffindor, there were times that he could see that the heroes of the story weren't entirely angels, themselves. Hermione was one of the biggest know-it-alls he had ever met in his life, and often made him feel very stupid. As if he didn't feel that enough, anyway! But then there were times she had helped him in the library when they had homework, without making him feel ignorant. Being Sorted into Slytherin had given him a whole new perspective on things. Maybe that's why he had been Sorted there! 

"Didn't take Potter long to get thrown out, did it?" Malfoy said, smirking. Crabbe and Goyle snickered along with their friend. Pansy's giggles sounded like claws on glass. 

"How do you know he's getting thrown out?" Cody asked Malfoy curiously. 

"Didn't you hear Madame Hooch? If she saw one broom in the air while she was gone, she'd make sure they got expelled." 

Cody grinned. "How do you expel a broom?" 

Draco frowned, as if Cody had said something quite mad, but when Cody giggled, Draco realized the younger boy was being a smart-aleck. "Ha, ha," he said humorlessly, rolling his eyes. "I still say Potter's getting kicked out. Serves him right, too. Famous Harry Potter." He spoke disgustedly. "He didn't even do anything. All he got was a stupid scar on his forehead." 

"You didn't think it was stupid when you first met Harry," said Cody. "You're just mad 'cuz he likes Ron better than you." Cody had to duck a swipe from Malfoy with the broomstick, but his grin didn't vanish. 

"Watch it," Draco growled, and then continued on his rant. "The Weasleys are the worst wizarding family in Britain, my father said so. I mean, look at them. Can't even afford new robes when they come to school, they make the whole of Hogwarts look bad." 

Cody snorted. "So they're bad wizards 'cuz they don't have money?" He glanced over at Ron and the other Gryffindors. They were looking at the Slytherins once in a while, but Draco was talking soft enough not to be heard. 

"Not just that." Draco looked over at the Gryffindors also, and sneered. "They just don't act like proper wizards, them and their stupid love of Muggles. I think England would be better if they just offed the lot of them. They're useless, really, Muggles are." 

At this, Cody did scowl. "My mom and sister are Muggles," he said, walking right up to Malfoy and giving him a dirty look. "And they're not useless!" 

Draco frowned down at Cody. "Then you're in the wrong house, Slytherin wouldn't accept some Mudblood." 

"You're dumb" Cody said. "I'm adopted, remember? My real Mom an' Dad were prob'ly wizards." He smirked. "Besides, You-Know-Who wasn't a pure blood either, an' you just love him!" Perhaps this was not the best thing Cody could have said just then, but there was no taking it back. 

Malfoy growled, and whipped his wand from out of his robes. A little alarmed, Cody took a step back and fumbled for his own wand. Luckily, the whole thing was stopped by the arrival of Madame Hooch walking back out to the class. 

There was a little time left in the lesson, and it was spent going over the basic techniques for broom flying. Those students who had flown before were bored, but those like Cody who never had enjoyed the class a great deal. He liked flying a lot, Cody decided. Once the lesson was over, the students were done for the day. 

Cody had some homework, but it wasn't due until the following Monday, so he decided just to write it down on his hand and save it for later. It was a question parchment that he had to answer about the chapter they'd read on goblin rebellions in History of Magic, and it was very boring. 

--- 

There was a bulletin on the House board the next day. The tryouts for the Quidditch teams were to be held the following week, and Cody decided he would try out! He wasn't sure he would get a position, but he intended to try, anyway. He didn't really think he was fast enough to be Seeker, and he didn't really want the position, anyway. Keeper, either, they always had to stay in front of the goalposts, and that was boring. But Beater, or Chaser! Beater, probably, he thought. He wasn't that great at catching things, but he liked to hit things! 

The tryouts were on a Saturday morning, just after breakfast, out on the Quidditch pitch. Cody had eaten very little, not having the appetite. Madame Hooch was on the field, along with the members of the house teams, and a whole lot of people trying out. Cody began to feel a massive bout of self-doubt. He was one of three first years trying out for the game, and he did remember that the book (and other students) always said that first years never got picked for the Quidditch teams. But still, he had to try, didn't he? 

The hopefuls seemed to be being picked in alphabetical order, regardless of their house. They would perform, in front of the Quidditch captains and teams, and their house captain would be the one to ultimately decide if they got in or not. Cody wasn't that fabulous on a broomstick, but he couldn't do any worse than a couple that he'd seen so far, could he? 

Still, when Madame Hooch called his name, he began to shake and very nearly told her that he had changed his mind. But then he took a big breath and stepped forward, as Madame Hooch finished, "...is trying out for the Slytherin team!" She looked down as Cody approached, nervously clutching a school broom. "What position are you trying out for?" she asked him. 

"Uh, B-Beater," Cody stammered. There were a lot of kids trying out for Chaser, he figured he'd have a better chance with Beater. And besides, it looked like fun. 

"All right, then. Go ahead and get on your broom. First, I want to see you fly around the pitch twice, and then hover above me for further instructions." 

Cody nodded. "Yes, ma'am." Biting his lip, Cody mounted his broom, grasped the handle tightly, and kicked off from the ground. He felt the usual thrill of both excited fear, and exhilaration as he shot up into the air. He gave a nervous giggle, then leaned forward a bit so that the broom accelerated forward. Normal flying was not very difficult, all it took was a little nudge forward to go, a slight lean to the side for a turn, and a gentle jerk up on the broom handle to stop. The boy completed two circuits of the pitch, and then descended a bit shakily to hover above Madame Hooch. "Very good," she said to him. "And now, take this Quaffle, and go ahead and put it through one of the goal hoops. For now, I want to see how well you fly with one hand." 

Cody frowned, but took the ball. The Quaffle was big, but he got it tucked under his arm, like the Keepers did. Again he rose, heading for the goal hoops. Flying with only the one hand was difficult! He found out. Clumsily, he banked so that he was parallel to the goal posts, lobbing the Quaffle at the biggest one, and missing it by at least four feet. He heard some laughter drifting up from below, and his face went red. Still, after picking the Quaffle up off the ground and sticking his tongue out at it, he headed back. Madame Hooch acted as if nothing had happened, only giving Cody his next instructions. 

During the course of the tryout, Cody had to fly in circles without getting dizzy, dodge a Bludger that seemed as fast as a bullet to Cody (he got a graze to the arm from that one that nearly knocked him off his broom), use a Beater's bat to hit a few stationary objects that Madame Hooch charmed to hover in midair, and then finally to perform what Beaters did in a match. Holding the bat tightly, Cody swung at the Bludger each time it came at him. Most of the time he missed, but he did manage to hit the thing several times. But he noticed a problem; he could not get enough strength in his arm to do more than deflect it a little, and even that effort was almost enough to knock him halfway off his broom. The one and only time Cody got a good hit on it was toward the end. Frustrated, he took the bat in both hands and swung as hard as he could at the thing. There was a sharp crack, and the Bludger sailed away towards the goalposts. 

Cody might have rejoiced at having hit the ball so hard, had he not had to fight to stay on his broom. He screeched in alarm as he fell, having to drop the bat to clutch wildly at his broomstick. He only barely kept himself from falling off, and very shakily made his way back down to the pitch. 

"Good," said Madame Hooch. "Now go ahead and wait over near the other Slytherins. Team members will be announced at the end of the tryouts." 

"Yes, ma'am." After handing the broom over, he slunk over to where the other Slytherins sat. Many looked amused, but a couple surprised him by telling him it was a good tryout, and that he had tried hard for the position. One even clapped him on the back and grinned at him. Cody grinned sheepishly back. 

Through the tryouts, Cody saw several that were better than he, a few that were about the same, and one or two that were even worse. Still, Cody did not think he would get a position this year. That didn't stop him from hoping against hope that his name would be called. 

It wasn't. The three open positions on the Slytherin team were called, and Cody's name was not there. He tried very hard not to cry, and mostly managed it, at least in front of the other Slytherins. Flint, the captain, looked down at him. "It was a good try," he said to Cody. "Maybe next year, or the year after. Keep trying, that's all you can do." He looked at Cody and smirked a bit. "Slytherins are known for their determination." 

Marcus' little words of encouragement did serve to lift Cody's mood a little. He had to go look up what determination was, but once he found out, he guessed that was true. Another reason he was in Slytherin, he supposed. 

Things went fairly smoothly from there on out, although Cody tended to get more discouraged than the other students. He was younger, after all, and was not as good at most of the subjects. He wasn't too bad at flying, and he was good in Astronomy, and those were his favorite subjects. He couldn't wait until he could take Care of Magical Creatures, though, in third year. 

He did well enough in Potions to avoid too much unpleasantness with his House teacher, and did about the same with Charms. Transfiguration was the most difficult class he had aside from Herbology, and he had to work very hard in that class to avoid flunking. Professor McGonagall asked him, after a few weeks, if he would like a little extra help, and he agreed. 

McGonagall was scary, Cody decided, but he also knew she was a very good person. It was just he wasn't used to her curt, sharp ways, and she often made him feel bad when he didn't really do anything wrong. But after a while, she did seem to soften a bit when dealing with Cody. He asked her once if she had any kids, and she had actually gotten quite offended by this, and cut the lesson short. Cody went to his dorm, very bewildered, and wondering what he had said wrong. After that, he didn't ask her anything that didn't have to do with the lesson, and indeed talked to her very little, period. At least the extra help was doing some good, and he did not have to struggle so much in the class. 

He brooded about it though, and when he got up the courage, he decided that he would ask her about it. One day after classes, he approached her in the hall. "Professor?" he asked timidly. 

Luckily, she was not in a hurry, and seemed to be in as genial a mood as she ever got. "Yes, Mr. DeDannan?" I talk to you?" It being Friday, Cody hoped that she would have a bit of leisure time. 

The teacher seemed a little bit surprised, but she nodded her head a little bit. "All right. Is this something do to with Transfiguration?" 

Cody shook his head. "No...just...stuff." He glanced at a group of girls that were passing them in the hallway, then back to the professor, who nodded again. She beckoned him to follow, and led the way into her classroom, which was empty. 

"Please sit down," said she. 

Cody did, sitting down at one of the desks, scowling, then sitting on the desk itself. Apparently, Professor McGonagall had been teaching the sixth or seventh years, as the desks and chairs were adult sized. McGonagall did not scold him, to her credit, only sat down behind her own desk. "Now, Mr. DeDannan," she said. "What did you want to see me about?" 

She looked mildly curious, but Cody still found himself somewhat intimidated. "Um, w-well..." He hesitated, frowned, then went on. "Well, a bunch of stuff." When she simply kept listening, he went on. "Okay. Well, remember when you were helping me in a lesson, an' I, er, asked if you had kids?" He winced a little, expecting an outburst, but all that happened was that Professor McGonagall's mouth thinned, so that it looked like she didn't have any lips. Cody resisted the urge to giggle. 

"I do remember," she said. 

"Well, you got really mad at me...I kinda wanted to know why." He said this very fast, because he wasn't sure if he'd get it all out if he didn't. 

Professor McGonagall sighed, sitting back in her chair and folding her hands on her desk to peer at Cody. She didn't look mad, but Cody still couldn't be sure with her! "I was not angry," she said, and a ghost of a smile touched her lips as she added, "Nor mad." It took Cody a moment to realize the difference between the two. Angry, versus crazy. He also smiled a little bit. "I am not used to interacting with very young children, and I forget the candidness with which they ask their questions." At Cody's puzzled look, she explained that candidness simply meant bluntness, openness. "Which perhaps is a trait that can sometime be admired, the honesty of youth. Your question took me by surprise." 

"Oh." Cody frowned, trying to think of why that would be a question that would surprise someone. "Is that a _bad_ thing to ask?" 

Professor McGonagall cocked her head. "No...I suppose not. Have you asked others about their children?" 

Cody shrugged. "Sure! I ask lots of people. I like to ask if they've got kids. Everyone else likes talking about their kids, an' like when people ask about them and stuff." 

"Well, why do you consider that your business?" 

Cody might have normally taken offense to this question, but McGonagall's tone suggested that she might just be trying to understand Cody, and so he tried his best to explain. "Not that it's my business," he said, still frowning a little bit. "I just like to ask. I'm a kid! That's the kinda stuff I like to know! Grown-ups care about grown-up stuff, and kids care about kid stuff. A lot of people think asking stuff is nosy, but I don't." 

"No? Is there nothing in your life that you would not care to talk to people about?" 

Cody thought for a few minutes. "Well...I don't think so. I mean, unless I'd get in trouble. Like when I painted the neighbor's dog." He giggled. "I wouldn't tell anyone that when I did it. But even if someone did ask...I'd just say I didn't wanna say, but I'd be nice about it." 

Professor McGonagall seemed to be a bit taken aback by this, and did not say anything for the moment. As he thought about it, from everything he had read, she probably thought it was back-talking to say something like that, to dare to say a teacher wasn't being as polite as she should. But Cody was of the firm opinion that grown-ups had the same obligation to be respectful as they made kids be! "I'm sorry if I was mean," he added in a small voice. "I didn't mean to be." 

At this, Professor McGonagall sighed quietly. "I accept your apology, Mr. DeDannan." 

At this, Cody asked another question. "How come you don't call me Cody like my teachers do at home?" 

"Well," said McGonagall slowly, "It would not be very fair to expect you to call me by a title of respect, if I did not return the favor, now would it?" 

Now it was Cody's turn to be surprised. He guessed that made sense, up to a point. But then he bit his lip. "If I say something you'll probably think is smart-alecky, will you get mad? I mean the angry kind of mad?" 

There was an odd expression on McGonagall's face, and Cody had the impression that she was trying not to smile. That made him feel a bit better. If she was amused, she wasn't mad, after all! "I cannot promise not to get angry, but I can promise to keep my words civil," she finally said. 

Cody nodded. That was fair enough. "Okay. Well, you said you call us Mister and Miss and stuff because you wanna be fair an' show respect an' stuff, right?" She nodded. "Well..." He took a big breath and said the rest of his words in a rush. "Well it kinda doesn't mean a lot, when you're mean to kids for no reason, or if they make a mistake by accident or when they don't know they did something wrong." 

At first, Cody thought that he had perhaps gone too far and gotten himself in a lot of trouble, but after a moment, Professor McGonagall took a breath and let it out slowly, peering at Cody. "So you feel that my gesture of using polite titles with the students is rather an insincere gesture? That, in other matters, I don't treat my students as I expect to be treated?" Timidly, Cody nodded. She was silent for a few moments before speaking again. "Perhaps, in some cases, this is true," she finally said, surprising Cody for the second time in five minutes. "I tend to have a sharp tongue, and forget sometimes, that sharp words and a sharp tongue can affect youth more than it will an adult. It is difficult, at times, to be pleasant towards my students, and at the same time maintain the discipline needed in such a school environment." 

Cody almost did not understand a word that McGonagall was saying, but was not eager to ask. Whatever her faults, he did have to admit that she didn't speak to children in a condescending way. "You mean that sometimes you have to be mean so kids won't act like jerks, but then you forget when you can be nice again?" he finally translated. 

McGonagall smiled, and nodded. "That is what I mean." 

"Oh. I guess I didn't think of that." 

"I'll tell you what, young Mr. DeDannan," said Professor McGonagall, standing from her desk. "I will keep your words in mind, and try to remember that a sharp tongue is sometimes not necessary. And in your turn, you will try to remember that it is sometimes needed, and not to take it to heart as badly as you seem to have." 

Cody actually smiled at her, and nodded. "It's a deal!" 

The woman chuckled, and made to nudge the boy off the desk. "I admire your courage in coming to me and speaking respectfully about it. There aren't many students that would." 

Cody slid off the desk and headed for the door. "Well, you're scary," he explained as they headed out into the hallway. 

Professor McGonagall raised her brows, and looked down at him. Again, he got the impression she was trying to hide a smile. "I was not aware of that," she said. "Well, we'd best head to the Great Hall. I believe it is time for supper to start." 

Cody nodded agreeably, and the pair went to their meals. The boy realized that he never had asked whether asking about people's kids was really offensive or not, and he had never found out if McGonagall even had any. Oh well, he thought. I can find out in other ways. 

--- 

The school year continued. The weather got chillier and chillier, and Cody was less than impressed by this fact. Still, Hogwarts was a fantastic enough place to be for him to easily endure the cold weather. But next time, he was taking some long underwear to wear! 

At Halloween, Cody was disappointed that the students did not dress up, but the feast was fun enough to dull the disappointment some. That, and the excitement with the troll. Cody didn't get the chance to sneak off with Harry and Ron, to confront the troll, but at least it wasn't too boring a night! The Slytherins in the common room that night spent quite a long time talking about it, how a troll could have gotten in, and if someone had maybe _let_ it in. And then the talk ended up about the different kinds of trolls and other dangerous sorts in the wizarding world. Cody was very interested in this and asked several questions, which the others answered willingly enough. Magical creatures could be terrifying! He learned of a creature called a Hairy McBoon, who looked like huge, furry starfish and liked to kill people. He learned about different kinds of dragons, and things like sphinxes and acromantulas. He learned about the Lethifold, which was a big, flat, dark thing kinda like a living cloak. (In fact it was also called a living shroud). It covered a victim and suffocated him, digesting it right there where it attacked, leaving no trace behind. Cody shuddered, hoping there were none of those in Florida! One of the fifth years said they like hot, humid weather. 

One thing that Cody found himself doing an awful lot when he had free time was flying on broomstick. Any time that he could convince Madame Hooch to open the broom storage and let him borrow a school broom, he could be found flying unsteadily around the school, or the Quidditch pitch. He had the feeling that he annoyed Madame Hooch by asking her all the time, but there were not many days when she would not humor him, so he guessed that was okay. He made sure to always thank her. 

As the days and then weeks went on, Cody started to improve in his broom riding. Sometimes he would ask Marcus Flint if he would help Cody with his flying, and perhaps help him practice being a Beater. To his surprise, Marcus did so, more often than he expected. When it wasn't too miserably cold, Cody would go out to the pitch, where Marcus would let loose a Bludger, calling tips and instructions to the boy on the broomstick. Cody found that the only way that he could hit the blasted thing with any strength or accuracy was when he used both hands, which nearly always knocked him off balance. 

"You don't have the strength," Marcus told him after one practice session, when Cody was looking very dejected. "But there nothing in the rules that say a Beater has to use only one hand." Cody looked up, rubbing his eyes. "What you need to do, is practice riding with no hands. Once you can do that easily, you shouldn't have too much of a problem using both hands on the bat. Every Beater, just like every Chaser, Seeker, whatever, has their own style. You just have to find what works for you." 

This idea had not occurred to Cody, but once it was mentioned, he realized it was true. There _were_ no rules that said you had to just use one hand! After that, all his broom practice was with one or no hands. He found that he was fairly steady on his broom, once he learned how to balance, but he wasn't fast. Just as well he wasn't going out for Seeker, as he would not have had a chance. 

--- 

The day of the first Quidditch match was very cold, at least according to Cody. His small, skinny body was not the best for retaining heat, and he was shivering when he got out of bed that morning. He wished again he'd brought some long johns or something. He ended up wearing his winter cloak and dragon hide gloves to all of his classes. 

When school ended that week, Cody found that he was very excited about the upcoming match. He had never seen a Quidditch match, after all, and he could not wait to see his first one! 

The whole school turned out for the matches, it seemed, teachers included. With the hood of his thick, warm winter cloak over his head, his green and silver scarf around his neck, Cody made his way excitedly towards the pitch with all the other Slytherins. He was lucky enough to a seat in the front row, with a group of second years, and it was a fine place to watch from. No tall people were in his way, and he was small enough that no one minded him being up front. He stood behind the barrier than kept people from falling to the ground below, fidgeting a bit as he waited for the match to start. 

Cody had wondered what he would do when it came to Quidditch, whether he would root for Gryffindor or Slytherin, but he found that by this point, his loyalty was to Slytherin. The Sorting Hat knew what it was doing, he reasoned, so he was here for a purpose. And he did seem to fit in just fine, at least for now. He could worry about his later years, well, later. He cheered just as loudly as the rest when the green-clad Slytherin team exited from the waiting area below. 

When the whistle blew, the players all rose, and Cody laughed delightedly. There was a moment or two where he was very envious of the players zooming around the field on their brooms, but he vowed that he would do better next year. After that, he was too excited about the game to wallow in self-pity. 

It was dangerous, that was for sure, but that only made all the more appealing to Cody. Danger was fun, depending on the danger! He cheered wildly when Slytherin scored, and groaned when Gryffindor did. He watched, holding his breath, as Harry Potter zoomed toward the tiny Golden Snitch on his broomstick, his countenance determined, and finally lunged at the thing. For a moment, Cody thought he'd missed it, for it was nowhere in sight, but then he gagged, and the little ball was spit out of his mouth. 

Of course, Gryffindor won, but that was all right, Cody had enjoyed the match a great deal. He made a face when Harry spit the Snitch out of his mouth, but could not help giggling. That really was a gross way to catch a Snitch, he thought. It almost looked like he barfed it up! 

After the match, Cody made his way down among the throngs of students, feeling drained, but happy. True, they hadn't won, but it had been a lot of fun! 

After the match, Cody and the second-years he had stood near excitedly relived the match as they all thronged back towards Hogwarts. The discussion veered from the match to Quidditch in general, and one of the girls took it upon herself to educate Cody as to the national teams, who they played for, and a brief history of the team itself. Cody didn't think he'd remember it all, but it was interesting to listen! 

--- 

It was cold in England, and after the match, it only got colder. Eventually, Cody experienced something he had never seen before except for on television: snow. One Sunday after breakfast, he went outside to discover that the entire grounds had been covered with white, fluffy snow, and it was still coming down! The little boy stared in fascination for quite a long time at the strange snow, finally laughing in delight at the wonder of it. He had seen it on television, yes, but that was nothing to prepare one for seeing it in real life. 

After gaping at the soft snowfall, Cody laughed and ran out onto the grounds. The snow was not deep yet, only an inch or two, but it was enough for Cody to thoroughly enjoy playing in it. Even his dislike for cold weather had not gotten in the way of his enjoyment! 

He did not come back inside until lunchtime, by that time quite damp from the snow, and was teased a bit by the older students, some of whom had seen his childish antics. He took this teasing in good grace, only grinning and shrugging. He couldn't really argue, after all. He probably had looked amusing to older eyes; at least no one had called him cute! 

--- 

As Christmas time grew near, Cody signed his name to the "stay-at-school" list, as he was fairly sure that when he home at the end of the year, he would find that no time had passed. And so he wasn't worried about missing holidays with his family. 

Christmas at the castle was very fun. There were not many students about, and they of course had no classes. The decorations were spectacular, and Cody realized that a lot of them really were live fairies! He poked one once to see what would happen, only to have her get quite huffy, fly up, and poke him in the eye. With a yell, he swatted at her, but missed, and ended up calling her a butthead. Of course, then he had to run, because several of the fairies seemed to take offense to that, and flew at him. Once he was out of the room, though, he was safe, and vowed never to go around poking the Christmas decorations again unless he was sure they weren't going to poke him back! 

Christmas morning, Cody found to his astonishment that he had a few presents! He found Hagrid had sent him some chocolate that the note said was from Honeydukes, and found it was absolutely delicious. He made a note to visit Hagrid sometime that day and thank him. One of the girls in fifth year, a girl named Kathy that he'd made friends with, had given him a little spinning top. He wondered if it was a Sneakoscope, but he realized it was not, it was only a bright, spinning top. He decided to make her a card and leave it in her dorm for when she got back from visiting her family. 

After breakfast, during which hardly any students were present, Cody made his way to Hagrid's hut. When he knocked on the door, he was let in by the gentle giant. "Thanks for the chocolate!" Cody exclaimed. 

Hagrid chuckled. "Ah, yer welcome, Cody. How're you doin' this Christmas?" 

"Great! This place is really cool on Christmas! I like the huge trees, an' all the decorations, and stuff." He paused, then added, "But I don't like the fairy ones." 

Hagrid looked at Cody curiously. "Why not?" 

The boy scowled. "Because one of them poked my eye!" 

There was a sort of strained look on Hagrid's face that Cody thought looked suspiciously like he was trying not to laugh, but somehow couldn't get himself to feel mad at Hagrid for it. Hagrid was too likable. But that fact annoyed Cody even more! "Well now, are you sure you didn't rile it up somehow firs'?" he asked shrewdly. 

Cody looked at him for a minute, wanting to deny it, but how could he, after all? Hagrid had guessed right. "Well...I mighta poked it first," he admitted. 

At this, Hagrid did laugh aloud, and patted Cody on the back, sending him to the floor. "Well there yeh are, then! I'd say yeh got yer just desserts." He winked at Cody, who had stood again and crossed his arms indignantly. Hagrid chuckled, and ruffled the child's hair. "Now, yeh're tough enough to take a fairy attack, aren't yeh?" 

Cody tried very hard to stay mad at Hagrid, but it was a complete waste of time. He ended up laughing, and nodding. "I guess," he said agreeably, then got to the reason he had visited, which was to wish Hagrid a... "Merry Christmas!" 

"And a Happy Christmas to you, kiddo. Like some tea?" 

"Sure!" Cody didn't like tea all that much, but it seemed to be something that they drank here a great deal. It was okay, he supposed, with a lot of sugar, and it was nice and hot, at least. Hagrid put a pot on, and the two talked. "I gotta get into a snowball fight today," Cody declared, looking out at all the snow on the grounds. 

"Is that so?" Hagrid asked, pouring Cody a cup that looked minuscule in Hagrid's hand. 

"Yep! Thanks." Cody took a tiny sip and winced, opting to wait until it had cooled a little. "I think I'll throw a snowball at Marcus," he said with a giggle. "I can pretend it's a Bludger." 

"There's an idea," said Hagrid. "I saw yeh tryin' out for the team. Yeh're not too awfully bad, yeh know. Just gotta practice more." 

"It's hard!" Cody exclaimed, taking another little sip of tea. "The Bludgers are really heavy, I have to use both hands to hold the bat. Marcus says that I should learn to fly with no hands, and practice like that, and I should be okay. I'm gonna practice all the time." 

"Sounds like good advice to me, kiddo." 

The two shared a bit more conversation, before Cody stood up and stretched, feeling hyper. "Thanks for the tea. What're you gonna do today?" 

"Well, probably go an' visit Hogsmeade for a bit, then head back for the feast tonight." 

"If you come back early, we can have a snowball fight!" Cody said with a grin. 

"I dunno, Cody. Look at my hands. Just think of the snowball I could make!" He held his vast hands out for Cody to look at, an impish, mock-threatening glint in his eyes. 

Cody giggled. "That's okay! It'd be fun anyways!" 

"We'll see. Now go on, get out an' have some fun." 

Cody let himself be shooed out of the hut, and ran across the snow. It wasn't too cold today, and several other students were out enjoying the snow with sleds and the like. So far as he could tell, some were using magic to make themselves go faster. And now, Marcus. 

He ultimately spotted Marcus standing out in the courtyard, talking with three other Slytherins. The child hid behind a tree, gathered a nice, big snowball in his hands, and then hurled it at the older boy with all his strength. His aim was off, and fell both a bit short and a bit to the left. Catching the movement, Flint glanced quickly to see what it was, then shrugged and turned back to his conversation. Behind the tree, Cody waited several moments before crouching to make another snowball, and trying again. 

This time his aim was right on, and the snowball broke apart on marcus' head, making his eyes go wide in surprise. Marcus, cursed mildly and spun around to see who had thrown it; as Cody was standing in plain sight, with a big grin all over his face, it was not difficult to deduce who had thrown it. "That little twerp," he growled, torn between annoyance and amusement. "Can't get a Quaffle through a hoop, but he can hit me in the head... I'll be back," he told the other Slytherins, and ran after his assailant. Laughing, the Slytherins followed. 

When Cody looked behind him, he saw all four of the Slytherins coming after him, two of them swooping down to gather snowballs in their hands. His eyes went wide and he gave a playful yell, ducking behind a nearby tree. One snowball hit him, but the other was blocked. Cody laughed, and gathered another snowball. 

A couple of Ravenclaw third years saw the unfair fight, and one of them pointed. "C'mon! Let's even it up!" she called, a grin on her face. Suddenly, Cody had help, and soon, a fast and intense snowball battle ensued. 

The snow flew furiously, and a few other students even joined in, including a Gryffindor and two Hufflepuffs. Playing is the answer, Cody thought once. There were people from each house out there, hurling snowballs, and laughing. It should be like that more often. But then a snowball by the Gryffindor hit him in the back of the head, and he turned to get his revenge with his own ball. 

By the time the fight was over, every student there was soaking wet, cold, out of breath, and laughing. Marcus came over and slapped Cody lightly upside the head. "You happy now?" he growled, trying to sound annoyed, but Cody wasn't fooled a single bit. 

"Yep!" he said happily. 

Marcus smirked. "Glad to hear it." And with that, he dumped the handful of snow he'd been hiding in his robes down the back of Cody's own cloak. He screeched, his eyes going wide, and he jerked away, giving him a look of shocked indignation. And then he started to laugh. He was frantically trying to get the snow out of his clothing as Marcus and the other Slytherins headed back towards the castle. 

After the cold of the snowball fight, Cody also headed inside, intending to find a nice, big fire to warm himself by, and ended up in the Slytherin common room. He went upstairs and took his clothing off, getting into dry things, and took his wet clothing down to hang by the fire. After warming himself a bit, and answering a question or two as to how he had gotten all wet, he set out to find some more mischief to get into. 

He met Peeves the poltergeist personally the first time that day. He had seen the impish ghost here and there, but today, he had the misfortune of being the only student in the hall when the bored poltergeist came by. "Ooo, what's this?" Peeves cried delightedly from above, startling Cody. The boy looked up. "An ickle anklebiter! Now what're you doing in Hogwarts, hmmm?" 

"Anklebiter!" Cody cried indignantly. "I am not!" He had figured out long before that "ickle" meant "little", usually teasing or sarcastic. 

Peeves laughed obnoxiously. "You look like it to me!" Peeves laughed, and dove at Cody, who ducked to the floor. "That's okay with me, though, I like playing with ickle anklebiters!" 

Cody spun around to glare at the annoying ghost, who had disappeared through one of the walls. He stuck his tongue out at the pest, and continued on his way. It was a bit foolish to think that Peeves would give up tormenting a student so easily, however. He screamed in startlement as Peeves suddenly burst from one of the rooms, carrying an urn that was held too high for Cody to see what was in it. "Leave me alone!" Cody said angrily, shaking a fist at him. 

Peeves cackled and hovered above Cody, who glared right up at him. "If you say so!" With that, he turned the urn over. 

A cascade of milk fell on top of Cody's head, and he yelped in shock as the ice-cold liquid drenched him all over again. Peeves laughed uproariously at the stunned look on Cody's face, and tossed the urn aside, zooming away. 

Cody was too mad to be able to sputter anything insulting enough as the poltergeist made his exit, and so he picked up the urn and threw it as hard as he could after the retreating ghost. 

Draco Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle rounded the corner of the corridor just as Cody did this, and blinked in mild surprise as the urn clattered by. "Cody?" said Draco, raising a brow. Cody turned to Draco, a scowl still on his face. "What - you're drenched," Draco said, looking puzzled. He took in Cody's bedraggled appearance, and the milk on the floor. 

"I know!" sputtered Cody. "Peeves poured a whole bunch of milk on me!" 

Crabbe and Goyle snickered at this, and even Draco started laughing aloud. 

Cody's scowl deepened. "It's not funny!" he exclaimed, but now that the shock was over, he also found himself laughing at his own expense. He looked down at his robes, which were soaked in milk. "Yuck! That jerk!" 

Still laughing, Malfoy clapped Cody on his soggy shoulder. "At least you're not wearing your winter cloak," he said. "Just go put your stuff in the laundry, and hop in the shower. You've got other clothes, right?" 

Cody sighed, shaking his head. "Yeah, I already had to change them once! Snowball fight," he explained. 

"Well, at least the day wasn't boring," drawled Malfoy, as he and the other two moved along. Cody looked down at himself again, and had to admit that this was true. It had not been boring. 

Cody was dry and clean by the time of the Christmas feast. When he walked into the Great Hall, the house tables were sparsely populated, but the food was no less delicious. There was turkey, and ham, and steaming, buttery vegetables, as well as the usual strange stuff that Hogwarts seemed to offer its students for edibles. Cody got himself a nice, big helping of potatoes and ham, and after a moment, some veggies as well, and told the others at the table about his run-in with Peeves. Marcus seemed to think this was very funny, and now that the incident was over with, so did Cody. It occurred to him that he had left the urn and the milk on the floor, and Filch was going to be really mad about it. Well, it wasn't me that spilled it, Cody thought. It was Peeves. Besides, he hated Filch and his scraggly cat as much as all the other students did, and so he thought it only fitting that the old creep had to clean it up. Besides, there was no way Filch would know. 

After the feast, Cody crept back to the Slytherin common room, stifling the urge to yawn. While the other students were keen to party for a while, Cody ended up curling up on a chair and simply watching. He missed his parents. He was surprised that it took this long for him to feel homesick, but then Hogwarts was a grand distraction, and classes had kept the child very busy. Busier than most, as these were things that were designed for students four years older than he was. And now, he was very tired, especially after the large meal he'd eaten. 

It seemed impossible that anyone could get to sleep while the most of the students were carrying on, but Cody managed it. Around eleven, which was usually as late as he ever managed to stay up, the boy drifted into slumber, curled comfortably into the plush chair. When the party tapered off, one of the first years went to wake him, but was stopped by Draco. "Ah, just let him sleep. Least we can't hear him talking all night if he's out here." Cody did tend to talk a lot in his sleep. 

The other first year nodded, and they headed for bed, leaving Cody sleeping in the common room. 


	5. Year 1, Chapter 5: Adventure's End

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._******

**Chapter 5: Adventure's End**

After the holidays, things got back to normal, at least as normal as things got around Hogwarts. Cody endured some teasing for having fallen asleep in the common room, and ended up draped face first over the arm of the chair in a very undignified position. He took this teasing in good humor, laughing along with the others. It _was_ funny, after all! He had had a head rush when he was woken, and was dizzy for a half hour. 

He took to asking some of the other students about Professor McGonagall, and whether she had any kids or not. It was Kathy, the fifth year Slytherin Cody was friends with, that ended up telling him why the professor had gotten so angry about Cody's inquiry. "No, most adults don't mind being asked at all," she said to Cody. She spoke quietly, as the pair headed for lunch one day. "Not a lot of people know this, but my mum's a friend of hers and I've heard them talking. She was once married, and yeah, she had a kid. Just one. A daughter. She's not our age or anything, she'd be an adult now, if, well..." She hesitated, looking at Cody, and then continued. "Well it's not a really nice thing to hear. Her daughter and her husband were killed a while back, by, well...you can guess. You-Know-Who killed a lot of wizards, him and his Death Eaters. Just for entertainment, sometimes. McGonagall's daughter and husband were two of them. Her daughter had just graduated from Hogwarts, too." 

Cody looked at Kathy, his eyes very wide, but said nothing. He wasn't sure what he expected, but it hadn't been that! Shocked, he turned back around to watch where he was going, and vaguely felt Kathy's hand on his shoulders. "Easy, kiddo." 

"I-I'm okay." He wasn't though. He was feeling highly sympathetic towards the Transfiguration teacher. How awful that had to be, to have a kid get killed. Or a husband, he supposed, though at his age there was no way he could comprehend the kind of love a married couple shared. He still knew it would be awful. 

"Not a lot of people know, so don't tell anyone, okay?" said Kathy. 

Cody promised. 

At lunch, he gazed up at the staff table through most of the meal, watching Professor McGonagall talking with the other teachers. He supposed that he would have gotten defensive, too, if someone asked him about his kid who got killed. Voldemort is the biggest jerk in the entire world, he thought angrily, as he attacked his meal. He hardly tasted it. He tended to be quiet the next couple of days, thinking about things like death. It wasn't a subject he often thought about, as few children really did. It really wasn't a very nice subject. But he was glad Kathy had told him, anyway. It was better to understand things, he thought. After a while, he was able to put the subject to the back of his mind. 

--- 

One night, as Cody was writing a very boring report on a poison cure they'd learned about in Potions, he heard Draco talking about a dragon. Interested, Cody abandoned his report for the moment, and went over to listen in. Draco did not seem to care of Cody heard or not, as he spoke with Crabbe and Goyle. "He's got a _what_?" came Crabbe's dull voice. 

"That's right," said Draco, a malicious glint in his eye. "A dragon. A hatchling. Potter was there at Hagrid's one night, with Weasley and Granger. I followed them and saw it... I've kept quiet for now. But now they're trying to get rid of it." 

"How?" asked Goyle. 

Draco smirked. "Potter and the Mudblood're gonna meet someone who'll take the dragon tomorrow night. I'm gonna go 'accidentally' see them at it, and tell McGonagall." 

Crabbe and Goyle, who were by no great stretch of the imagination geniuses, snickered in appreciation of this bit of sneakery. 

"That oughta get them detention for about a week," smirked Malfoy. 

Cody thought this was exceedingly nasty, even though he knew that Harry would come out of it all right. Still, he wondered what would happen if he tried to warn Harry and the others ahead of time, if he would be able to. That could save the trio being shunned by the school for losing the house points. Cody had always thought that was very unfair. And so, silently, he vowed to try. 

Unfortunately, things didn't work out the way he planned. The next night, Cody gave Draco a head start out of the common room, and waited a little bit so that he didn't realize Cody was following. The problem was, Cody didn't know which tower they were going to use, and so ended up roaming the corridors frantically, trying to catch a sound of their footfalls or their voices. 

As he was beginning to fear that it was too late, he did hear footsteps, and ran towards them. They were too light to be an adult's, who else could it be? 

As it turned out, they were Neville's, and both boys had to stifle a startled yelp as they nearly collided. "What're you doing here?" Neville asked Cody in surprise. 

Oh yeah, Cody thought. Poor Neville had also been caught. Cody wondered if he'd be caught too; he certainly intended to try and avoid it! "Well... Harry Potter's got a dragon," said Cody. "Him and Hermione Granger. And, well...they're gonna get caught. I wanted to warn them, but I dunno where they are." He left out mention of Draco. If Neville mentioned it to anyone at Gryffindor, well, Cody didn't want the Slytherins getting word of it. He had to live with them, after all! 

"Oh." Neville looked a little suspicious, but Cody did manage to stay on fairly good terms with the Gryffindors for the most part, and so the suspicion was very mild. "I heard that too." 

"But I dunno what tower they're using!" 

"It's the astronomy one," Neville said. "I heard them talking." 

"Oh! I know where that is, c'mon, we gotta warn them!" 

The two boys started off, but both froze in their tracks at the sound of a stern voice clearing its throat. Cody gulped and slowly turned around. So much for not getting caught, he thought, staring suddenly up into Professor McGonagall's face. She really was scary! Neville's face was white, and Cody thought his probably was, too. It seemed he could not think of anything to say! 

"Explain yourself." The professor spoke very softly, but somehow that was even worse than when she yelled. Definitely scary, Cody thought, fully intimidated. He thought he might be more scared of her than Snape! 

"W-well, Professor," Neville stammered. He and Cody exchanged glances, and Cody shrugged his shoulders up to indicate he had no idea what he should say. After a moment of McGonagall's severe gaze, however, Neville had told her what he'd told Cody, that he heard that Harry and Hermione had a dragon. 

McGonagall sounded disgusted. "A dragon. Mr. Malfoy spouted the same nonsense to me." Clearly not believing this, the professor shook her head in disbelief. "Well, we'll just see about this. Follow me." And she turned and left, as if expecting them to do nothing else but exactly what she told them to. Miserably, Neville sighed, and followed along, and Cody trailed after him. He had to run here and there to keep up. 

Once Malfoy, Harry, and Hermione had been brought to McGonagall, the scene went pretty much as Cody remembered it; McGonagall assumed that the Gryffindors had told the story in order to trick Malfoy, and mentioned that Cody and Neville had also overheard this "lie". Aside from Harry and Hermione, only Cody knew that the dragon story was true. Points were taken from Gryffindor, they were all royally told off, and given detentions. Cody gave Neville a little wave, which Neville glumly returned as he followed Harry and Ron back towards their tower. Cody followed Draco towards their own common room. 

"What were you doing with that little fat Squib, anyway?" Draco said irritably. 

Cody scowled. "Neville's not a Squib," he said. Close, maybe, he thought, but close didn't count. "Besides, I like him. And I just ran into him when I was trying to find you guys." 

"You keep doing that, people'll going to think you're a traitor." 

Boy, Malfoy was in one grouchy mood! "They will not!" Cody said indignantly. Loyalty was a concept very important to him, and the insinuation that he was a traitor made him mad! "People'll're allowed to talk to people in other houses! Besides, I wanted to see the dragon." 

Malfoy snorted. "You just watch who you make friends with. There are people you don't want as an enemy around here." 

Cody stopped walking, letting Malfoy get ahead of him, and scowled at the older boy's back for a full thirty seconds. Then he stomped after him. He didn't let himself catch up, though, he was too mad at him, and didn't trust himself not to kick Draco's shins. And Draco knew more hexes than Cody did. Climbing back into bed, Cody wondered whether this had been the brightest thing he'd ever done. 

--- 

Within the next few days, when Cody began noticing how mean people were being to Harry and the others for losing the house points, he recognized the shallow attitudes. He didn't know the words to describe it, but he did recognize how petty they were being. What kind of people made someone's life miserable just because they made a mistake? Especially since they were trying to help a friend! This was why he rather thought the House point system was a stupid idea. 

Cody had told a few people that they were acting like jerks, being mean just because someone made a mistake. He ran into mixed reactions about that, from both the Slytherins and the Gryffindors. Some weren't entirely happy with a seven year old kid telling him off, but some seemed to think he'd done the right thing. Still, even with this bit of encouragement, Cody was in a very irritable mood for the next few days. 

When came the time for the detention, everyone got a note telling them when their detention would be. Cody explained to Merlin why he couldn't come along, as Cody was afraid that something in the forest could easily eat the young fruit bat. Merlin seemed disappointed, but did stay behind as he was told. A little before eleven, Cody followed Malfoy out to where Filch was waiting to lead them to Hagrid's hut. He did so, lecturing them the whole way, in his nasty, bitter voice. Cody could see that hating Filch was, at the very least, something that all five students agreed on. And the way Filch talked about how they used to punish students, by hanging them in the dungeon for a few days, made Cody shudder. How could anyone want to do that to people? He'd also heard rumors that they used to whip students to keep them in line! With a real whip! He hoped that didn't ever happen again. 

The students would be working with Hagrid for this, looking for a hurt unicorn, and possibly the thing that was attacking them, for it was not a common occurrance to see a dead unicorn, and this would be the second. 

Malfoy had said very little to Cody since the incident, and Cody didn't mind all too much. He was rather smug to see how scared the older Slytherin boy was about going into the forest. Cody, himself, was rather eager. He liked spooky places, and wouldn't mind meeting a werewolf. Like most children, the possible consequences of danger never seemed real or possible until they happened. 

Hagrid showed them a small puddle of unicorn blood, which made Cody feel a little ill to his stomach. It looked to him like something someone might barf up if they'd eaten silver spray paint and milk all day. And then they were split into groups, with Neville, Draco, and himself being sent off with Hagrid's boarhound, Fang. Cody absentmindedly pet the dog as they set off, searching for where the trail ended. He knew the charm to set off sparks, and had it ready in case they needed help. 

"So...do...do either of you know what can kill a unicorn?" Neville asked nervously, his wand out, peering between the trees. 

Cody didn't answer. He knew, all right, but wasn't about to tell the other two! "How should I know?" Malfoy said, scowling. "Just follow the trail." 

Neville frowned, as Malfoy moved on ahead of him and Cody. Cody was liking the boy less and less. It occurred to him just then that Draco's father had been a supporter of Voldemort, the wizard who had killed many innocent people, and tortured so many more. He shuddered a little bit. No, he decided. Draco really wasn't a very good person to have as a friend. 

"Hey," said Neville, nudging Cody out of his reverie. "Where'd Malfoy go?" 

Cody blinked, and looked around. Malfoy seemed to have disappeared. "I...don't know," Cody said, frowning. He got his own wand out of his robes, his hand shaking slightly. Even knowing things would be okay, it was still very scary in the woods, the moon and stars shining eerily through the strange shapes of the trees. Cody heard sounds in the woods, sounds that he couldn't even come close to identifying, and a distant howl set the hair on the back of his neck on end. As if on silent command, he and Neville each took a step towards each other. "Sure is creepy," Cody said, looking nervously around. 

"Y-yeah. What if a werewolf got at Malfoy? I-I mean, I don't like him, but still." 

Cody knew what Neville meant. He didn't think he would want Malfoy to get eaten by a werewolf, even if he _was_ a jerk. He was about to reply, when something grabbed his neck from behind, and he let out a cry of fear and alarm. As Neville let out a frightened squeak, Cody spun around to see Draco's smirking face. Cody clenched his fists, his first impulse to punch Draco's nose for him, bigger or not, when he noticed that Neville had thrown out his wand and sent up sparks in his panic. Draco seemed like he would die laughing, as Neville finally realized who it had been. 

Maybe Draco being eaten wasn't that bad an idea! "You jerk!" Cody exclaimed, his heart beating very fast and his hands shaking. "Now Hagrid's gonna think we're in trouble!" 

And, indeed, he did. The three boys were found by Hagrid, who really let Draco have it in the form of an angry tirade. Cody took the opportunity to persuade his heart to calm itself down, and to stop his hands from trembling. 

After they were brought to where Harry and Hermione had been left, Neville was brought along with Hagrid, and Harry went with Draco. Hagrid asked Cody if he wanted to come with him as well, but Cody said that was okay, he'd go back out with Draco. "It's fun bein' scared," he explained. His face was white but it was fun, in a way, and he was eager not to be thought a coward. Hagrid shook his head, but let the boy go back out. 

The trio was quiet as they went back out in search of the unicorn. Harry seemed to know what he was doing, and so Cody only walked alongside the other two, looking around. Suddenly, Harry stopped the Slytherins, and pointed. 

Cody gasped as he looked down, and took a couple of steps further, gaping in horror at the sheer white creature that lay motionless on the ground. The unicorn was dead, and Cody felt tears spring to his eyes. He liked animals, after all, and had never seen a dead one before. The unicorn's beauty seemed to make it that much worse. It made him very sad. 

But then his sadness was overridden by a much stronger feeling; terror. All three heard a slithering sound, and Cody suddenly remembered just who Harry met in the middle of the forest. A hooded figure stooped to lower its head to the wound in the unicorn's body, beginning to drink its blood. Cody felt like he might throw up. 

Malfoy and Fang both let a shrill scream, which nearly made Cody faint, and he spun to watch them running away as fast as they could. Cody didn't seem to be able to move his feet, although he would have loved to. Beside him, Harry dropped to his knees, his hands over the scar on his head. 

Cody was desperately trying to convince his legs to move, when something jumped over both boys, running at the slithering thing, and driving it off. Cody stared in shocked fascination at the centaur. The centaur nodded at Cody, then turned his attention to Harry. Cody simply watched in a sort of faint shock, leaning weakly against the nearest tree. The centaur, Firenze, introduced himself to the boys, and Cody managed to speak loudly enough to tell Firenze his name. Firenze told them they had to get out of the forest, and quickly, and told them to ride on his back. Harry climbed up, but Cody hesitated, thinking it seemed awful disrespectful. But a moment later, he also climbed up, thanking Firenze for helping them. This was before two more centaurs arrived on the scene, and started a tirade about getting involved with humans. Cody was offended, but said nothing. He was thrown from Firenze's back when the centaur reared up at one of the others, Bane; Cody landed ungracefully on the ground, and Harry had to help him back up as the centaurs argued. Cody decided that centaurs were not people to mess with. 

Finally, Firenze had his final word and galloped off with the two boys on his back, hanging on for dear life. 

On the ride back, Cody listened to Harry and Firenze speaking, while he tried to calm himself down. He became aware that he was still clutching his wand, and put it back in his robe pockets. At least he hadn't lost that! 

When they were dropped off at the edge of the woods, and Firenze told Hagrid where the unicorn was, the students headed back to the castle, and no one talked. 

--- 

That night in his dormitory, Cody lay awake, too shaken by the encounter to sleep. Instead, he lay with his eyes wide open, going over and over in his mind how it had felt, staring right into the face of the most feared evil wizard in the country. It wasn't just how ghastly the dark figure looked, with the shining unicorn blood dripping down his front. It wasn't just the way he slithered like a snake, or how tall and menacing he looked in the black cloak. It was the sheer taint that Cody felt as the monster had drawn near to them. It was the unnatural fear that such an evil being struck into Cody's chest, making it feel like there was something in there, chewing the inside of his ribs. It was the way you could feel, almost smell the vileness that had corrupted the evil wizard's heart. 

Cody knew that Voldemort had been living off another person like some kind of leech, that his powers were at their lowest. How horrible could Voldemort have been at the height of his power? 

Clenching his teeth against the urge to whimper, Cody threw open the curtains of his four-poster and got into his trunk, drawing out the stuffed Simba he had brought along. He didn't care of the other Slytherins found out, or laughed. He closed the curtains again, closing himself in, and curling up under the covers. 

He did plan on telling a few people, quietly, of just how "brave" Draco had been in the forest, however. Of how he screamed like a girl and ran. That'd teach him. 

--- 

Life at Hogwarts went on. Cody didn't see much of the Gryffindors, but he was realizing that for the most part, they were much nicer people! Cody wished he had been Sorted with them. He did sometimes get to talk with them, and while some didn't like him much because he was a Slytherin, some were perfectly friendly. He found himself fascinated with Ron's twin brothers and their antics, and would often watch them on the grounds, or at mealtimes. They had always been among his favorites in the books, after all! 

It was the weekend, and a fairly nice day in the spring. Many of the students were outside, enjoying the weather, and Cody was not an exception. Wearing jeans and a short-sleeved shirt, with his school robes over his clothing, Cody had been climbing a tree when he noticed George and Fred Weasley come to sit under the very tree he was in. Deciding to be quiet at first, he crept down to the bottom branch to listen. To his amusement, he realized the twins had their older brother's prefect badge again, and stifled a giggle. Cody couldn't stand Percy, and was always glad when someone gave him a bit (or a lot) of mischief. 

"What should we put this time?" one of them asked. Cody had no idea which one; he still didn't know how people told them apart. 

"I dunno, I always thought 'pinhead' worked just fine. Suits him well enough." 

"No, we can't put the same thing on it each time, whether it fits him or not," the other argued. "People'd think we're losing our touch. We've got to think of something more creative." 

"How about 'Defect'?" Cody suggested from above the twins. He stifled the urge to giggle as the boys stood quickly, startled by Cody's appearance. 

"What the - where'd you come from?" one asked, frowning. 

Cody grinned, and shrugged. "I was in this tree before, and you guys came and sat down." 

Both twins peered at Cody for a few moments, before walking back under the tree to talk to him. Cody wasn't that high up, and when they were on their feet, the twins were nearly level with the boy. "Aren't you that weird little Slytherin kid?" one finally asked. 

Cody blinked at this, and then giggled. He wondered who said he was weird. "I guess so," he said cheerfully. "I'm in Slytherin. You guys are the Weasley twins, right?" 

"Yeah," they said together. "I'm Fred," one said. 

"And I'm George." 

"I'm Cody, how do people know which one of you's which?" he asked them, climbing down from his tree. 

At this, Fred laughed. "Well now, that's our secret," he said, with a conspiratorial wink. "It's what makes it easy, sometimes, to manage our mischief." He sat down again, clearly intending to get back to his task of bewitching Percy's badge. 

George also sat down, looking curiously at Cody. "Hermione said you're a decent sort," he said to Cody. "So I suppose we can't hold being in Slytherin against you." 

"What's decent mean?" 

George shrugged. "Just means you're a nice person. Not a miserable git like most the people in your house." 

"Oh!" Cody sat down next to the twins, peering at Percy's badge. "How do you change the letters on that anyway?" he asked. 

"It's a fairly simple charm," George said. "We learned it in our second year. I reckon Flitwick'll have you guys learning it soon." 

Nothing was said for a while, while the twins discussed what they should change the badge to. After a while, though, Fred looked at Cody, who was watching curiously. "Don't you have something to do?" he asked. 

Cody shook his head. "Nah. I was climbing trees, but I'm not now. Besides, I like watching you do stuff." 

Fred raised his brows. "You do? Why's that?" 

Cody grinned. "'Cuz it's funny! I wish I could do a lot of the stuff you guys do. Maybe when I learn more magic." 

"Suppose that makes sense," said Fred. 

"Hey...what's a toerag?" Cody asked suddenly. He always wondered what it meant, ever since he'd read it in one of the books. 

Fred blinked. "You don't know?" he said. 

Cody shook his head. "I never heard it before, except here. American people don't say it." 

Fred and George looked slightly taken aback at this, apparently not having thought about the differences in slang between the two countries. "Weird," George muttered. "It's weird having an American here." 

Cody grinned. "It's weird to be here, too!" 

"Well," said Fred (at least Cody _thought_ it was Fred). "A toerag used to mean a hobo, you know, a beggar or something like that. But now it just means a totally contemptible person. Someone who has no redeeming qualities whatsoever." 

"A scumbag?" Cody said. 

The twins laughed, and George nodded. "That's about it!" 

"Oh. What's a git, then?" 

"This child's education is severely lacking," said George, with an expression of mock despair and astonishment in his tone. "We should teach him, Fred." 

Fred snickered. "Right, and have his mum come after us for corrupting him!" He looked at Cody and chuckled. "We're only teasing you. A git is kinda the same as a toerag, just kinda more insignificant. More like an annoying little creep." 

That was about what Cody had guessed about "git". It was akin to "jerk". He liked it, he decided. He would have to use it more often. 

For about twenty minutes, Cody and the twins talked about different words of insult and slang. He learned that a prat was someone stupid, and that if something gave you the collywobbles, it gave you the creeps. He learned that "wotcher" was like saying hello, and a "cuppa" was a cup of tea. 

"You have weird words here," said Cody during a lull in the conversation. 

George clapped a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Stick around us," he said to him, "and you'll soon be flingin' insults like a true Englishman!" 

Cody giggled again. "Cool! Then I can use them at home, an' no one'll know!" 

"A man after our own hearts," said Fred. 

"Indeed," said George. "Well, young Cody, it's time we're off. Don't want to miss lunch, you know. Plus, we've got to get this badge back to Percy before he suspects something." 

The twins stood, and Fred raised his hand to wave at Cody as they left. "Nice talkin' with you, kid. Don't do anything we wouldn't do!" 

Feeling happy that he had gotten a chance to talk with the twins, Cody waved back at them, grinning widely. They were fun! He made a vow that he would talk to them more often, maybe he could even help them in their mischief making! Now there was something that sounded worthwhile! 

He didn't see the twins again that day, but he did cross paths with Percy, and was delighted that the twins had taken his suggestion. He snickered as he read "Defect" on Percy's prefect badge. Percy got all indignant that Cody seemed to be laughing at him, and ordered him to get to the Slytherin common room, where he belonged. Feeling smug, he didn't even protest, and walked away. He wondered how long it would take for Percy to realize what the twins had done. 

--- 

As Spring began to draw to a close, Cody found that exams were not far away. The idea of final exams intimidated Cody almost as much as the Forbidden Forest did, as he had always heard high school kids talking about them, and how hard they were. Cody wasn't even sure what an exam was, he thought it had something to do with getting your eyes checked for glasses. He finally asked Professor Snape what it meant, and was surprised when Snape simply told him that an examination was a test. Not even a little remark about Cody not being smart enough to already know the information. Once he realized it was a test, things made a little more sense, but he was still scared. They didn't get many tests in second grade, and the ones they got were easy to a boy of his intelligence. But these were not ordinary tests. He fervently hoped he did not fail them. 

He found as the day arrived, that the exams were not quite so bad as he had anticipated. The Potions one wasn't bad, he produced a fairly passable Forgetfulness Potion. Transfiguration was his most dismal test, as the snuffbox he was trying to turn his mouse into ended up having moving feet, whiskers, and a tail. Maybe he wouldn't fail, as he did manage to transfigure it somewhat, but he was sure he'd get an horrible grade. 

For Charms, he had to make a pineapple tap-dance across a desk, and scowled when it looked more like it was skipping fopishly down the yellow brick road. He blew a raspberry at the pineapple before leaving. History of Magic was very boring, but at least he knew the answers to most of the questions, and he guessed on the rest. Herbology had him showing he could repot honking daffodils, and various small biting plants. He also had to answer questions about all the plants they had studied that year. Astronomy had him labeling the main planets and constellations on a star map, and pointing the same out in the night sky. He completed a test with ten questions on the planets they had studied that year. 

And then, freedom! 

One of the first things he did was lock his quill and his books in his trunk, and go outside into the gloriously hot day. Refusing to wear a tie, Cody was wearing instead, shorts and a short-sleeved shirt. He had his robes tied around his waist, and he wore no shoes. This seemed to be very odd at Hogwarts, or maybe it was an England thing, but Cody didn't care. He was just happy, that it was finally warm enough to go barefoot! 

On his first day of freedom, Cody went to visit Hagrid, and to tell him that exams were scarier than werewolves, which made Hagrid laugh. "I can't argue with yeh too much, Cody," Hagrid finally said. "But it'll get easier once yeh've done it a time or two." 

"Maybe. I'm just glad they're over!" Cody grinned, and turned his face up to the sunlight. "An' I'm glad it's warm!" 

Hagrid shook his head. "Yeh're strange, Cody. Not wearin' shoes, an' all." 

Cody simply grinned and shrugged. "I like bein' barefoot. I don't like shoes." 

Hagrid shrugged. "Good enough reason for me." He looked up suddenly at the sound of footfalls, and Cody watched Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley running towards them. Curious, he listened to the ensuing conversation. It turned out to be Harry asking about the man who had sold Hagrid the dragon egg. 

It was so strange, and fascinating, to be really listening to things that he had read in a book. So strange to know they spoke of the Sorcerer's Stone, and of the three-headed dog that guarded it. The boy remained quiet as Hagrid accidentally told his trio of visitors how to get past Fluffy, and the trio ran off. 

"Blimey, Cody," said Hagrid quietly. "Someday me mouth's goin' ter get me in trouble, it is." 

"It's okay," said Cody. "My mouth does that a lot, too. And those guys're really stubborn when they wanna learn something." 

Hagrid laughed aloud, shaking his head. "Yeh're right about that, all right'!" 

Cody spent the rest of the day hanging out with Hagrid, wading in the lake, and running around the grounds. He knew that Harry and the others would be on the third floor that night (or rather underneath it), fighting Voldemort. He almost wished he could be there as well, but he certainly didn't know them well enough for him to be welcome, and he wasn't sure how much help he would be. 

The next few days were filled with rumors. Some seemed fantastic, and were nothing like what really happened, but most seemed to tell the story of Harry Potter's adventures with a good degree of accuracy. It was supposed to be a secret, but as often happened, the secret became common knowledge. 

Cody went to visit Harry in the hospital wing the morning after their adventure, but he was asleep, and so Cody set a card on a nearby tray, on which he had written, "Get Well Soon - From Cody". The tray was piled high with sweets and other such cards. 

The End of Term feast had Cody feeling both excited and very sad. Sad because it was over, but excited because he would be going home. He found that he had to keep from crying as Dumbledore spoke of the end of the school year. He glanced across the Slytherin table and caught the glance of the fifth year girl, Kathy Skinner. She sort of grinned encouragingly at him, and he managed to grin back. He really did like her. She was nice. 

Though the nice green and silver decorations in the Great Hall did look really good! They meant that Slytherin had won the House Cup, having gotten the most points during the year. It was too bad that the decor was not to remain that way. 

Dumbledore awarded some last minute posts for the Gryffindors who'd gone on the adventure.. Cody felt like cheering when Dumbledore announced the points Ron got for his game of chess, and that Hermione got for her cleverness, and that Harry got for facing off Voldemort. But surrounded by Slytherins, he thought a polite applause would suffice. And even then, he caught Draco and a few others giving him nasty looks. But at least he was not the only Slytherin who clapped. These awards brought Gryffindor into a tie with Slytherin - what happened when there was a tie, anyway? And how often did _that_ happen? 

Dumbledore answered that question a moment later with a final points award. He said to the assembled students that while it took courage to face one's enemy, it took even more to face one's friends. And so Neville Longbottom get ten points...securing the Cup for Gryffindor for the first time in years. Cody was glad to see Neville being rewarded for what he did do well. Cody laughed, and clapped harder as the Gryffindors let up a loud cheer. He did like Neville, after all. Before Neville got buried in an avalanche of Gryffindors, he caught Cody's eye. Cody grinned at him, and got a smile back. He turned to see Draco giving him a scowl, and stuck out his tongue. 

The nice green and silver banners that had decorated the Hall were changed to red and gold, and Cody sighed. It really was too bad, he thought; he was of the opinion that it had looked much better with the Slytherin colors, but the Gryffindors did deserve it, he had to admit. And so he shrugged, adjusting his pointed hat, and waited for the food to arrive. It did, and Cody tuned out all else to enjoy the feast. 

When came the time for exam results, he was very nervous. He almost made Kathy Skinner read his for him, but she smacked him lightly upside the head and told him not to be a coward. Cody was not offended, knowing that her teasing wasn't mean-spirited like Malfoy's was. He merely stuck out his tongue at her, and opened his parchment. 

His grades were not fantastic. He very nearly failed Transfiguration, and didn't do so hot with History of Magic, either. Herbology, Charms, and Potions grades were average to below average, and he sighed. His Astronomy grade was what kept him from being totally discouraged, as that was a very high grade. Seemed that was his class, then! At least he hadn't done badly enough in anything to flunk out. 

--- 

And then...then it was time to leave. Cody did cry that day, and didn't care who saw him, although he did send a minor hex or two at the few students who really annoyed him with their teasing. Merlin was in his enchanted cage, his natural noises being blocked out by the spell. Cody wanted to learn whatever spell that was, to use on his four-poster bed's curtains, to keep out Crabbe and Goyle's snoring! 

Cody realized this was the last he would see of the boats that took them across the lake, as they were for first years only, and then they were boarding the train. 

The boy was surprised when Hagrid stopped him before he boarded. "I figured yeh might have a bit of trouble keepin' Merlin there with yeh," he said to Cody. "So Dumbledore let me fix it so that yer parents would let him stay with yeh. I'm sure yeh can hide yer school stuff, but Merlin would be a little more difficult to manage." 

Cody blinked. "You mean I can keep my stuff?" 

Hagrid laughed. "Of course yeh can, yeh paid for it, didn't yeh? On'y I know yer parents don't know. Still, I have a contact or three that have a contact or three in the States...well, yeh get the idea." 

Cody laughed delightedly. Having a bat, for real...he hugged Hagrid, again only managing to splay his arms across Hagrid's front, as there was no way he could get his arms around the giant man. "Thanks!" 

"Yeh're welcome. Now go on, else they'll leave without yeh!" He shoved Cody gently in the direction of the train and he went, grinning broadly. 

Cody shared a compartment with Kathy Skinner and Kyle Tiller, another Slytherin he had made friends with, but ended up sleeping most of the way to King's Cross Station. He said his good-byes to them, then remembered he had to take the Knight Bus home! He sighed, shaking his head, at the thought of a bone-jarring trip all the way to America. He held out his wand hand, and winced at the BANG that announced the arrival of the triple-decker bus. 

Cody wasn't sure how he managed to sleep the whole trip, but he did, and was wakened by the teenager that Cody now remembered was named Stan. Cody yawned, thanked him, and dragged his heavy trunk and Merlin's cage toward the front of his house. 

Cody could tell that his mom and sister were home, but no one bothered him as he lugged his trunk upstairs, vowing to put some wheels on the blasted thing next time he had to move it! He hid his trunk, and for the moment Merlin's cage, in the very back of his closet, and closed the door. He felt nervous. What if he really had been gone a whole year? 

It was weird to be home! After so many months among strangers, it almost felt unnatural to be lying in his own bed again, curled up on his own sheets, and looking at the familiar belongings of his room. Strange - but also extraordinarily good. It felt good to be safe and sound at home. 

Cody lay on his bed, trying to decide if he should go and talk to his mom, but the excitement and the long journey caught up with him, and he fell asleep. 

Next thing he knew, he was being wakened by his mother, who looked neither panicked nor angry. "Time for supper, kiddo," she said to him. Cody blinked and sat up, as his mother left the room. Surely he couldn't have dreamed it all! No one could dream a whole year of classes, could they? No one could dream so vividly! But waking up in his own bed left Cody feeling disoriented, and a bit foolish having thought that he could really go to Hogwarts. He went down to supper, feeling quiet. So it hadn't been real, after all. 

Cody ate very little at dinner, and was quiet enough that his mother asked him if he felt all right. He said that yeah, he was okay. Just tired. Apparently that was an astounding remark coming from Cody, who normally was hyper enough for five boys, and had his mother spending ten minutes taking his temperature and checking him over to see if he was ill or not. This got Cody annoyed, but he put up with it. After a while, Mom told him that she wanted to keep an eye on him, just in case, and set him loose into his room. 

He sat on his bed a while, feeling depressed over the disappointment of finding out that Hogwarts really was only in his imagination; and while he considered the adventures he went on and places he visited in his imagination very real in their own way, it was quite a different matter than being there physically. 

After a moment, though, he began thinking hard. What if it _was_ real? Had he not always believed that magic could happen? Why should he stop now? But then, how would he know? He had heard of people being locked up in places for insane people because they saw things that no one else did, and it made other people think they were crazy. He didn't want that to happen to him! No way would he let someone lock him up like that, just because they didn't have any faith left in the magic of the world! 

But how could he know? How could he know whether it had been his imagination, or a more tangible adventure? The answer was so simple he smacked his forehead and pretended to knock himself down on his bed. Check the closet! If there was a bright green trunk inside, and a fruit bat in a cage... 

Cody bit his lip, standing up, finding he was almost afraid to look. He wasn't afraid of finding these things; he was afraid of _not_ finding them. If he looked, and saw nothing but his closet, he wasn't sure what he would do. 

The child took a big breath, standing at the door of his closet, and nodded determinedly. He seized the handle and threw the door open. And he saw... 

Nothing. 

Biting his lip, which seemed to want to quiver, he stared for a good long time, very nearly slamming the door in sheer disappointment. He began to turn from the closet when a flash of bright color caught his eye. Bright green? Did he even have anything that was bright green? Surely it couldn't be... 

Frowning, wiping the few tears that had managed to escape, Cody stepped into his closet and pushed his clothing aside. Way in the back, having somehow gotten covered and hidden by his hanging clothing, was his bright green trunk, and Merlin's cage. He stared for a moment, laughing in delighted relief, and wondered how he could have doubted they'd be there. He would not doubt it again, he decided. Ever 

He realized suddenly that this must be what happened to adults, how they lost their faith. There came a time to check and see if the magic was really real, but they slammed the door, instead of poking their heads in a bit more to find out for sure. They gave up, instead of looking farther to confirm that yes, the magic was there. 

Beaming, Cody opened the door to Merlin's cage and held him for a bit. "Tomorrow," he told the young bat. "Tomorrow I can let you out. I hope the person Hagrid told me about comes soon, though!" He scritched the little bat on the head, put him away, and closed the closet door once more. Feeling extremely happy, he yawned, and crawled back into bed. 

--- 

The next morning, Cody found a little owl sitting patiently on his windowsill. His eyes wide, he jumped out of bed, opened the window, and brought the little owl in. After taking the letter on his foot, he asked if he wouldn't like some water, but the owl hooted once and sat on the bed. It was very small, Cody thought, so it must be from nearby. He opened the little parchment, and it was, astonishingly, from Hagrid, as he recognized his writing. He read aloud. "Cody. Bring Merlin down to your school. You'll find my contact there. He knows your mum, I think, and he works at the zoo. He'll fix things with your mum. Yes, he's a wizard, just so you know! To make sure no one goes messin' with yer bat that ought not be, I've given him a password so you'll know it's him: Devil's Snare. See you next year: Hagrid." 

Mum, Cody thought. All the English people said "mum". It was really weird, but kinda cool, too. 

Cody grinned, sent a letter back with his Crayola marker and some construction paper saying, "Thanks, Hagrid! I have a question. How did the owl get all the way here to Florida?" He tied it to the owl's leg, gave the owl a bit of water from the tap, and sent it back on its way. 

Now, all he had to do was sneak Merlin out. 

This proved to be fairly easy. His old elementary school was only a block away, and he was allowed to go there and play. He changed his clothes, which he'd slept in, then bounded downstairs. His appetite and energy returned, his mother decided that Cody had simply been tired the night before, and was no longer worried about him being sick. "Mom, can I go play at the school?" he asked. 

"Just as long as you finish your breakfast," said his mother. "And rinse your dishes." 

"Okay!" Needless to say, Cody set a speed record eating his food. After he was finished, he ran over and hugged his mother tightly, very glad to see her after ten months away. For he was certain he really did spend that long there, it was only that time seemed to reverse itself once he got back home. And that was just the way magic ought to work, he thought as he ran upstairs. 

He put a blanket over Merlin's cage, snuck into the garage, and put it in his wagon. He also brought along all of the stuff he used for caring for Merlin, like the food supply he had left, the leash that was designed to attach to Merlin's feet, like the kind falconers used on their birds, and the little toys that Merlin liked. 

There were a few kids at the playground, but for now, Cody avoided them and headed towards the back of the school. A man dressed in normal Muggle clothing stood there, and Cody went up to him, cocking his head. "Did Hagrid send you?" he asked. 

"He did," said the man with a grin. 

"What's the password?" 

"Devil's Snare." That was the right one! Cody grinned, and uncovered Merlin's cage. The man knelt, smiling. "He's a pretty little guy. Still young, yet. What's his name?" 

"Merlin," said Cody. 

"That's a good name. My name is Tony Barado." 

"And I'm Cody!" 

"Nice to meet you. Now, the story is, when you went on a class trip a couple months ago, you entered a contest, for the ownership of this little bat. It's not illegal here to own them, but you do have to have special permission, which I've arranged for you. I'll bring Merlin to your house, then, in the afternoon, and explain it all to your mum, giving you the papers and the like. It's all legal, so if she checks, it'll check out fine. I know her, vaguely, as we used to work together. We still keep in touch now and then." 

Cody grinned broadly at the man. "Wow, thanks!" 

"You're welcome. Now, I want something from you in return." Cody frowned a bit, listening. "I want you to do your best while you're at school, you hear? That includes the normal one here, as well as Hogwarts. Got it?" 

Cody giggled, and nodded his head. "Got it!" 

"Do I have your word?" 

"Yeah! You have my word." 

Tony nodded. "I'm glad to hear it. Go on now, then. You might want to stay here and play for a while, be less suspicious." 

Cody nodded, and picked up the handle of the wagon, while Tony brought Merlin over to his car. He waved at the man, then ran over to the playground, where he found he was quite eager to play for a while. As fascinating as Hogwarts was, there was no playground! Only trees to climb. 

After a couple of hours of strenuous play, Cody was ready to head back home. He went up to his room and began reading his favorite Bunnicula book, pretending like nothing was out of the ordinary. 

A knock was heard on the door not forty-five minutes later, and he heard his mother answering the door. Cody listened, then headed downstairs in time to catch a glimpse of Tony in his zookeeper's uniform, apparently just finishing up his explanation. He heard something about Cody having passed a test about how you're supposed to care for fruit bats being the determining factor as to whether he would be allowed to keep the creature. Then Tony said good-bye, and Cody looked up at his mother, who looked quite surprised. "Well," she said, blinking. "Did you enter any contests during school?" 

"Yeah," said Cody. "When we went to the zoo." 

His mother blinked. "Oh. Well, apparently you won, kiddo. Tony Barado brought this little bat over; I was quite surprised to see him, I forgot he worked at the zoo." 

She stepped back to reveal Merlin's cage, and Cody's eyes widened. "No way! Really?" He laughed excitedly and picked the cage up, grinning at Merlin, who seemed annoyed at being passed around so much in the last twenty-four hours. "Awesome! They said that he's really tame, an' he likes people a lot." 

"Well - I'm glad!" Mom chuckled. "Honestly, the things you get yourself into! Well, bring him on in, I want to see this little guy. Is he a boy or girl?" 

"He's a boy. I'm gonna name him Merlin. You know, like the wizard." He lugged the cage and the box Merlin stuff was in into the living room, and opened it up. Mom went to get his sister, whose eyes got wide at the sight of the bat. Cody hoped she wouldn't be scared of him. He took Merlin out of the cage, and the little bat climbed up onto his shoulder and rested there, his head on Cody's shoulder. Cody giggled and held him, scratching his little head. Of course, Merlin was very glad to see Cody, which Cody was glad of. It would show his mother that the bat wasn't dangerous. 

Mom convinced Cody's sister to come and pet the bat, and once she was over her nervousness seemed to like him a lot. "Well," Mom said. "You've got yourself a new pet, papers and all. Now, you've got to be very responsible, and care for him, right? Having a special pet is a privilege." 

Cody nodded. "I know! I'm gonna take him in my room!" 

And so, Cody was able to keep Merlin while he was away from Hogwarts castle. And that was great, he couldn't wait to show his friends! 

Alone in his room once more, Cody looked to Merlin, then to the closet that hid his school trunk. He grinned, nodding his head. It was definitely good to believe in magic! 

He glanced over at his Harry Potter collection and wondered how he would know when he was ready for second year. Not yet, he decided. He'd spend a little while in the real world, first. There was always time for adventure later! 


	6. Year 2, Chapter 1: Return to Hogwarts

**HIDDEN HERITAGE**

--- 

_Author's Note: This adventure is loosely based on a plotline that was run in a roleplaying game that I play; White Wolf Changeling. My character in that genre is a seven-year old boy named Cody DeDannan, who had an adventure in a realm that is based on what people dream. In this realm, he found Hogwarts Castle, and was able to go through the first two years of it, along with the students from the Harry Potter stories. (We haven't gotten to the other years, yet!) And so, that inspired me to write this._

_This story contains the HP stories seen through Cody's eyes. Please realize that as this takes place in the same time frame as Harry's years at Hogwarts, this fanfic involves a great deal of direct quoting in order to show things through the main character's eyes. Any descriptions, I have put into my own words, but a great deal of the dialogue is quoted._

_Furthermore, that which I have directly quoted, I lay no claim to whatsoever, and the same goes for any characters that are taken from the books. My original creations (that is, my character concepts, which I use in other capacities), however, I do claim. No one may use them without my permission._

**And so I come to my plea: Ms. Rowling (and those associated with her), please don't sue me! I claim nothing that came from you, whether it be a scene, a character, a place, or a story. I have written this fanfiction because, frankly, it's what I always wished would happen. (Yes, I am a 28 year old adult.) I have written this fanfiction because I love your world and want to be a part of it, and so I made my character in order to enjoy it. : ) I certainly make no money with this, only the enjoyment of sharing my imagination with others.**

**Oh, and to all you who might live in the U.K.: In trying to keep the whole setting accurate, I have done a lot of research online, as well as asking my dad (who is from England) and my friend (who lived in England for a year) about things like slang, terms, weather, and the like. So if I screw something up, please don't lynch me! :grin: Though if anyone does spot that kind of mistake, feel free to let me know!**

_Note: The first two years are not my best...but come third year I started getting a little more comfortable with my main character; I get to know him a little better and things start to flow a bit more. The first two years are still good; I just think the later ones are better! And don't worry, I don't make any ridiculous changes in the storyline!_

_And so, with that, I invite you to enjoy this story!_

**YEAR TWO**

**Chapter 1: Return to Hogwarts**

Cody DeDannan's first year at Hogwarts had been an eventful one. Eventful and exciting. He had learned quite a bit during his ten months   
there, and while he had been quite glad to get home, as the summer came to a close, he began to yearn again for the adventure of Hogwarts. He   
had been waiting for the right time. 

The time for adventure, it happened, came as September loomed threateningly on summer's horizon. An owl landed on Cody's windowsill, and   
hopped onto his bed; Cody had left the window open that day due to the thunderstorm that was approaching, giving the air the smell of rain   
Cody loved. He intended to go out and play in it later, if he could convince his mother to let him. When the lightning wasn't too close, she   
usually did. But now, Cody grinned, hopping off his bed to greet the owl. 

It ended up being a note from Tony, the zookeeper who had gotten Cody the permission to keep a fruit bat. Merlin was dozing in his cage as   
Cody read the words. 

_ "Dear Cody. I hope Merlin is doing well. Your next term at Hogwarts will be very soon, and you will need to get to Diagon Alley to_   
_get your new things. You should get an owl from the school within the week. Hagrid also passed his response to your last letter along to me,_   
_and asked me to send it along to you. Just a heads-up, you'll need to sneak out to get to London. I assume you've been using the Knight Bus._   
_My condolences. I wonder, though, why you got your letter from Hogwarts, and not one of the American schools...for that matter time seems to be acting screwy when it comes to you. But then in matters of magic, no one can really know everything, can they? It's too bad that most_   
_Muggle adults don't believe in it anymore. Although as I think on all the witch burnings of yore, perhaps this is a good thing. Anyway, enjoy_   
_your next term, and remember our agreement! I expect an increase in at least one exam grade from you._

_ Sincerely, Tony."_

Cody grinned as he opened Hagrid's letter, which had been sent with Tony's. This was right on time, he thought, as he had been wanting to go   
back to the school. Summers were not usually too boring for Cody, as his active imagination often swept him away on many different   
adventures, and there was the school playground close enough for him to be allowed to go alone, as well as the woods behind his home. But, as he'd realized before, there was a difference in the reality of his pretend games, and the adventure that he had experienced at Hogwarts. Besides,   
Cody had only a couple of children that he really played with, as most of the other kids thought him strange, or weird, or babyish. And so he   
usually spent his summers alone. He was keen to go back to where people actually liked him. At least for the most part. 

Hagrid did not expect a reply, as his letter said. Said he'd see Cody soon enough at the school platform, when the Hogwarts Express arrived. He   
also answered Cody's question about the owl journeying across the ocean. They didn't journey across the ocean, actually. The owl posts of   
most of the world were connected by a special Floo network, and if a message had to go too far for an owl, or even a relay system of several   
owls, then the Floo network was used. The message was sent by Floo powder to the post station nearest the recipient, and an owl from that   
office used to deliver the letter. Cody never knew _that_ about the wizarding world! 

Well then, looked like it was time to start getting his things ready. When his mother was busy downstairs making supper, his little sister helping   
her, he dragged his school trunk out of his closet. He almost panicked, thinking it wasn't there, but he realized that it was again well hidden by   
his clothing and the toys that were stored there. He decided that it must be doing that on purpose, so his mother didn't find the trunk. 

The child opened the neon green container, made sure all his spell books and equipment was there, and checked his wand over. He grinned at it, having to quash the urge to try it on something in his room. He didn't want to get expelled, after all! He wondered if America had the same kind   
of Age Restriction law, too. He supposed he could ask Tony. He would, next time he saw him, or had a way to send him a letter. He tried on his   
robes, finding that they did still fit him. He went through his supplies, and realized he needed more ink, and could use a good quill, since Merlin   
had got hold of Cody's old one, and chewed it in half. He could use a refill on some of his potion ingredients, as well. 

Once determining that everything was there and all right, Cody stowed the trunk back in his closet. Barely able to contain his excitement, he   
went back to his book. It was a Harry Potter book, Chamber of Secrets, in fact, and Cody realized that this was the first time he had read a Harry   
Potter book since he returned from his own first year at the place; maybe that was the sign that he was ready for another year. He wondered if he would be able to go for his sixth, and seventh years, if the books hadn't come out yet. That was an interesting thought. He'd know what   
happened before anyone else! But then he thought he wouldn't want that. He would want to read about them first, like all the other kids. And   
_then_ experience them! 

He sat on his bed, watching the approaching clouds. His mother did, indeed, let him go play in the rain for a while before calling him back in to   
dry off and have supper. Once that was finished and he had taken his bath, he was allowed to play until he got tired. He decided to read more of   
Chamber of Secrets. Might as well brush up on what happened so he'd be ready! 

Cody did, indeed, get a brown owl bearing a letter with the Hogwarts coat of arms on it a few days later, and it contained his book list for the   
year. Oh yeah, he thought, a rather disgusted look on his face. Gilderoy Lockhart. He sighed. Did he really have to read about how "wonderful"   
this teacher was to get good grades on his exam? 

He remembered that, while Slytherins didn't normally take Defense Against the Dark Arts with the Gryffindors, for some reason Cody had been   
put in that class with them, instead of the Slytherins. When he asked Snape, he hadn't known the rationale either, only that Dumbledore must   
have had a reason for doing so. Cody had not wanted it to be fixed, though. 

Cody decided to go to Diagon Alley the day before he had to be at the station, so he could simply stay at the inn, and go to the station in the   
morning. If he remembered right, the Leaky Cauldron had rooms for rent. 

After the violent ride on the Knight Bus, Cody wandered happily through Diagon Alley, looking at the fascinating shops and supplies. When   
he tired of this, he headed for Gringotts to get money for his supplies. He again marveled at how incredibly creepy the goblins were, and   
thought about the goblin rebellions that Professor Binns always droned on about. He could easily see how such things could happen. He   
certainly wouldn't want to tangle with a goblin! 

Once the boy's supplies were replenished and put into his trunk, Cody went to a nearby ice cream shop and got himself a cone. There were   
some bizarre flavors, which he avoided, and managed to get himself a nice Rocky Road, double-decker scoop. 

As he was nearly finished, he saw Kathy Skinner, the fifth year Slytherin that Cody had made friends with. She was entering her sixth year now,   
and Cody realized he'd only get to see her for one more year after that. It really wasn't very fair. "Hi, Kathy!" he called, waving energetically. 

Kathy looked around, a bit puzzled, until she saw Cody. She chuckled, and waved back, coming over to sit next to him as he ate his ice cream.   
"Hey, kiddo, back for another year, eh? I see you waited until the last minute to get your things, like I did." 

Cody giggled. "Yep! I can't wait to go back to school." 

"Me neither." She grinned at Cody the way he noticed a lot of older people did, like he was just the cutest thing. That annoyed him. He didn't   
think he was particularly cute. He was kind of plain, actually. Although he supposed some adults thought any kids were cute. The term "cute"   
offended Cody a great deal, but at least Kathy was tactful enough not to use it! But then her expression grew a little more serious. "Hey. You   
know that some of the Slytherins are beginning to think that you might not...well..." 

"That I'm a traitor?" Cody asked candidly. 

She blinked, taken aback. "Well...yes, actually. Malfoy, mostly." She shook her head. "An arrogant little git, that one. It's people like him that   
give all Slytherins a bad name." She sighed, and leaned an elbow on the table. "Not just you, either. There's a few others in the house that he   
doesn't think act like 'proper' Slytherins. You most of all, though." 

Cody nodded, frowning at his melting cone. He ate a few gulps quickly, to avoid a further mess of chocolate ice cream. "I know it. And he's   
mean! I mean...he's really mean. Even the other Slytherins aren't that mean. I mean some are, but..." 

"I understand," said Kathy quietly. "I guess it doesn't help that Salazar Slytherin was a fairly wicked wizard, but still. I often wonder why I got   
Sorted into Slytherin in the first place." 

"Well," said Cody. "I guess he didn't just like bad guy wizards. He likes clever ones, and ones that are..dertergened...er det -" 

"Determined?" Kathy suggested. 

"Yeah!" 

"I guess so. Still, it makes things difficult sometimes. I just hope that Malfoy and his group don't get nasty about it. He's only a second year,   
but everyone knows his dad used to be in with You-Know-Who's group. Who knows what Draco knows abut the Dark Arts?" 

Cody frowned. He lived in the dorm _with_ Draco Malfoy. He wondered if perhaps this wasn't a dangerous thing. "He better not do anything to   
me," he said with a scowl. "Or I'll punch his nose for him." 

Kathy actually grinned at this, and nodded. "Sounds good to me. There's others in my year that don't like the little prat, thinks he's better than   
most anyone else, Slytherin or not." She stood, rolling back the sleeves of her robe, as it was fairly warm outside. Cody himself was wearing   
Muggle shorts and a T-shirt. "Well, I've got to finish my shopping. See you at Hogwarts!" 

"Bye!" Cody waved, finished his ice cream, and washed his sticky hands off. Would Malfoy do something unpleasant to Cody if he thought   
Cody really was a traitor? Surely not, he thought. He would get in big trouble. He wouldn't want to risk that kind of trouble, as Cody was sure   
that Dumbledore could easily find out who did it. 

Cody put this out of his mind as he also stood, and began dragging his trunk and Merlin's cage towards the inn. Merlin was flying overhead,   
clearly glad to be free to fly outside. Cody always let him loose in the house, except at night, but otherwise Merlin was either leashed, or in his   
cage. 

Now unencumbered by his belongings, Cody decided he would do his Christmas shopping, as he was not sure that he could do it once he was   
at Hogwarts. He wanted to get presents for the friends he had made, which included Kathy, Harry, Hermione, the Weasley twins, Neville,   
Marcus, and Hagrid. He was sure he had enough money to at least get a little something for them. He thought again of his parents, as they were   
the only people Cody could think of that could have left him wizard gold. Or maybe he had a rich uncle somewhere that he didn't know about.   
That was also possible! Cody was betting on that more than anything. Well, maybe not rich, but with enough money to leave Cody some, at any   
rate. 

It was fun searching for just the right gift to give to people. Hagrid got a tiny model of a Norwegian Ridgeback dragon that moved realistically. It even flew, within an area of about a square foot. For Ron, he got a little case to store his wand in when he wasn't using it for long periods, to   
protect it from breaking and getting dirty. It had the Chudley Cannons logo on it, in all its bright orange glory. Hermione would get a book of   
myths and legends of the Muggle world that stemmed from breaches in magical security. The stories were full of dragons and unicorns; witches   
on brooms, and magical spells. He got the twins each a surprise grab bag from a shop that sold a limited amount of official Zonko's merchandise, and Harry got a book of moving photos and paintings of various Quidditch matches through the centuries. Kathy liked unicorns, so she would   
get a little model of a unicorn that galloped around the shelf, and Marcus Flint got the same book Harry did. For Neville, he got a book on how   
to raise several different exotic magical plants. 

Satisfied with his purchases, Cody dedicated the rest of the day to exploring Diagon Alley, and talking with the wizards and witches there. He   
ran into Draco Malfoy, who was there with his dad. "Hi, Draco," said Cody, his tone friendly. He and Draco tended to get along alright half the   
time, and argue fervently the other half. 

Draco nodded. "Hello, kid," he said. That was one annoying thing about Draco. Most of the others called Cody "kid", but when Draco did it, he   
always sounded so condescending. "Back for another year?" 

"Yep!" said Cody with a grin. "This year I'm gonna get on the Quidditch team, I just know it!" 

Draco raised a brow. "Is that so? What position you trying out for?" 

"Beater." He ignored Draco's snicker, and instead looked to Draco's father. "Hi! I'm Cody DeDannan." 

Lucius Malfoy nodded, extending his hand. Cody blinked, and then took it. No adult had ever shaken hands with him before, but people here   
seemed more formal. "Draco's told me about you," he said to the child. "A very unusual circumstance, for someone so young to be admitted to   
Hogwarts." 

Cody nodded. "I know. But I got the letter. So I guess there's a reason for it. And I'm glad! I love the school!" Merlin came down to land on   
Cody and hang from his robes. Cody gave the bat an absentminded pat. 

"Indeed. Slytherin was my house when I went there, you know." He smiled. "I am glad to see that you were Sorted there. The best of the   
houses, in my opinion." 

Cody nodded. "Yeah, I like it. I like snakes, too, so that's a good thing!" It occurred to Cody then that he was talking to a Death Eater, someone   
who had killed, and tortured. His expression grew somber then, and he found himself looking at Mr. Malfoy's right arm, wondering if there was a skull and a snake mark there. 

When he looked up again, both the Malfoys were giving him a sort of suspicious look, and the boy grinned, shrugging. "I'm gettin' hungry - I'm gonna go back to the inn. Nice to meet you!" he said to Lucius, who nodded in return. "Bye, Draco!" 

"Bye, Cody." 

Cody ran off towards the inn. 

Once in his room, he sat on his bed, frowning as he thought about just who Lucius Malfoy was. How could anyone kill someone? How could   
anyone torture another person? It was creepy, shaking hands with just such a person, and even worse to be friends with that person's son.   
Who, if Cody remembered right, totally supported his father's alliance and his actions. 

The boy sighed, and curled up in his bed, feeling tired. There were some things about the magical world that were not so fun. 

The next day, he was whizzing towards Hogwarts on the train, sharing his compartment with a group of Slytherins in their third year. Cody   
spend half of the journey joining in on their talk and their games of Exploding Snap, and wizard chess. (He was abysmal at chess.) The other   
half, interspersed with his periods of being relatively settled down, he spent fidgeting in his seat, pacing the compartment and the corridors, and otherwise being his hyperactive self. He wished the journey wasn't so long! He changed into his school robes, with his Slytherin tie and white   
shirt, and sighed. He hated uniforms. He only wore the tie for special occasions, much like the hat. He still just tied it around his neck, as he had   
never asked how to put it on properly. 

When the train did finally arrive, Cody left Merlin and his trunk to be taken to the dorms, and was surprised at first, that they were not heading   
for the lake. Then he remembered that only first years traveled by boat. Carriages waited for the rest of the students, carriages that he knew were pulled by thestrals. He often wondered why Harry Potter had not been able to see him at first, nor why Cody could not, either. Both of their   
parents had died while they were babies, and he knew that Harry, at least, had definitely seen it. Not remembered, perhaps, but had seen it.   
Maybe that was the key, maybe you had to be old enough to remember, and understand the death. 

The coach smelled funny, like it had been wet for a while, but since they were open, and always outside, Cody thought that made sense. 

The ride was swift, and very soon Cody was in the Great Hall, sitting at the Slytherin house table with everyone else. He had a big grin all over   
his face, ecstatic to be there again. He watched the first years line up in front of the Sorting Hat, looking as terrified as he remembered being. He   
stood up on the bench so he could see, as the Sorting Hat sang its song. It told the story of how the houses were formed, and of how the   
Sorting Hat had been created to sort students once the school founders were gone. And then, the Sorting began. 

It was absolutely strange, seeing the whole thing from the perspective of an established student, from the House table. He watched first year   
after first year sit on the stool to be Sorted, watched the Hat call out the Houses. He peered at a girl with vivid red hair, who he thought must be   
Ginny Weasley, and when her named was called, knew he was right. He watched the hat sort her into Gryffindor. 

There were the normal start of term notices, a few more forbidden items had been added to Filch's list, and the reminders about the Forbidden   
Forest were given. Dumbledore did say that the third floor corridor was once again open to students. 

Once the feast was over, everyone was led to their house dorms, and most students fell asleep straight away. A long journey and a nice, big   
meal tended to make one sleepy. 


	7. Year 2, Chapter 2: Gilderoy the Smarmy

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 2: Gilderoy the Smarmy**

The next day at breakfast, Merlin surprised Cody by bringing him a letter. It was from Tony, in America! Merlin must have fetched it from the   
local post office in Hogsmeade! It simply said he was glad Cody had made it to Hogwarts, and to try not to get into too much trouble. Cody idly   
wondered if the wizards knew about the Harry Potter books, or if they really existed while he was in the wizard's world, or if wizards just...never   
happened to see them if they were around. He rather thought that might be the answer. 

He dropped his letter in startlement at a sudden, booming, shrill voice from the Gryffindor table. Oh yeah, he thought. Ron's Howler. Cody   
winced and clamped his hands over his ears as Mrs. Weasley's magically amplified voice scolded Ron up and down for having used a flying car to get to school. Many of the Slytherins were laughing, as well as a few students from other tables, but Cody kept his hand clamped over his   
ears. It was too loud. Cody decided he did not like Howlers at all, and hoped he never got one. He scowled when the voice subsided, irritated at   
the Howler, and glared in its general direction, before finishing his breakfast; his ears were ringing, and he could imagine that poor Ron was   
probably half deaf. Still, he and Harry did fly an illegal flying car to Hogwarts. They were lucky they didn't get expelled. He thought, with a   
frown, that Snape did want them expelled. Cody was glad it hadn't happened. 

As last year, Cody had defense Against the Dark Arts with the Gryffindors, and he slipped into the classroom with them. He watched Lockhart   
enter with Harry, and watched Harry slink to the back of the class and start piling his books on his desk, hiding himself from view. Cody   
watched, looking unimpressed by the teacher's pomposity. And boy, did he have a lot of it! Did he always have to mention all of his awards   
every time he introduced himself? Cody had a look of mild disgust on his face as Lockhart spoke. 

When he said "I thought we'd start today with a little quiz," Cody curled his lip. He looked down at the quiz that was laid on his desk, and   
scowled. Boy, what a stuck up dork, he thought. He sighed, and went to answering the questions, as best he could. Most he did not know,   
although the ones that had been in the Chamber of Secrets book, he did manage to answer right. He had never taken a test full of questions   
about the teacher before. 

He was never so glad to reach the end of a test. 

As Lockhart began mumbling who had and had not answered his test correctly, half the Gryffindors fought to keep their laughter silent, many   
looked at the teacher in disbelief, and most of the girls looked adoringly at the smarmy professor. Cody looked rather disgusted with the amount   
of corniness that Lockhart was flinging about the room. 

Still, his interest was revived when Lockhart brought out a cage from which Cody could hear a lot of squeaky, shrill voices babbling. He sat   
forward at his desk as Professor Lockhart told the class to stay calm and not to scream. He watched eagerly as Lockhart removed the covering   
on the cage in front of him, revealing the neon blue pixies inside. Fascinated, Cody leaned forward in his seat. Being shortest in the class, he was up front so he could see well. 

Cody's giggle accompanied Seamus' snort of laughter. But he wasn't giggling a moment later when Lockhart opened the cage, exclaiming,   
"Let's see what you make of them!" 

Cody ducked as the pixies shot around the room, moving faster than he would have thought possible. "HEY!" he yelled, as one seized his   
school bag and threw it across the room. "Gimme that back!" Cody ran after it, hoping that his ink had not smashed. Luckily, it had not, and he   
took it out of his bag, just in case. 

The room was being quite effectively wrecked by the little pixies, and Cody wondered if everything could be repaired, as it didn't look like   
they'd leave much unbroken! And whatever they did leave intact, they would spray with ink! Two of them picked up Neville by his ears, and   
hung him on a chandelier. He felt a horrible pulling on his hair and yelled in pain, spinning to knock the pixie away from his head. "OW!" 

"Round them up, they're only pixies!" Lockhart raised his wand, uttering a completely useless incantation, and got his wand taken from him and   
thrown out the window. 

Cody scowled, and grabbed a pixie that flew by him. Now what? He didn't dare let go, because they were fast! He grabbed another one, and   
found that while holding two struggling pixies (which felt absolutely weird), that he didn't have a free hand to do anything else with! 

A moment later, Neville fell to the floor, and Cody ran over to him, kneeling down beside the boy. "Neville! Are you okay?" 

"Y-yeah," he said, standing shakily. 

The bell rang then, and Neville sprinted for the door, along with most of the class. Only Cody, Harry, Hermione, and Ron were left. 

"I'll just ask you to nip the rest into their cage," said Lockhart, with his teethy smile. He left, after the class, and shut the door. 

Cody listened to the Gryffindors arguing about how useless Lockhart was, while he ducked under the teacher's desk to avoid being dive   
bombed by about three of the little things. He concentrated on getting the two he was holding back in the cage. Ron held the door open for him,   
making sure the others didn't get out again, and Cody stuffed the pixies in. 

There were only a few left, now, and Cody grabbed one, but he let it go again with a cry of pain. "Ow! It bit me, that little git!" He scowled, once   
the last pixie was captured, and went over to his belongings. They had escaped the spraying ink, but two of his books were all shredded to bits.   
"The dumb teacher," he muttered. 

"It wasn't his fault!" Hermione said. 

Ron snorted. "Oh, no, Hermione, is wasn't his fault at all. He only set a whole cage full of mini wrecking balls on the class without telling us how   
to deal with them!" 

"That's 'cuz he didn't know how," said Cody darkly, picking up the leather-bound cover of his Gadding with Ghouls book. Not that he loved the book, but he needed it for class. 

"I think you are all just jealous," said Hermione heatedly. "I think Professor Lockhart is a wonderful teacher!" 

"You just like him because he's handsome," Ron scoffed. 

Cody sighed, and got his wand out, standing, and pointing it at his ruined books. "Libris Reparo," he said, hoping that it worked. To his   
surprise, it did, and he watched in fascination as the bits of pages from his books settled into their covers. A moment later, his two ruined books   
were as they had been before, looking as though no damage had been done. He noticed that the Gryffindors were doing the same with their own broken belongings. 

"Lockhart can repair his classroom himself," Ron muttered. 

Cody, who was right behind him nodded, and the two shared a knowing look. It was obvious that Cody shared the others boys' opinion! Well,   
at least it was only Herbology next. How bad could that be? 

That question was answered not fifteen minutes later: Mandrakes. 

Cody got stuck with the bright pink, fluffy earmuffs for one, and for two, he did Not. Like. Mandrakes. He was able to tell Professor Sprout what   
the properties of the Mandrake were, though, remembering from the book. He earned ten points for Slytherin, but once the repotting of the baby   
Mandrakes began, Cody ended up very annoyed. He was too small to manage them well, and had to struggle to get his into the second pot. At   
least the Gryffindors weren't there to see! (Though the Ravenclaws were.) The thing bit him twice, and what was worse, his earmuffs were   
knocked off in the struggle. An ear-piercing, unnatural shriek made his ears and head throb violently, as if someone had hit him with something   
very hard. He screamed in shocked pain, clamping his hands to his ears, and then dropped to the floor, unconscious. 

Luckily, that had been his last class of the day, and he would not have to make up any work, but when he woke in the hospital ward several   
hours later with a splitting headache, he was not entirely happy. He sat up, wincing a bit at the painful ringing in his ears. He was shaky,   
unnerved by the misadventure. 

Madame Pomfrey came over then, looking less severe than she had seemed in the books, and Cody wondered if that was because of his youth.   
He didn't really mind at the moment, he wasn't feeling up to acting tough. 

"How are you feeling, child?" she asked. 

"My head hurts," he said, his voice rather more subdued than normal. That had been very scary, after all. He had never been knocked   
unconscious. It wasn't something that he thought should happen to a person. "My ears do, too." 

"Oh, I'm certain they do, child," said Madame Pomfrey sympathetically. She ran her hand through Cody's hair, and handed him a goblet of a   
vivid blue potion. "Go ahead and drink that, dear, it'll take the ache away, and make you drowsy. I'll be wanting you to rest tonight. I've got   
your pajamas from your dorm." She pointed to the pajamas, which were gray with red at the collar, and the ends of the sleeves and pant legs.   
ThunderCat symbols decorated the gray fabric. They were his favorite pair of pajamas. 

Cody wanted to protest, but he was too achy to want to do much _except _sleep. He drank the potion, which ended up tasting like water with a   
sort of bitter, plant-like under-taste. He sighed, as the potion almost immediately took the lasting ache from his head and ears. He stood in his   
bunk to undress, too young yet to be too modest. A bit surprised, Madame Pomfrey turned her back, to give Cody some privacy, and when she   
heard him lie down again, turned back around. "Rest now." It was not a suggestion, Cody realized with a tired grin. The Healer pulled the   
blankets up over him, and that was the last he knew before sleep took him. 

He was pronounced well enough to attend breakfast in the Great Hall the next morning and he did so, to the laughter and teasing of most   
everyone in his house. He scowled, feeling surly, as he had seen nothing funny whatsoever about the mishap. He ate his bacon and eggs   
vehemently, bolting the meal faster than he normally would have. At least the teasing stopped after a while, when they got tired of it and grew   
more interested in their own meals. 

Two things happened the following week, one the day after the other. The first was Quidditch tryouts, and the second was auditions for the   
Hogwarts student choir. Cody remembered being told that the choir sometimes sang at holidays, and before everyone left for Christmas, and   
once in a while, a program for the parents. He asked Professor Snape if students were allowed to be in both Quidditch and choir, and he said that yes, they were. There were students that were in four, five, six different things in the school. As long as they could handle it and had the time,   
they could try out for anything they wished. 

After a an uneventful series of classes, Cody was very glad to get out on the pitch to ride, even if he was not confident about the tryouts at all.   
He had been practicing as often as he could that week, getting back into practice. By the end of the pervious year, he had gotten fairly good at   
flying without any hands, leaving them free for hitting the Bludgers. 

There was not a large turnout this year, although Draco was there, vying for the Seeker position. The old Seeker had not come out for Quidditch   
this year, though Cody wasn't sure why. 

The test was nearly identical to the one he had participated in the year before, but Cody did considerably better this year than the last. He   
actually batted the aggressive Bludger through one of the goal hoops when told to, and he laughed in delight. 

When the tryouts were finished, there was a span of about fifteen minutes, during which the team captains made their decisions. And then they   
approached Madame Hooch, to tell her what they'd decided. Cody sat on the ground next to the school broom he had auditioned on, shaking   
with anticipation. 

When the Slytherin team names were called, Cody's name was not among them. He sighed, his body seeming to deflate with disappointment.   
Standing up with his broom, he resisted the urge to kick the ground with his sneakered foot. Two fifth year students, Derrick and Bole, had   
gotten the Beater positions. They were two largish students, with lots of muscles. Cody wished he had some more muscles. 

"And," Madame Hooch continued. "And as reserve Beater for the Slytherin Team, Cody DeDannan!" 

Cody blinked, his eyes widening, and he dropped his broomstick. He frowned, scratching his head. As hopeful as he had been, he had not   
expected to make any part of the Slytherin team. He just wasn't that good! He bit his lip and ran over to where Madame Hooch was putting the   
Quidditch balls away in their trunk. "U-um, Madame Hooch?" Cody said tentatively, coming up behind her. 

Madame Hooch turned around. "Congratulations, Cody," she said kindly, smiling at the astonished boy. 

"C-congratulations?" he repeated faintly. "A-are – are you sure that you got the right name?" 

The woman laughed, ruffling Cody's hair. "I am certain. If you're worried, go talk with Flint, then." 

"Okay..." Cody did just that, tugging on Marcus Flint's robes. "Marcus?" 

"Yeah, kid?" 

"I didn't really make reserve Beater, did I?" 

Marcus laughed. "You did. Didn't you hear Madame Hooch?" 

"Y-yeah, but I – I mean, I thought that she got the wrong name or something!" 

"Nope," said Marcus, looking highly amused. He clapped the astounded child on the shoulder. "Congratulations, then. I think next year you'll   
be good enough to make the team proper, if you keep practicing." 

Cody gaped for a few moments and then let out a cry of elation that made Flint jump. "Thanks, Marcus! That's so cool! I can't wait for practice!   
Will I get my own robes? Will I get to play any games? When do we start?" 

Marcus Flint seemed taken aback at Cody's barrage of overexcited questions, but then he laughed aloud. "You're a good kid, Cody," he said.   
"Calm down. Yes, you'll be fitted for some robes, I'm sure we've got a spare set we can alter to fit you. You'll be at games ready to play if either   
of the Beaters are taken out for any reason. And we start practice tomorrow morning." Flint's grin widened. "We've got a new Seeker to train,   
after all." 

Cody looked up at Malfoy, who had been named Seeker, and was talking with one of the other team mates. He giggled, and waved at Malfoy, so   
happy at the moment that he could not even dislike Malfoy the slightest bit. "Congraderlations!" Cody said to him, mutilating the word a bit. 

Malfoy raised his brows and gave a bit of a nod. "Thanks. You too." 

"Thanks! Wow, I can't wait to tell Kathy!" 

In the Slytherin common room, the first thing Cody did was look for his friend. She wasn't there, so he scoured the grounds for her. He finally   
found the fifth year near the lake, watching the giant squid do somersaults in the water. "Kathy!" he called, running at her. 

Startled, Kathy turned around. "What's wrong?" she asked. 

"Nothing!" Cody said with a giggle. "But guess what?" 

"What?" 

"I made reserve Beater for the Quidditch team!" 

Kathy grinned at the boy, and stood up. "Fantastic!" she said. "Well done!" She shook Cody's hand. "I forgot Quidditch tryouts were today." 

"Yeah! I didn't think I'd get anything, but I got reserve! And I'm gonna get to wear the Quidditch robes, an' go to practices, an' everything!" 

The next few minutes were spent telling Kathy all about the tryouts, and who had gotten on the team. 

"Malfoy's Seeker, huh?" she said. "Kinda surprised at that. He's not a horrible flier, but he's not fantastic, either. Seeker's a difficult position.   
What happened to the other one?" 

"I dunno! He quit the team, I think." 

"Well, maybe Draco was the only one who tried out," said Kathy. "Anyway, I'm glad you made the team, even if it's only reserve!" 

"Thanks!" 

Cody found that not everyone was quite so supportive of Cody having made a reserve position. Not that anyone minded, but several people   
snickered over someone so little being a Beater for the team. Cody was indignant, and ended up sticking his tongue out a lot. 

The next day, Cody was wakened early in the morning by Marcus Flint. When he asked groggily why he had to get up so early, Flint told him he needed to get his robes for Quidditch practice. Cody's eyes widened, and he laughed. "I forgot!" He jumped out of bed, wide awake, and very   
nearly went out in his pajamas. After dressing hastily, Cody ran out of the common room after Flint. 

Cody was led down to the training room, where the various Slytherin members already had assembled, some looking half asleep, a couple   
looking eager to being their session. Malfoy sat in the corner, looking smug. 

"Okay," said Flint. "I've got a set that belonged to one of the Seekers a while back, he was nearly as small as you were. And he was thirteen   
when he played Seeker." He tossed the robes to Cody, who looked them over. They fastened differently than the regular school robes, but he   
managed to figure them out. He had to get some help with the protective pads that Quidditch players wore, but finally he was clad. "How do I   
look?" 

The robes were a little dusty, but still too big for Cody, so they hung on the ground. The Slytherins stifled snickers, as Cody looked down at   
himself. The padding was also too big, and covered far more than it should have. Cody felt like he was in a suit of armor. 

"It's a start," Flint said. He took out his wand. "Stay still, now. Lemme get these robes the right size, at least. Reducio..." 

Cody stayed as still as he could manage, and watched nervously as his robes began to shrink. When they were the right size, Flint pulled his   
wand away, breaking the charm. Then he patted Cody hard on the back a few times, making him cough, but pounding the dust out of the green   
robes. "There." Flint nodded in satisfaction, and told Cody to take a seat. 

Once the team were seated on the benches, Flint began telling them about the coming season, how they were going to win, and how they were   
going to train harder than ever to get the Quidditch in-house cup that year. "We've got a few new players," he said, "But we're a good team,   
and new blood is never a bad thing." 

Malfoy snickered. "It is if it's half-blood," he joked. Nearly everyone burst into laughter at this slur. Cody rolled his eyes when he was sure no   
one was looking at him. 

"Well, there's that," said Marcus Flint. "All right. Oliver Wood booked the pitch this morning, but there's enough room for us both to practice.   
Professor Snape gave us permission to practice today. DeDannan, you know the rules of Quidditch well enough, right?" 

"Yep!" 

"Good. And you know what Beaters do, correct?" 

"Yeah! We hit the Bludgers at the other team, and keep them from hitting our team." 

"Good. I know the rest of you are familiar with the game. All right, then. Let's go out and train!" 

There was an enthusiastic agreement as the Slytherin Quidditch players left the training room and walked onto the pitch. Clutching one of the   
school brooms, Cody walked behind the rest of the team, his insides quivering with nervousness. 

The team had barely gotten out on the patch before Oliver Wood shot at them on foot as if aiming to collide. Cody flinched, and ducked behind   
Derrick, one of the Beaters. Oliver Wood sputtered furiously that Gryffindor had booked the Quidditch pitch for their team's practice. 

"Plenty of room for us all, Wood," Marcus said calmly. 

"But I booked the field! I booked it!" Cody could see why the Gryffindor team was intimidated by Wood sometimes. When it came to Quidditch,   
Wood got kind of crazy! 

Marcus smirked and handed Wood the note he had from Professor Snape, which stated permission for Slytherin to practice that day, to train   
their new Seeker. When Wood asked who it was, Flint stood aside to reveal Malfoy, who was looking especially smug. 

"Aren't you Lucius Malfoy's son?" Fred asked, making Cody think of his own encounter with Draco's father. 

This, of course, prompted Flint to tell Wood that Lucius had bought new brooms for the team, Nimbus 2001's. Even Cody was impressed by the   
brooms, as they were sleek and shiny looking. He wished he could get one of those! He wondered how much they cost. Maybe he could get   
one next year. Still, he was happy to have any kind of broom to ride on. 

"Can I ride yours sometime?" Cody asked Flint once he'd finished extolling the virtues of the new brooms. 

Flint looked down. "Sure, kid. Oh," he added to Wood. "We've got a reserve Beater that needs training, too." He ruffled Cody's hair. Cody gave   
Wood a sheepish look and shrugged apologetically. He wondered if his being on the Slytherin team would make the Gryffindors not like him   
anymore. He hoped not. 

Flint's eyes flicked upwards. "Oh look, a field invasion." 

Cody looked up to see Ron and Hermione approaching, and winced. Here was a bad scene coming up. He slipped back a bit, not wanting to be   
in the forefront. He edged to the outside of the team, watching from there. 

Malfoy make a remark about raffling off the twins' Cleansweep brooms to a museum, and frowned as the rest of the team laughed like hyenas.   
He liked the twins, and this was just another example of the nastiness that the Slytherins could come up with. He had to stop himself smirking at   
Hermione's retort about Malfoy buying his way onto the team. 

"Nobody asked your opinion, you filthy little Mudblood," Malfoy growled, and Cody's eyes widened. It was strange, here, hearing it in person;   
aloud, he could tell how nasty and hateful a term it was. 

Everyone else could too, obviously, as the Gryffindor team all but started a brawl then and there. Cody ducked out of the way. Things happened fast, then, and in the chaos, Ron whipped out his wand. "You'll pay for that one, Malfoy!" he shouted, and a loud bang emanated from his   
wand. Unfortunately, the hex backfired thanks to Ron's broken wand, and hit Ron instead, doubling him over on the grass. 

Ron gagged, then retched, and a mouthful of slugs poured out onto the pitch. The Slytherins howled with mirth, but even if Cody had thought   
this funny, he didn't think he would be able to laugh. It was absolutely disgusting, watching Ron vomit up slugs onto the grass. At a second   
wave of slimy insects from poor Ron, Cody clapped a hand to his mouth and turned around to face the other way. 

Once the Gryffindors were off the pitch, Flint turned to his team. "All right, you lot, let's get up there and practice!" He still rumbled with   
laughter as he spoke, but at least had calmed enough that he could stand on his own. "Why're you lookin' so upset?" he asked Cody,   
chuckling. "He's just a Gryffindor." 

Obviously, Cody didn't offer his opinion on the Gryffindors. He did, however, offer his opinion on the hex Ron had tried to use, and looked at   
Flint with a look of sheer revulsion on his face. "That was really gross." 

Flint laughed. "Yeah, it was. Served him right, though. C'mon, kid, let's see how well you play." 

Not very well, was the answer to that, at least at first. Cody was nervous, and not used to flying with the slightly bulky Quidditch gear on. He   
was knocked off his broom once, luckily not from high enough to hurt him much. He cried a bit, but once he got over it, he climbed back on his   
broom and continued. 

He carried a Beater's bat in one hand for most of the practice, waiting for one of the Bludgers to come at him. Then he'd take both hands from   
the broom and grip his bat, sending the evil ball at one of the other players. The thrill of flying in the cool morning air was a bit of a distraction,   
and the excitement of having made the team even more so. Cody's expression traded back and forth between that of delight, and a sort of   
determined concentration. 

Once he got over his nervousness, though, he played fairly. He managed to unseat Malfoy once, and Flint once, though Bole sent a Bludger at   
Cody that hit him almost fully on the shoulder. It was not a hard enough strike to break anything, he didn't think, but it did hurt him. Cody   
dropped his bat, and tried very hard not to cry as he flew, one-handed, down to the ground. 

When he landed, he got off his broom, clenching his teeth, with one hand clutching his shoulder. Flint flew above Cody and asked if he was all   
right. 

"I-I think my shoulder's hurt," Cody gasped, feeling tears stinging his eyes. He wiped them away angrily. 

"It's okay," said Flint, sighing a little. "Injuries happen all the time, and practice is nearly over. Go ahead up to the hospital wing." 

Cody nodded. "Okay." He watched Flint fly back up to the rest of the team, and feeling dejected, picked up his bat and broom in one hand, and   
trudged up to the castle. Why did he have to screw everything up, anyway? Flint was sure to be regretting his decision to make Cody an   
alternate. He was too young and small to play this game. He shouldn't have even tried out. 

The boy was quite depressed once he got up to the hospital wing, setting his broomstick and his Beater's bat on an empty bed. "Madame   
Pomfrey?" he called in a little voice. 

The nurse came out of her office, frowning a little bit at the upset boy. "What happened, did you get hurt in practice?" she asked. 

Cody nodded. "Yeah...my shoulder. A Bludger got me. I didn't duck fast enough." 

"Ohhh, Cody, and your first practice, too. Come on over here, let me take a look." She muttered about letting students play dangerous sports,   
and how Flint was crazy to let Cody do something so dangerous as young as he was, as she looked over his arm. It only made Cody feel worse,   
even though he knew she just worried about the students. He clenched his teeth, letting out a slight whimper of pain as Madame Pomfrey raised his arm, and felt the shoulder. "Well, no break, but there might be a fracture. But no reason to worry, it's easily fixable." 

Madame Pomfrey set Cody's arm back down and got out her wand from her robes, and pointed it at Cody's shoulder. There was a glow of warm, yellow light, and Cody felt all pain being removed from his injured arm. When the glow faded, he tried moving it experimentally, awed enough by the healing for the moment that he forgot to be upset. "Wow, you're really good at that!" 

Looking flattered, Madame Pomfrey smiled. "Well thank you, young Cody. Now, go on down to the Great Hall, it's nearly lunchtime. I don't   
believe that the Slytherin team got anything to eat yet, am I correct?" 

Cody nodded. It sounded neat to be included when someone mentioned the Quidditch team, but he also felt another twinge of shame that his   
first practice had turned out so badly. "Okay, thanks." He sighed as he gathered his broom and bat, and walked out of the hospital wing. 

He ran into Mr. Filch on the way back out to the pitch, who curled his lip as Cody passed. "The least you could do, boy, is make sure your   
shoes are clean before you walk on my floors!" he growled at Cody. 

Cody looked down. He had tracked a very small bit of dirt onto the floor. It wasn't even muddy out! He scowled, in no mood for Filch and his   
bitter nastiness towards the students. He very nearly said something very rude to him, but figured that would get him detention. Instead, he   
didn't answer at all, simply walked back outside. 

The day was dawning warm and bright, and as Cody headed back to put the broom and bat away, he could not help but feel a little better. It was   
not always easy to be miserable when there was warm sun shining on your face. 

He did not run into the team as he put his equipment away, and supposed they had already gone to eat. He did, however, meet Harry, Ron, and   
Hermione in the hall, heading for lunch also. They must have just left Hagrid, he thought. "Hi," he said, a little sheepishly to them. 

Ron scowled, in a foul mood, obviously, because of Malfoy. He didn't seem to be in any mood to talk to a Slytherin. Cody looked at the trio   
uncertainly. "Sorry Malfoy said that," he finally said, after making sure there weren't any others around from his house. Cody didn't like it when   
people were mean to other people, and he did like Ron and the others, but he had to live with the Slytherins. And he didn't need them to hear   
him talking against them in any way. "He's kind of a git." 

"'Kind' of?" Ron retorted. "He's the biggest git in England." 

"It's all right," Harry said. Cody was looking fairly upset at Ron's attitude. "Come on, I'm sure you're hungry. Flint holds practice almost as long as Wood does. We're headed to get something to eat, ourselves." 

Cody smiled at Harry, grateful for the invitation. "Okay." He walked with the three Gryffindors towards the Great Hall. "Why're you mad at me?"   
Cody asked Ron. He hadn't really gotten to know Ron much the previous year, had spent more time with Fred and George in actuality, but he   
still had been on fairly friendly terms. 

Ron shrugged. "I'm not, really. Just...most Slytherins are miserable gits. And besides, I've got detention with Filch tonight." Ron kept walking   
ahead of the others, not turning to look at Cody as he spoke. 

Cody winced. "That sucks. He's in a really bad mood, too. He yelled at me for making a big mess when all I did was get a little dirt on the floor." 

Ron sighed. "Perfect." 

"How did practice go?" Harry asked after a moment, trying to be a good sport. After all, opposing house or not, Cody hadn't been the one to   
call Hermione a Mudblood. 

"Well...okay, I guess," said Cody dejectedly. "I got hit with a Bludger though, at the end, an' had to go to the hospital wing." 

"That's all right," said Harry. "Quidditch is dangerous. It could've happened to anyone." 

Cody smiled gratefully at Harry, who in Cody's opinion was one of the best players in the school. "Thanks." 

Little more was said as the four students walked into the Great Hall. It seemed a little strange, for students in red and green Quidditch robes,   
walking side by side, Cody thought. But he thought maybe if the House made friends with each other more, then they wouldn't be fighting so   
much! 

Once they got inside, they separated for their respective tables. "Well, good luck," said Harry, holding out his hand. Cody took it. "Don't worry   
about it. The more you practice, the easier it'll get." 

"Thanks," Cody said again, and waved at the trio as he headed for the Slytherin table. 

The rest of the team had changed out of their robes, but were sitting together. Cody climbed onto a bench, and said nothing at first, as he was   
eager to get some food on his plate. He was not used to missing breakfast. He looked up as he stuffed a sandwich into his mouth, to see some of the team looking at him oddly. Malfoy, across the table from Cody, looked downright contemptuous. 

"You know," he said loudly. "If I didn't know better, I'd say it looked like you were friends with those Gryffindors." 

Cody scowled as he swallowed his bite. He noticed that some of the Gryffindors glanced over at Malfoy's voice, but didn't look over there.   
Instead, he glared at Malfoy. "So what? I can be friends with them if I want to." 

Malfoy's lip curled. "It's not how Slytherins act, DeDannan. They don't make friends with Mudbloods." 

"You shut up, Draco!" Cody said. "Just 'cuz I'm Slytherin doesn't mean I have to be mean to people. I like them." 

"You should make friends with people in your own house." 

"I do! I like Kathy Skinner, an' I like Marcus," He pointed to Flint as he said this, "and I like Gregory okay, too." He pointed to Goyle, who had   
not been all that rude towards Cody during his time at Hogwarts. Crabbe, however, seemed to like to make fun of him. Cody listed off several   
more names of Slytherins that he got along with and liked, before nodding smugly, and going back to his food. 

Draco seemed about to say something else, but at that point, Flint stepped in. "Okay, that's enough." He turned to Malfoy, who looked   
mutinous. "I don't like Potter or the others any more than you, Malfoy, but that's DeDannan's business. He's done nothing yet to make him   
disloyal to Slytherin, so leave the kid alone. I don't want fighting among our team. Now shake hands, will you?" 

He didn't look like he wanted to, but Malfoy finally did nod. "Okay. Truce." He extended his hand over the able. 

"Okay," Cody agreed, taking it. At least Malfoy wasn't a totally hopeless jerk. Yet. 


	8. Year 2, Chapter 3: Chamber of Secrets

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 3: Chamber of Secrets**

Lunch went relatively smoothly after that. After he finished eating, Cody said good bye to the rest of the team, and went to the common room to change out of his robes. He looked at them for a moment, and could not help grinning at the green cloth. Maybe it was just a reserve position,   
but it was better than nothing. And even with his mess-up, practice had been fun. He hoped he'd stop getting so mad every time something like   
that happened. He was young enough that it was fairly easy to damage his self-confidence, but on the other hand, his youth and resilience   
made it difficult to do so for long. By the time he finished getting into his jeans and T-shirt, Cody was perfectly cheerful again. 

He visited Hagrid, telling him all about the practice, and what went on before it. Hagrid was fairly grave when they talked about what Malfoy had said, and Cody sighed. "I wish he wasn't so mean," he said, looking up at Hagrid. "The Slytherins aren't horrible. I mean, not all of them. Some   
are really, really nice. But a lot of them..." He trailed off, looking a bit troubled. "Even Draco can be nice. Sometimes." 

"Well, yeh know," said Hagrid, putting a hand on Cody's shoulder. "Most of the lot were brought up by their parents to think that most other   
people, especially people who aren't pure-blood like them, aren't as good as they are. I suppose that's not all their fault. But don' worry, kid.   
Most people won't judge you an' the other good ones, based on people like Malfoy." 

Cody nodded. "I guess. But still, some of them get mad when I'm friends with people in other houses, like Harry, an Neville, and them." 

"Well, on'y thing I can think of is to try not to let it bother yeh." 

"Yeah." 

After that, the conversation turned to more cheerful things. 

That evening was the tryouts for the school choir, and Cody was far more confident of this than he had been of the Quidditch practice. Singing   
was something he loved to do, and did quite well. There were a few others trying out for the choir as well, and as Cody's name was near the end   
of the audition list, he had time to listen to them. Many of them couldn't sing to save their lives, but some were very good. They had to sing   
some scales in their voice range, and they had to sing a solo. Cody choose a song that he knew from a movie, called Somewhere Out There. He   
sang it considerably better than the child character in the movie did, in fact. 

Once everyone was done, the professor conducting the interviews (it was a wizard Cody had never met before) he told them the results would   
be on the house bulletin boards on Monday. 

He did end up accepted into the choir, as one of the sopranos, and was very happy about it, as now he had Quidditch and chorus practices both to look forward to. That gave him something to do when class was out! Cody liked to keep busy. 

As September made way for October, the weather got damp and chilly. The Gryffindor team seemed to be practicing in all weather, and not to be   
outdone, Flint had practiced just as often. It was not uncommon for the Slytherins to be out flying in heavy rain, even thunderstorms. If it wasn't too cold out, Cody didn't mind in the least! It was hard to see the Bludgers, but other than that, it was great fun to be out flying in the rain.   
Unfortunately, it was cold most of the time, and Cody found himself freezing by the end of each practice. He needed to learn a warming spell or   
something! 

On the bright side of things, he did get better as practice went on, and he wasn't the only one injured during training. He did get a cold however, caught it from Marcus, and the pair ended up taking Madame Pomfrey's Pepper-Up Potion. It tasted very spicy, and Cody had to guzzle several   
cups of water afterwards, but it did knock the cold out of him almost immediately. He bet his mom would love to get her hands on some of this   
stuff! 

"That's a nice look for you," Flint said, his tone teasing, as they left the hospital wing. 

"Huh?" He looked closely at Flint, and realized that his ears were smoking! He blinked. "Are my ears doing that too?" 

Flint chuckled. "Yep." 

Cody waved his hands besides his ears, and was startled to see the wisps of smoke wafting around his face as he did. After his initial surprise,   
Cody laughed. It was even stranger to see so many others that day who was smoking from the ears, like in the cartoons. It was quite a   
distraction when it came to trying to do his work in class. 

Halloween was coming up soon, and Cody found that he was looking forward to the feast, especially since the chorus would be giving their first performance there. The choir all stood on magically conjured risers, waiting for the students to arrive at the Hall, and before the food was   
served, they sang their first two songs. One was a song about Hogwarts, the second was a spooky song about the Forbidden Forest. After that, the food arrived, but the choir still had three or so other songs that they sang while the students ate. Finally, their show was over, and they were dismissed from the risers, to the applause of the Great Hall. Beaming, he ran down to the Slytherin table. 

"That was great!" he exclaimed to Kathy, as he sat down beside her. "I like choir a lot!" 

"You did good!" Kathy said, grinning at him. "Bet you're hungry." 

"Yeah, I am!" Cody filled his plate with the delicious fare, and ate in silence for a few moments. 

As last year, he was disappointed that they did not seem to dress in costume at all, but the food was superb, Hagrid's pumpkins had been   
grown to what must be record size, and Cody enjoyed talking, laughing, and eating with the other members of his house. He was even on fairly   
friendly terms again with Malfoy. 

After the feast had ended, Cody found that he had stuffed himself silly, but did not mind a bit. He piled out of the Great Hall with the other   
Slytherins, who seemed to be leading the crowd out of the Great Hall. He walked alongside Malfoy and Flint, feeling content, and ready to hang   
out in the common room before curling up in his nice, comfortable four poster. 

The crowd climbed the stairs from the Great Hall, heading down the corridor, when the people at the forefront suddenly stopped. Not having   
been paying much attention, Cody ran into the back of Goyle, as he stopped short, looking up at something. Blinking, Cody stepped around   
Goyle and peered around his robes at what everyone was gaping at. 

Cody gasped. He had quite forgotten what happened at Halloween in the second book, and was just as shocked as everyone else. He stepped a   
bit farther away from Goyle, staring at what looked like a dead cat. Mrs. Norris lay, as if dead, on the floor, and on the wall above her were the   
words: THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED ENEMIES OF THE HEIR BEWARE. "Eu, gross," Cody said softly, looking at Mrs.   
Norris. She did look dead, all stiff and lifeless. Even knowing she wasn't really dead, the sight still made Cody shiver. 

"Enemies of the Heir beware!" Draco said, his face gleeful. "You'll be next, Mudbloods!" 

Cody barely heard him, too busy was he staring at the wall, and Mrs. Norris in turn. Then Filch arrived, freaked out about his cat, and   
Dumbledore arrived on the scene. He brought Filch, Mrs. Norris, Ron, Harry, and Hermione into Lockhart's office, as the student body stared   
after them, silent. "Wh-what's that mean?" asked Cody, pointing to the writing on the wall. 

Draco laughed. "It means someone's finally doing something about all the Muggle-borns in the school." Cody frowned, and looked up at the   
words once more. "I'm going to have to ask my father about it," Draco continued. "He'll know what the Chamber of Secrets is." 

Further talk was cut off by the prefects of the Houses calling, "Everyone back to the dorms! This way, quickly!" 

Once in the common room, the Slytherins were all talking about the attack. The opinion seemed to be somewhat divided among the students.   
Cody noticed that while most would have preferred the school be only pure-bloods, there were not so many that wished that the Muggle-born   
students would die. "That seems an awful severe way to get the Muggle-borns out," said one of the third years, frowning. "I mean, I know it's   
only Filch's cat, but still. If he goes after students, next, someone could die." 

"So what?" said Malfoy. "It's not like they're proper wizards." 

"No?" said Kathy Skinner, giving Malfoy a mild look. "I don't know, Malfoy. I seem to remember one Muggle-born student last year that beat   
you in every exam." She smirked at Draco, and sent a surreptitious wink towards Cody, who put his chin in his arms to hide his grin. 

Malfoy threw Kathy a filthy look, but Kathy was four years ahead of Draco, was bigger than Draco, and knew more hexes than Draco. And so   
for now, he didn't retaliate. Finally, he settled for saying, "It doesn't matter how many charms they know, or how smart they are. They're still   
impure." 

Kathy snorted. "'Impure'? Come off it, Draco, we're not talking about potion ingredients, here." 

"Maybe not," said Pansy Parkinson grimly. "But they're still not pure-bred wizards." 

"We're not dogs, either," Kathy said, rolling her eyes in irritation. 

"The point _is_," Draco continued, looking annoyed that the thread of conversation was taken from him, "The point is that Muggle-borns should   
never have been allowed in this school. Salazar Slytherin thought them untrustworthy, he must have had a good reason to!" 

"Yeah," piped up Crabbe. "Yeah, and if someone's planning on killing them..." 

Malfoy nodded. "Even Dumbledore looked worried, did you see that? Worried about his precious Mudbloods. If it's something more powerful   
than him, planning on killing the Mudbloods, I say that's a sign that Slytherin was right. And something's finally being done about it." 

Kathy curled her lip in disgust and stood up, shaking her heads. "What a lot of bigoted little gits," she muttered as she passed Cody. "I'm going to my dorm." 

"Yeah, me too," said Cody. He waved at Kathy, and headed for the boys' dorm, and crept into bed. Malfoy really was kind of dumb, he thought   
to himself as he pulled one of his books out of his trunk. He wondered if he really believed all that stuff, or if he just used it as an excuse so he   
could be mean to someone and have a reason for it. Probably both. 

"Did you know that people all over are saying that Harry Potter's Slytherin's heir?" Goyle said in the common room a few days later. Cody was   
sitting on the back of one of the big, fat chairs in front of the fire. 

"I knew," Cody said. 

Malfoy snorted. "Ridiculous! Potter? The Heir of Slytherin? Whose mother's a Mudblood?" 

"Besides," Cody said. "He made Voldemort disappea -" Cody blinked at a flurry of winces, and hissed admonitions for quiet, not to mention   
Marcus Flint's hand over his mouth. "What's the big idea?" he tried to say, but it came out as "Wha wa ih ieeah?" 

"Are you mad?" one of them said. 

"Do not say the Dark Lord's name!" a creepy seventh year hissed. 

Cody removed Marcus' hand from his mouth and scowled. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry, I forgot! Sheesh!" 

"Forgot?" said the seventh year in a tone of mild amazement. "The Dark Lord's name is not for those such as us to say!" 

Cody looked at that one for a few moments, frowning a little bit. That one would be a Death Eater when he got older, Cody was sure of that. He   
bet that his parents were, too. The seventh year glared back, his ice-blue eyes wide, his pupils dilated, and then returned to his reading. 

Cody stuck his tongue out at the back of the older boy's head, then slipped down to sit in the chair the normal way. Well, almost normal. He sat   
on the seat, but dangled his legs over the arm. 

The conversation went on for several more minutes, and Cody stayed out of it. He was thinking of the creepy, redheaded seventh year, and   
wondered just how many kids in Slytherin house had Death Eaters for parents. And how many more would become Death Eaters before the   
whole thing was through. 

At that moment, there were a few startled gasps in the room, and Cody looked up to see the Bloody Baron gliding through the wall of the   
common room to sit in a chair next to him. He blinked and looked at the ghost, who seemed to simply be staring into the fire. He was certainly   
creepy. Cody peered at the ghost, taking in his old-fashioned clothing, the silver stains down his front that he had been told was blood, the   
man's vacant stare. "I didn't know ghosts came in here," he finally said to the baron. He noticed a few of the students were watching him   
interestedly. He had the idea that not many of them made casual conversation with the baron. 

At first, Cody thought he had either gone unheard, or ignored, but after a few moments, the baron slowly turned to look at him. "I am the   
resident specter of Slytherin house," he said in a low tone. "Why would I not be here?" 

The baron's voice sent a shiver of trepidation through Cody's body. What a horrible person this man must have been in life! "Um, I dunno,"   
Cody said finally, and the baron turned back to stare at the fire. "How come there's blood on your clothes?" 

"It was there when I died." 

Well, that made sense, Cody thought. But it hadn't really answered his question. "How did it get there? Did you kill someone?" 

The baron turned to Cody again, smiling an altogether ghoulish, unpleasant smile. "Are you certain you wish to know? 

Cody blinked and swallowed hard, creeping out of his chair, his face a bit white as he looked at the fiendish expression on the ghost's face. He   
could see why people were so scared of him; he was frightening! "U-um, n-no," he said, taking a step or two backwards. 

The ghost's smile widened for a moment, then he turned back to the fire once more. Cody frowned, and moved away from the fire area, choosing a chair on the opposite side of the common room. He saw a few of the other Slytherins snickering, but didn't care. They hadn't seen that   
terrifying grin! He wondered if he could look up the Bloody Baron in the library. Maybe he'd ask Hermione Granger later. She seemed to know   
everything about the school. 

The next day after classes, carrying his book bag, Cody looked all around for Hermione, to ask her that very thing. She was probably with Ron   
and Harry, since they were almost always together. He did finally catch Ron's voice, saying something about Slytherin, and he ran in that   
direction. He came around the corner in time to hear Ron say, "If the Sorting Hat tried to put me in Slytherin, I'd have got the train straight back   
home." 

He blinked, and looked at Ron, trying to decide if he was insulted or not. 

"Er," said Harry. "I'm sure he didn't mean it quite how it sounded." 

After a few moments, Cody decided he wasn't all too offended. After all, before this adventure, he had thought quite the same thing about   
Slytherin! He shrugged. "It's okay,' he said, then turned to Hermione. "I have a question." 

Curious, Hermione looked at Cody as the four students continued down the hallway. "What is it?" 

"Well, you know all about the castle, and probably more than anyone else." He noticed her blush a little. "Do you know anything about the   
ghosts?" 

"Well," she said. "A little bit. I know more about Sir Nicholas than anyone else. What did you want to know?" 

"Well, I wanted to know about the Bloody Baron. You know, who he was before he died, and how he got all that blood on him. I asked him last   
night but he gave me this big creepy grin so I stayed away from him." 

Ron snorted with laughter, and even the other two chuckled. "Don't blame you, mate," said Ron. "Even half the Slytherins are afraid of him.   
Well, you know, the other Slytherins." 

Cody nodded. "Yeah, he's really creepy." 

"Well," said Hermione. "I don't know anything about the baron, but I'm sure that you could find him in one of the books in the library. Maybe   
Madame Pince could help you find the right book." 

"What about 'Hogwarts, A History'?" asked Ron with a smirk. "I thought you could find out _anything_ about the castle in there." 

Hermione shot Ron a look. "Just because you don't read a book unless you're threatened with detention -" 

Cody stifled a giggle as he listened to the bickering. A small first-year called hello to Harry then, and tried to tell him something, but ended up   
being swept away by the crowd. That one was one of the students that was about Cody's size, which made Cody tend to want to make friends   
with him, if only to not feel so tiny. He listened to the three Gryffindors talking about people thinking Harry was the heir, and about what had   
attacked the people. Cody knew. But then saying so might make people suspect him. And since it all got resolved in the end, with the added   
bonus of Lockhart getting what he deserved, Cody was content to stay quiet. 

Hermione brought their attention then to a group of spiders, fighting to get out of a nearby window through a crack, and he went over to peer at   
them. He, himself, liked spiders. Ron, obviously did not. He didn't like "the way they move". 

"How did Fred know how to turn your teddy bear into a spider?" Cody asked. "I thought kids can't do magic outside of school." 

"He wasn't in school yet," Ron said, scowling. "And you know Fred and George. They're always doing stuff and learning stuff they're not   
supposed to." 

Cody grinned suddenly, and nodded his head. "I sure do know!" 

But then the subject was turned from spiders and the twins, to the water that had flooded the hallway when Filch's mangy cat was found   
Petrified. Ron led them to the door, and then recoiled from it, saying it was a girl's bathroom and he couldn't go in. 

"There won't be anyone in there," said Hermione. "That's Moaning Myrtle's place." 

"Who's that?" Cody asked, as Hermione opened the door. 

"Well, I expect you'll meet her soon." 

The four students stepped into the bathroom, to see Myrtle sitting, or rather floating, above one of the toilets. Cody looked at her interestedly.   
She looked about fourteen, he thought with a frown. That wasn't right. No one should have to be a ghost when they were still a kid. Of course   
she was about twice Cody's age, but teenagers weren't grown-ups, not really. Of course this ended up being one of the more disagreeable   
ghosts he'd ever met. She asked what the boys were doing in a girl's bathroom. 

And defensive - ! Every little thing that was said, she took as teasing. She probably did get teased, Cody thought, but if he knew someone who   
went into hysterics at the smallest word, he'd probably not want to hang around her much either! 

The conversation ended, not with any useful information, but with Myrtle diving into a toilet and splashing them all with what Cody fervently   
hoped was clean water. "Euuuu, gross! How come she sits inside the toilets, anyway? What if someone _uses _that toilet?" He had a look of   
disgust on his face. 

"Never mind," said Hermione. "Besides, that was almost cheerful for her. Come on, let's go." 

Unfortunately, as they were all emerging from the bathroom, they were seen by none other than Percy Weasley, who made a huge deal about it.   
It wasn't like there was anyone in there! He and Ron argued, and Percy stalked off, after having taken five points from Gryffindor. Cody scowled   
after him. "Jerk," he muttered. "I thought prefects couldn't take points, anyway." 

"I guess we'll find out," said Hermione, and sighed. "We'd better get back to the common room. See you, Cody." 

Cody waved bye to the trio, who waved back, and headed back down towards his own common room. But did he really want to spend the   
evening with Malfoy, talking about how he couldn't wait to see all the Mudbloods cleared from the school? Not really, he decided, and headed   
for the library instead. 

Cody spent his evening looking in books for information on the Bloody Baron, but didn't end up finding much. If only he knew his name! Then   
he was sure he could find something. Unfortunately, all the copies of Hogwarts, A History were checked out by students wanting to look for   
information on the Chamber of Secrets. And Hermione didn't have her copy here so he could borrow it. 

He left when it was time for the library to close, grinning big at the suspicious old librarian, Madame Pince. It always made her think he was up to something. 

Malfoy wasn't in the common room when Cody got there, and he was happy about this. Yawning, he said good night to Marcus Flint and Kathy Skinner, who were there, then stumbled to his bunk. He was very tired after the excitement of the day. 

Not much happened the rest of the week. Cody had his classes, as usual, and did somewhat better in Herbology than he had the previous year.   
Still, plants didn't seem to be his forte. He found himself wishing he didn't have to take the miserable class, and griped about it whenever he felt   
the need. 

It occurred to him, then, that there was someone who knew a great deal about Herbology that he was friends with: Neville! At lunch, the middle   
of the week, Cody approached Neville Longbottom at the Gryffindor table. He got a few dirty, suspicious looks from some of the Gryffindors,   
but he didn't care. It was just more stupid House rivalry. He, personally, thought that Hermione was right, and that the Houses should work   
together a bit more. "Neville?" Cody said, climbing onto the bench beside the older boy. 

"Hi, Cody," said Neville through a mouthful of beef stew. "How're you?" 

"Okay, but I hate Herbology." He scowled and crammed a muffin into his mouth, glaring at the tray it had come from as if it were the one who   
made Herbology so horrid. 

Neville blinked. "Why?" he asked. Slytherin and Gryffindor didn't have Herbology together, so Neville had never seen how badly Cody did in   
the class. 

"It's hard!" Cody exclaimed. "I can't ever remember all the names of the plants, or what ones bite you -" At this, he showed Neville a line of   
white dots on his arm, remnants from a bite off of a fanged plant Cody had tangled with. "Madame Pomfrey said the scar'll fade, but it hurt."   
Cody sighed. "I'm just not good at it. I wondered...if you'd help me with it?" 

Neville looked astounded, as he looked down at Cody. "Me?" he finally asked. 

"Well yeah. I heard you're really good in it." 

Neville blinked, and only gazed at Cody, a little bit of a smile playing on his mouth. Cody realized that he'd probably just paid Neville a bigger   
compliment than it seemed at first, and was glad of it. Neville deserves it, he thought, after how mean everyone is to him. "Sure, I can help you,   
dunno how much good I'll do, but I can try." 

Cody grinned. "Thanks! Maybe after school sometimes?" 

Neville nodded. "Sure. You guys have Herbology the same day, right? Just not the same time?" 

"I think so." 

"Let's do it after school on those days then...that sound okay?" 

Cody nodded. "Yeah! Thanks, Neville." 

Neville smiled. "You're welcome. So...what do you think of Professor Lockhart?" 

Cody snorted. As homework, their class was supposed to write a poem of Lockhart's defeat of the Wagga-Wagga Werewolf. "He's really stuck   
up, and doesn't know anything," he said quietly, not wanting Hermione to overhear. 

Neville frowned. "Yeah, that's what I think, too. He thinks he can do everything better than everyone else. He really makes me feel dumb   
sometimes." 

"Me too." 

They ate in silence for a few moments, before Cody stood up. "I better get back over at the Slytherin table, before they get all mad." He glanced   
up at those Gryffindors who were giving him rather unfriendly looks. "Er, and before the Gryffindors get mad too," he added. 

Neville laughed a little. "I know what you mean. See you next week after school, then?" 

Cody nodded. "Thanks." He waved as he headed over to the Slytherin table, where he climbed onto a seat beside Marcus Flint, and got himself   
a bowl of stew. 

"So, what were you doing over there?" Marcus asked. But unlike Malfoy, his voice wasn't accusatory, it was simply curious. 

"I was asking Neville if he'd help me with Herbology. He's really good at it." 

"Longbottom?" Marcus repeated with a tone of disbelief. "He can't even ride a broom for more than five seconds without falling off of it." 

"So?" said Cody. That was another thing. For the most part, when he and Flint argued, it never turned nasty. "Plants aren't brooms. That's   
probably why he's good at it." This odd bit of logic seemed to have taken Flint by surprise, as he didn't have an answer for it. Finally he   
shrugged, and turned back to his food. "They're not all bad," Cody said after a moment, almost hesitantly. "The Gryffindors, I mean. A lot of   
them are really nice." 

Flint grunted noncommittally. 

"I dunno why everyone has to be so nasty about it all the time." 

"The Gryffindors can be just as bad," said Flint, frowning into his stew bowl. 

"I know," said Cody. "I was talking about them too." 

"Oh. Yeah, well, it's been like that for centuries, hasn't it?" 

"I guess so." 

Flint chuckled, and mussed Cody's hair. "I wouldn't worry about it too much," he told him. "Can only get you in trouble. Think about the   
Quidditch match, instead. Think of how we're gonna squash Gryffindor." 

Cody giggled. Now that was the kind of rivalry he could deal with! "Yeah! Good idea...that's Saturday!" His eyes widened as he realized that the   
match was only a few days away. 

"Yep!" 

"So..." said Cody, uncertain. "Where do I go? Do I get in my robes, or do I wait and see if I'll get to play or not?" 

"You'll be in your robes," said Marcus. "But don't worry about the broom. If one of the Beaters gets taken out, you'll be using their Nimbus. I   
asked them both, and neither minds. If you don't get to play, you'll get a pretty good view of the game from the locker room exit." 

Cody nodded. "Okay!" He could not wait! He almost hoped that at least for one game, he would be allowed to play, if only to try out the Nimbus 2001. He vowed to ask Flint some time if he could try his during practice. The school brooms worked okay for flying practice, but were not very   
fast, and were fairly ragged. 

Come Saturday, Cody got up with the rest of the Slytherin team and got into his Quidditch robes. He looked down at them, grinning. He still   
could not believe how cool this was. He followed Flint and the others out onto the grounds, and then to the locker room. 

"All right," said Flint, grinning almost evilly at his team. Cody seemed to remember Flint being described as looking trollishly cunning, and he   
could see it. Flint had heavy facial features, little eyes, and crooked teeth. He wasn't horrid looking or anything, but he wasn't exactly handsome, either. And when he grinned like that, he did look kind of troll-like. Cody covered his mouth to stifle the giggle that nearly escaped him. Luckily,   
Flint didn't notice. "Gryffindor may have won the house cup last year, but that's the last time that's gonna happen, right?" 

The team responded with enthusiastic agreement. Malfoy looked particularly overconfident. 

"We've all practiced against their 'style' of flying." He snickered. "And we've got a damn good team. Now let's get out there and show   
everyone just how good we are!" 

"Not to mention the fact that we're on the fastest brooms in the school!" Malfoy added with a laugh. 

Flint nodded. "That's an advantage, to be sure. Just don't let it stop you from playing your best! We've got speed_ and _skill, and that's what's   
gonna win this game." Flint poked his head out the door and nodded. "Okay then, let's get out there. DeDannan, you don't have to wait inside   
here, there's a few benches outside, I think, for the reserves." 

Feeling unusually shy, Cody nodded, blushing a little bit. He was so nervous that he wasn't sure if he did or did not want to be a part of the   
game. He said nothing as the team marched out of the locker room, to the cheers of the Slytherins, and the boos of almost everyone else. Cody   
saw the Gryffindor team approaching from the opposite side of the pitch. He grinned as he caught Fred Weasley's eye (or it might have been   
George, he still couldn't tell them apart), and stuck his tongue out at him. The twin snorted, and thumbed his nose back. 

Cody hung back as the primary team met Gryffindor in the middle of the pitch, where Flint and Wood glowered at each other over their   
handshake. He sat on one of the weathered old benches and swung his legs back and forth as the teams soared into the air. He gave a cheer as   
the game started. 

Quidditch really was an awesome game. It was better than baseball or anything the Muggles could come up with in America, and probably   
England, too! So far as he knew, there were no sports that involved flying in anything but an airplane, except maybe hang-gliding. And certainly that wasn't as exciting as Quidditch. Nor as fast! 

Cody peered upward as Slytherin took the lead early on, helped a great deal by the speed of their brooms. The only broom that was close was   
Harry's Nimbus 2000. 

It began to rain, making Cody shiver, and consider ducking back into the locker room. But he didn't want to miss any part of the match, and so   
for now, he stayed outside. The only problem was, he was too far down to hear anything going on, except for Lee Jordan's commentary and the   
vague cheers and boos from the crowd. 

All of a sudden, the Gryffindor team landed, and Cody realized they must have had a time out. Oh yeah, he thought. That Bludger! The one that   
Dobby had tampered with. He watched from the doorway as the team huddled for a while, and then went back up, leaving Harry alone to deal   
with the evil Bludger. 

That only seemed to make things more exciting, the rogue Bludger, and Cody watched eagerly. As Harry twirled and soared and dove, the   
Bludger kept right on his tail. He flew low enough, once, that Cody had to duck out of the way with a yell of alarm, and then duck again as the   
Bludger came right after. "Sheesh!" Cody said, ducking into the locker room. He ended up staying in the doorway, which afforded some shelter   
from the rain (and the Bludger), while still letting him see the match. 

Gryffindor won, of course, but that hadn't stopped Cody from groaning in disappointment when Harry caught the Snitch and cove into the dirt   
not too far away from where Cody stood. Lee Jordan announced Gryffindor as having won, as their Quidditch team landed and hurried over to   
Harry. Cody noticed the Weasley twins tackling the rogue Bludger and ran over to them, wanting to do something useful, at least. He wasn't   
able to help much, as the ball wasn't big enough to need three people on it, but he did add some weight to counter the evil Bludger. 

When it was in the box, Cody stuck his tongue out at it, then turned to the twins. He shrugged, then grinned, holding out his hand. "Good job!"   
he said. 

After a moment, one of them shook his hand, then the others. "Thanks," one of them said. 

"We're gonna go check on Harry...see ya, kid!" 

The twins waved, and Cody waved back, then ran over to where the Slytherins had also landed. He was about to say something to Flint, but   
realized that he was in the process of royally chewing Malfoy out, and so he slowed down and said nothing. He did have to hide his smirk,   
though, as Malfoy glared. Not too happy, was he? If he hadn't been so busy making fun of Harry, he would have gotten the Snitch! 

He followed the team back into the locker room, feeling it had been a good game, after all. 


	9. Year 2, Chapter 4: Change of the Seasons

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 4: Change of the Seasons**

Malfoy was in a sour mood for a while after that, and Cody avoided him unless he had no choice. Quidditch practice was one of those times, and Malfoy seemed to be going at it with a vengeance, determined not to be humiliated again. Well good, Cody thought. Let him actually work for   
his position. 

The weather got colder and rainier as time went on, but the castle was warm enough for the most part, because of the fires that burned   
everywhere. It seemed every room in the place had a fireplace in it. Too bad the castle didn't have a heater like his house did. Center heat, his   
mom called it. At least that's what he thought she called it. 

As December approached, Cody found himself getting excited about Christmas again, and wondered if the decorations were the same each year. He was also excited about the upcoming Christmas concert, something for which the chorus had been rehearsing for a while, now. 

It was time for Potions, and Cody was in a very good mood. Professor Snape, however, was as sour as ever. He never really bullied his own   
students, but then most of them didn't get the preferred treatment that Malfoy and a few others got, either. He was definitely one who played   
favorites. At least he mostly left Cody alone. 

This lesson was an interesting one. They had been set a slightly more complicated potion than the ones of last year, which only made it more   
interesting to Cody. It was a Swelling potion, and though Cody wasn't sure why anyone would want to use such a thing, it was at least fun to   
make. Even if it did have gross things in it. 

Things were going along well enough until about the middle of the lesson, when all of a sudden, Goyle's cauldron exploded. Cody screamed in   
fright as solution sprayed the whole class, and he ducked under the table. Unfortunately, that got knocked over, and afforded no protection   
from the swelling solution that hit him in the side of his head. 

He cried out in alarm as his ear and half of his head bulged out, making his skin feel tight and stiff, and making him stagger sideways. Trying not   
to panic, he shakily stood, noting the chaos that currently reigned. Professor Snape managed to restore some semblance of calm when he   
ordered everyone that got splashed up to his desk for a dose of Deflating Draft. Cody was very off balance as he staggered up to the desk, and   
he stumbled into Goyle, who had to catch him before he fell. Goyle's eyes were bulging like tennis balls. 

When the potion was applied, Cody breathed in a sigh of relief and got out of the way to let the other students through to get their doses. He   
watched Professor Snape investigate Goyle's cauldron and pull out the remains of the firework. Cody's eyes widened, and with effort, managed   
not to look over near where Hermione had come back into the room with stolen potion ingredients. Snape was _mad._ When the class was over   
and the potion cleaned from the floors and cauldrons, Cody didn't stick around. When Snape was angry, it was a good idea not to stick around. 

Cody did mention Malfoy's giant nose from that class, whenever Malfoy annoyed him, but after he got a full-body-bind curse put on him and   
lay in a hallway for an hour and a half before someone found him, he didn't do it anymore. That had been one of the least fun hours he ever   
spent. 

A week later, notice of a new dueling club was announced, to the excitement of nearly all the students. Cody decided not to go. If anyone but   
Lockhart were teaching it, he would have gone in a minute, but as it _was_ Lockhart... Cody usually tried to stay away from him. He was sick of the pompous, arrogant, narcissistic teacher telling him that by Cody's age, Lockhart had been one of the smartest little wizards in the area, and of all   
the things he could do by that age. Not to mention how he tried to give him his autograph all the time. What a stuck up old liar! 

Something very interesting did come of that Dueling Club meeting, however. The day after, everyone in the schoo9l seemed to be whispering   
about how Harry Potter was a Parselmouth, that he could talk to snakes. The rumors that Harry Potter was the heir of Slytherin were more certain now. It annoyed Draco to the extreme. Cody once asked him why he didn't like it that everyone thought Harry was their heir. 

"Why? Because it's an insult to Salazar Slytherin, that's why, said Draco, scowling. "That Mudblood lover couldn't possibly be related to him.   
Besides, Slytherin's heir would be a Slytherin, don't you think?" 

Cody had to agree with that. 

And when Justin Finch-Fletchley turned up Petrified, and Nearly Headless Nick found hovering six inches from the floor in some kind of strange coma, there were few in the school who were not certain it _was_ Harry. The Hufflepuffs, in particular, were convinced. 

Fred and George Weasley were "convinced" also, though in a far less serious way. After all, they kept running up to Harry just to walk ahead of   
him, announcing the "seriously evil wizard". Cody giggled every time that he saw their antics. 

Right before the holidays began, the Christmas concert was put on, and before supper that night in the Great Hall, the choir stood on their risers   
to sing Christmas carols to the school. Cody loved singing Christmas carols, and though some of them were specific to Hogwarts or the   
wizarding world, there were also the normal ones that Cody knew. Little Drummer Boy was one of them, and in that he had a solo part! Only two   
lines, but a solo was a solo! As the song drew to an end, and they sang of the little boy playing his drum for the baby in the manger, a wide-eyed, nervous Cody sang out his part: "Then he smiled at me, puh-rum-pum-pum-pum....me and my drum." He suspected he might have   
gotten the solo partly because of his age, as it seemed appropriate for a child to sing that part, but he didn't mind. As the choir director invited   
him to bow, and he did, most people clapped. Turning red, he stepped back onto the riser as the choir finished the concert. 

This was the last day to be at Hogwarts before the Christmas break. What few students stayed behind enjoyed having the castle nearly to   
themselves. The only Slytherins staying behind were Cody, Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and one or two first-years that Cody didn't know very well.   
As most of them were not people Cody would rather hang out with, he did not spend a whole lot of time in the common room. He spent a good   
deal of his spare time visiting with Hagrid, who fascinated him. Hagrid was an easy man to make friends with, and Cody found he liked him a   
great deal. He also enjoyed helping him do things like gardening. He spent some time with the Gryffindors, as only Harry, Hermione and the   
Weasleys had stayed behind, too. Of course he didn't hang out with Percy much, because he was an arrogant git, but with the others he got   
along fine. 

On Christmas Day, Cody sent Merlin off with the various gifts he had purchased in Diagon Alley before term started, and as for the ones in his   
own house, he left them by their beds. Well, for Marcus he did, anyway. He had to ask one of the first years, both of whom were girls, to put   
Kathy's by her bed. She agreed readily enough. 

Cody was pleasantly surprised to see that he had gotten some gifts, as well. Kathy gave him a gift again, a large box of crayons that made the   
picture move. He was delighted with these. Neville actually gave him a gift as well, a little toy bat that looked a lot like Merlin. A note explained   
that it wasn't magical and did not move, but he thought Cody would like it anyway. He vowed to thank Neville when everyone got back from   
break. Hagrid had given him a big bag of what looked like Gummi worms, but when he tried one, it squished in his mouth like a real worm. It was   
disgusting, but it was cool, too. He laughed in surprise as he finished his worm. At least they tasted good! 

But once he had gotten through these gifts, Cody noticed that one remained; one that was long and skinny. Frowning, he picked up the present   
and read the card. It was by Marcus Flint. He opened the package, wrapped in what looked like tin foil, and gaped at what was inside: a   
broomstick. Cody stared in shock at the gift for several moments, before reading the note that was inside with shaking hands. 

_ "Cody. This is not a new present, but I thought you might like it, anyway. It is my old broomstick. Since Draco's father bought the_   
_main team the Nimbuses, I decided to give you my old one. It is also a Nimbus, but it's an older model, a 1700. It's not the fastest, but I took_   
_very good care of it, and it's better than the school brooms by far. Hope you like it! Happy Christmas_

_ - Marcus."_

"Wow!" Cody finally was able to say, as he looked the broom over from tip to tip. He could tell it was a well-used and well-loved broom. The   
handle was well-polished and finished, but the Nimbus 1700 logo near the end was faded almost to the point of illegibility. There were several   
short twigs in the tail, and they looked like they had been rebound at one point. In short, it looked exactly as Flint had said; a well-used broom   
that had been very well taken care of. Cody was thrilled to have any broom. That very day, after breakfast, he went out to test the new broom's   
capabilities. He nearly fell off the first time, as it was far faster then the ragged old school brooms, and the handling and smoothness of the ride   
were both astonishing. What a wonder the Nimbus 2001's must be, he thought. 

When he went to see Hagrid later, he got a hug and a mug of tea in thanks for the little dragon. He saw it flying around Hagrid's fireplace, and   
saw Hagrid's dog, Fang, watching it warily. He did not seem to know what to think of it. He thanked Hagrid for the worms, and told them they   
were really gross, and that they tasted really good. He excitedly told Hagrid of the broom he had gotten from Flint. 

"Now there's a neat gift," Hagrid said with a grin. "Tried it out, yet?" 

"Yeah! It's really fast! The 2001's must be really, _really_ fast!" 

Hagrid laughed. "I'm sure they are. Wish they made brooms in my size, though." He chuckled. 

"I wish they did too." Cody spent much of the morning talking with Hagrid about Christmas, and then the more serious subject of the Chamber   
of Secrets. They didn't last too long on that subject, though, as Hagrid seemed reluctant to say too much. Cody didn't blame him. 

The feast that night was as splendid as any other of special occasion at Hogwarts. There were no more than twenty students there, at most, but   
that meant nothing. Cody was surrounded by luscious meats and sauces, veggies and potatoes. Even some of the weird English stuff that Cody had come to like found its way onto his plate. He spent a great deal of time enjoying the food at his leisure, bouncing up and down in his seat   
with excess energy until Crabbe threatened to shrivel his ears like raisins if he didn't stop it. Cody stuck out his tongue, but stopped fidgeting. 

Harry, apparently, had received a sweater from Mrs. Weasley, and Malfoy had a good time making fun of it. Annoyed, Cody ended up going   
over to eat with the Gryffindors. As there was no one there for Christmas who disliked him, he was welcomed readily enough, and thanked for   
the presents he had given. He giggled along with the rest, however, at Percy's badge, which now read "Pinhead" thanks to one of the Weasley   
twins. Though Cody did not feel sorry for Percy, he rather felt sorry for Percy's badge! 

When nearly everyone was finished eating, Cody noticed Crabbe and Goyle leaving the Hall. He grinned impishly, suddenly realizing what   
would happen afterwards, and got up quietly to follow. Sure enough, he caught up with the pair in time to see them spy the cakes that Hermione   
had filled with a sleeping potion, and slump to the floor. Cody watched, grinning, as Harry and Ron came out of hiding and stopped at the sight   
of him. "It's okay," he said to him. "I won't tell, I promise." They still were looking at him warily, and Cody shrugged. "Come on, you know I   
don't like them much. Goyle's okay...sometimes. But Crabbe's a git. Besides, I know what you guys're doing. I heard you talking about it. I   
won't tell, I promise!" 

"You better not," Ron grumped. Then he sighed. "Sorry. Imminent doom tends to make me short-tempered." 

Cody stifled a giggle. "You're not gonna be doomed," he assured Ron. Harry also looked a little amused. Ron didn't look all too sure of this, but   
when Harry bent to grab Goyle's legs, Ron did as well. Cody even helped. 

"You know," Ron said to Cody once it was done, and he and Harry had stolen hair from the two brutes. "We should just ask you if you know." 

"Nah," Cody said. "Whatever it is, Malfoy might find out it was me. He already thinks I'm a traitor." 

Harry snorted. "Any Slytherin that's any kind of decent is a traitor according to him." 

Cody nodded. "I know." 

"Well," said Ron. "We're off to, er..." 

Cody grinned. "Moaning Myrtle's bathroom?" He grinned at Ron's look of surprise. "I told ya, I knew what you're doin'. And what you're   
making up there," he added in a whisper. 

Ron looked annoyed with himself. "Y'know, we gotta be more careful about how loud we talk. Imagine if Malfoy had heard us! Or Percy!" he   
shrugged. "Lucky this time, I guess. Well, you wanna come watch?" 

Cody was very tempted, as he very much wanted to see what it looked like for someone to change into someone else. But in the end, he shook   
his head. "No, I wanna go somewhere where people'll see me. An' away from the common room, so Malfoy can't say that I heard what he told   
you, and then told you guys." 

"Makes sense," Harry said. 

Cody nodded, and headed towards Hagrid's hut. "Good luck!" 

"Thanks," said Ron and Harry in unison, and headed off to their own plotting. 

Cody stayed at Hagrid's as long as Hagrid would let him, before getting sent back to the castle because it was getting late. He hoped it had been long enough! But as he walked back towards the Slytherin common room, he saw "Crabbe" and "Goyle" sprinting away from the common room   
door with the beginnings of their normal features. Crabbe had bright red hair, and Goyle's forehead bore a scar, his face looking strangely melty.   
Cody winced, but only nodded as they went by. 

"What's wrong with them?" Cody asked Malfoy as he entered the room. 

"Crabbe and Goyle?" At Cody's nod, Malfoy shook his head, looking bewildered. "I don't know. Ate something strange in the Great Hall, I   
guess." 

"I bet!" Cody said. "They had fourths of everything!" 

Malfoy snorted derisively. "The great pigs." 

Cody agreed wholeheartedly. "Guess what? Marcus gave me his old broom, since your dad got him the Nimbus! I like this broom a lot better   
than the school ones, it's really fast!" 

"That's good. If you ever have to play Beater this year, you won't want to use one of the dinosaurs Hogwarts has in its broomstick closet." 

The idea of riding a dinosaur for Quidditch sent Cody into a fit of the giggles that still had hold of him as he headed for his bunk. 

Soon after Christmas, the students returned to Hogwarts for the upcoming term, which meant that the common rooms were noisy and crowded   
once more. He hugged Kathy and thanked her for her gift, which he had used a good deal since Christmas. He let her know how delighted he   
was with the crayons. She also thanked Cody for her little unicorn figure, which she liked very much. She kept it on her bedside table. 

Cody's first impulse was to run up to Flint and hug him also, but he thought that the older boy might not like that. And so, instead, Cody waited until there was no one around to do it. "Thanks for the broom!" he cried, flinging his arms around Marcus' waist and squeezing. 

Marcus seemed not to know how to react to this gesture of affection, but after a moment seemed to come out of his shocked daze and gave   
Cody a brief squeeze back. "You're welcome, kid," he said. Cody grinned and backed off, looking at him. "Have you tried it yet?" 

"Yeah!" Cody said. "It's tons faster than the old school ones. Malfoy says they're dinosaurs." He giggled a bit. "And it flies really good! I'll   
take really good care of it, like you did." 

Flint nodded, a bit of a grin twitching the corners of his mouth upwards. "Well, glad you like it. I like to see someone else get some good use out of it." 

Cody nodded. "When's the next practice?" 

"Dunno yet. Have to see how the term schedules go. Anyway, I gotta get to Arithmancy. See you around, kid!" 

"Bye!" Cody vowed he would never take Arithmancy. So far as he could tell, it was magical math. He hated math. Cody, on the other hand, had   
Herbology, and he hated that, too. Still, with Neville's help, he was beginning to understand things a little better. Neville seemed to have a way   
of explaining things so they were easier to understand. 

At lunch, Cody went briefly to the Gryffindor table, where thank-yous were exchanged for the various gift giving. He went back to his own   
house's table feeling very good. He liked giving gifts to people, anyway. 

The weeks passed, and the weather, while still cold, lessened its severity a little bit. Not nearly enough for Cody, who lived in a very warm part   
of the United States, but it was better than nothing! 

Valentine's Day was approaching, which made Cody roll his eyes a lot. Last year it had been filled with people all day giving each other   
Valentines, and acting all mushy. This year, however, was a hundred times worse than the last one had been. 

He walked into the Great Hall for breakfast, stopped short, and stood there blinking for several moments. Bright, obnoxious pink hearts   
decorated the entire Great Hall, making it look like some sort of cubical Valentine. Highly disgusted, he slowly went to his table. Most of the   
boys seemed to feel the way Cody did about this, but he noticed that most of the girls seemed to think that there was something attractive about the vulgarity. 

"Happy Valentine's Day!" Lockhart cried from the staff table. Cody looked up and observed the teachers as Lockhart went on to thank the 46   
people who sent him cards. None of the other teachers seemed to share Lockhart's enthusiasm for this showy Valentine's Day. Still, Cody   
snickered and clapped a hand over his mouth as Lockhart blathered on about Entrancing Charms and Love Potions. Snape looked lividly   
repulsed. Cody didn't blame him! 

As if this was not all sickening enough, Lockhart had hired dwarves to dress up like cupids and deliver Valentines all day. Cody rather thought   
that he could have chosen some more cheerful sorts to be cupids. He rolled his eyes and tried to ignore the alarming amount of pink   
surrounding him as he ate. It wasn't easy, as pink heart confetti kept falling on his food. He thought he might have even eaten some with his   
oatmeal, and hoped that they weren't toxic. 

When breakfast was finished, Cody made his way up to Professor Snape, who strode out of the hall and headed towards the dungeon. "Oh,   
Professor Snape!" Cody said, barely restraining his giggles. "Can you make me a Love Potion?" He clasped his hands and tried to look all   
sappy, and finally dissolved into laughter, holding a hand clamped over his mouth. 

Snape looked dourly down at Cody, and as it was quite clear that Cody was making fun of the whole affair and not at all serious, there was   
actually the ghost of a smirk on his face. "Go on," he told Cody, who grinned and ran back up the stairs. He passed Pansy Parkinson, who was   
giving Cody a dirty look, having seen his antics. She probably sent Lockhart a Valentine, Cody thought, giggling again. He shot her his sappiest   
look, then ran off. 

All day long, Cody's classes were interrupted by the dwarves coming in to give Valentines. All of the teachers and half the students were very   
annoyed by all of this. Cody wasn't sure if he was amused at the stupidity of it all, disgusted by the sappiness of it, or annoyed by the whole   
affair. He seemed to be fluctuating among the three. 

Fortunately, the day went fairly quickly, and the students could escape the be-winged dwarves in their common rooms if they wished. Cody did   
just that, spending all of his time in the Slytherin area. He had some homework for Charms and Potions. One was practicing a spell, the other was writing down the ingredients for a scouring solution. Mom would like this stuff, Cody thought as he wrote it all down According to Snape, it   
cleaned just about anything without leaving a mark. 

As Easter approached, the weather became yet nicer, and Cody was able to finally ditch his winter cloak. He felt this was cause for rejoicing. He   
spent a lot of his free time with Hagrid, or the few Gryffindors he had made friends with. He did spend some time with Kathy and Flint and Kyle   
Tiller, and other times with Fred and George, but they were far older than he. Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Neville, however, were closer to his age.   
And they were in his year. When he was with them, the subject they most talked about was the Chamber of Secrets, but they did their fair share   
of commiserating about Lockhart's lessons. Well, the boys did; Hermione let it be known that she disapproved of such talk by her annoyed   
looks. 

What startled Cody was that they were supposed to choose what new courses to take the following year, and this turned out to be a fairly   
intimidating choice for the young wizard. He had no idea what he wanted to be when he grew up Muggle-wise, he certainly didn't know what he   
wanted to be Wizard-wise! Which one would he be? Did it matter? How did the magic of these adventures work? Was he only a wizard while at   
Hogwarts? He already knew that it was all real, but what happened after he graduated from Hogwarts? 

These questions, along with about a zillion more along similar lines, careened around Cody's head as he sat in the common room. He must have   
looked quite uncharacteristically serious, because Kathy Skinner sounded concerned when she asked him what was wrong. He looked up. "The   
new classes. I don't know what I should take!" 

"Well, seven is a pretty young age to begin thinking about that kind of thing," she said with a slight frown. She sat down next to him, looking   
over the copy of the available classes and their descriptions of them. "I can help you a little at least," she said. "I can tell you what most of these classes are like." 

This did turn out to be a big help. Cody definitely decided not to take Arithmancy, which sounded dull and tedious. He wished he could ditch   
Herbology and History of Magic, but everyone had been told they were to keep their old classes. He had always intended to take Care of   
Magical Creatures, because he loved animals, and knew that Hagrid would be teaching the class. 

He decided after a slight inner struggle not to take Divination. He thought Professor Trelawney was a big fake (for the most part), and reading   
tea leaves seemed kind of silly to him. Astrology wasn't something within the child's sphere of interest. He did, however, take The Study of   
Ancient Runes. Kathy had taken that, and took it still, and what she described of it interested Cody a great deal. The old symbols, full of magic   
and mystery. The legends and myths that went with them, the old civilizations... Yes, he would definitely take that one. 


	10. Year 2, Chapter 5: Into the Chamber

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 5: Into the Chamber**

The next Quidditch match between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, was coming up, and Cody was looking forward to it. The end of term was in sight,   
and he was very sick of studying by then; a little bit of excitement was just what he needed! 

But before the match even started, the students started pointing and whispering at a figure running out onto the pitch with a magical   
megaphone in her hands. Professor McGonagall made her intentions clear a moment later when she called out through the device. "This match   
has been cancelled!" she announced, making the entire audience groan. Further instructions were given that everyone return to their common   
rooms. Puzzled and angry, the students of Hogwarts did just that. 

Turned out there had been another attack, which was no surprise to Cody. Professor Snape came into the common room not long after Cody got back, which was very strange. The Heads of House rarely came into the common rooms. "There are new rules for the school," Snape said,   
looking as grim as ever. "They are as such, until further notice." He read from a short roll of parchment. "Students are to return to their house   
common rooms by six of the clock every day. Students shall be accompanied to and from all lessons by a teacher. No further evening activities.   
No further Quidditch training or practice." 

At this, both Cody and Flint's eyes widened. "No Quidditch?" Cody cried. That was one of his favorite activities in the entire school! 

"They're canceling the tournament then?" Flint asked, his brow furrowed. "Are Gryffindor and Hufflepuff going to reschedule?" 

Snape gave the two a look, which quieted them. "I don't know," he finally said. "But I do know this. If the culprit is not caught, they will close   
this school. Now while I am sure that many here agree with what the attacker is doing, I am sure that no one wants the school closed. Anyone   
with any information is urged to come forward with it." He waited for a few moments, as if expecting someone to come forward at that instant,   
but when no one did, he disappeared through the doorway without another word. 

The common room exploded into babble once he left. "I wonder who got attacked this time!" a fourth-year said, her eyes wide. 

"I dunno!" said a first year boy. "But I heard ol' McGonagall talking, an' she told that Ron Weasley and Harry Potter that they had to come with her." 

"Does she think they did it?" someone asked. 

"Of course not," another said. "Harry Potter's not even Slytherin. How could he be the heir?" 

"Maybe House doesn't matter?" 

There were snorts from several of the students at this. Of course House would matter when talking of the heir of the House's founder! 

"But she didn't ask Granger to come with them." This was Malfoy, and he was frowning. 

"I didn't even see her at the match," Pansy Parkinson said. 

"Maybe she got attacked," said the first year who mentioned seeing Ron and Harry. 

There was a thoughtful silence after this suggestion. Finally, Malfoy smirked. "Well, we can only hope," he said. Cody scowled evilly after him   
as he strode from the room towards the dorms. 

The next day, several things seemed to have happened. First, it was all over the school that Hermione Granger had indeed been Petrified, along   
with a Ravenclaw prefect named Penelope Clearwater, and Hagrid had been sent to Azkaban on suspicion of having opened the Chamber of   
Secrets. Lastly, and perhaps more significant; Dumbledore had been removed as headmaster by the school governors. It didn't take long for   
everyone to know why; Draco was only bragging about it to the whole school. 

"I always thought Father might be the one to get rid of Dumbledore," Malfoy said loudly their next Potions class. Cody had an angry scowl fixed on his face as Draco blathered on. "Sir," said Malfoy to Snape. "Why don't you apply for the headmaster's job?" Cody rolled his eyed behind   
Snape and Malfoy's back. 

Snape tried to conceal how pleased he was at this vote of confidence, but did not succeed very well. He said that Dumbledore had only been   
suspended, and that he would likely be back soon. 

"Yeah, right," Malfoy smirked. "I expect you'd have Father's vote, sir, if you wanted to apply for the job – I'll tell Father you're the best teacher   
here, sir." 

Seamus Finnigan was pretending to vomit into his cauldron, and Cody was looking as if he might _really_ vomit into his cauldron. Fortunately,   
Snape noticed neither of them. 

Cody was very upset at what had happened to Hagrid; Ron and Harry had told him the whole story at breakfast. Cody was pleased they trusted   
him, but was quite angry at the stupid governors, and the stupid Minister of Magic, and he said so. 

At the end of class, Malfoy's snide little comment about someone dying anytime now, and wishing it had been Granger, was just too much.   
Cody stalked out of the dungeon, shoving past Malfoy as he did. Hating Muggle-borns was one things. Being mean to other students, or acting like he was better than the others was another. But wishing that another kid would die... That was something that Cody could not grasp. Surely   
not all older kids had thoughts like that! It was horrible! He brooded about this, wondering if Harry or Ron or Hermione ever wished another kid   
would die, and really meant it. Would Cody ever wish it? He thought not, but what if getting older made you think like that? He vowed again   
that he would never grow up. 

At breakfast one day, just before exam time, there came quite a welcome announcement from Professor McGonagall. The Mandrakes were ready   
for cutting, and would be used quite soon to restore those who had been Petrified. A great cheer went up at this, and Cody joined right in,   
jumping up and down next to the bench. Malfoy, he noticed, did not. In fact, he looked annoyed. Cody was quite glad to get away from the   
other Slytherins in Defense Against the Dark Arts. 

At least at first he was glad. Lockhart blithered on so much about Hagrid being the culprit, that he was no good, and so on had Cody furious.   
Even as they were being led to their next class (What usually happened was he led the Gryffindors to History of Magic, then took Cody to   
Herbology) he was still complaining about it. Cody and Ron exchanged exasperated looks as Lockhart whined about having to escort them. 

"I agree, sir," Harry said. Cody jumped back as Ron dropped his books. Cody was surprised, himself, as he helped him pick the books up. But   
Harry's intent was clear a moment alter as he and Ron convinced Lockhart to let them continue to their class without him, and Cody watched   
him leave to "prepare his next class". 

"Gone to curl his hair, more like," Ron sneered. Cody giggled. 

The two Gryffindors stayed back and let everyone else go past them, but Cody stayed back as well. "How come you wanted him to leave?" he   
asked. 

"Well...we were gonna go up and ask Moaning Myrtle about her death. Wanna come?" Harry asked. 

"Nah," said Cody. "I don't like her very much. Tell me about it after the next class?" 

Harry nodded. "Sure. See you later." 

Cody grinned, and waved as he ran for the front doors of the castle. Since Lockhart wasn't there to escort him to Herbology, he was alone. He   
wondered what Madame Sprout would say to Cody being alone. Probably nothing nice, with regards to Lockhart. As it turned out, she said   
nothing, not even noticing that Cody was late for class. She seemed very preoccupied, and set the students a fairly easy task: stripping dead   
leaves off a wholly non-aggressive purple plant. 

But halfway through class, Professor McGonagall's voice was heard in the greenhouse loudspeaker: "All students return to their house   
dormitories at once. All teachers return to the staff room. Immediately, please." 

The Slytherins all complied, with curious muttering and mumbling rippling through the exodus. Cody knew what was what, though, and he   
intended to be there when Harry and Ron (and the useless Lockhart) went into the Chamber. And so, at the back of the group, Cody was able to   
slip away easily enough and camp out by Lockhart's office. There was a suit of armor nearby that Cody was quite small enough to hide behind,   
and it was here that he waited for Harry and Ron to show up. 

Waiting was not something that Cody did well, and it exercised all of his patience to wait the hours it took for the boys to be heard coming down the hallway. Slipping out from behind the statue, he walked towards them as if coming from down the hall. "Hi," he said. "I was looking for you   
guys. What's going on?" 

Ron turned his white face towards the boy. "It's got my sister." 

"What does?" 

"The basilisk. In the Chamber." Cody's eyes went wide in what he thought was a fairly surprised look. As things played themselves out in this   
adventure, Cody found it was easier and easier to react appropriately, because he felt the emotion. Even when he knew what was going on, he   
still felt it. "We're going to tell Lockhart what we know." 

"I'll come!" There were no further words spoken as the three boys hurried towards Lockhart's office. 

They knocked on the door, which was opened a crack. "Oh – Mr. Potter – Mr. Weasley – Mr. DeDannan... I'm rather busy at the moment, if you   
would be quick -" 

What a total chickenguts, Cody thought contemptuously. How cowardly could you get? When Harry told him they had some information,   
Lockhart reluctantly let them inside. 

The office was in the process of being packed into several trunks and suitcases. Many pictures of Lockhart had been thrown in trunks,   
pompous looking robes jumbled into suitcases, and books and papers stuffed wherever they would fit. "Are you going somewhere?" Harry   
asked. 

"Er, well yes, urgent call, unavoidable, got to go..." 

"What about my sister?" said Ron, disbelief and outrage in his expression. 

Again, Cody was struck with sheer contempt for the man, who was a charlatan who had taken credit for brave witches' and wizards' heroic   
deeds. He listened to him hem and haw, and scowled deeply. The way Lockhart talked, researching how the people had completed their heroics,   
and then putting a charm on them so they forgot, counted as hard work. 

Cody was not the only one that felt such incredulity over the man's shameless theft of credit; Ron and Harry's face showed the same astounded disgust. 

The boy was brought out of his thoughts by Lockhart's turning around, his wand in his hand, and saying that he would have to modify the   
boys' memories. His eyes widened and he took a step back, fumbling with his own wand, but Harry got to his first. "Expelliarmus!" he cried,   
knocking the "Professor's" wand from his hand. Ron caught it and pitched it out the window. 

"All right!" Cody cried gleefully. "Good one!" 

"Thanks," said Harry grimly. He did not aim his wand away from Lockhart, only kept it pointed right at him. "Shouldn't have let Professor Snape   
teach us that one." 

Lockhart sure was pathetic, Cody thought, looking at the man as he asked what the boys wanted him to do. "I don't know where the Chamber of   
Secrets is. There's nothing I can do." 

"They know!" Cody said gleefully. He had not taken out his wand, figuring that Harry and Ron could handle it. But he certainly was going along for the ride! 

It was a grim little procession that made its way towards the bathroom that was Moaning Myrtle's home, and slipped inside. They ran into no   
trouble, as all the students were in their dorms. 

Once they arrived, Myrtle asked them what it was they wanted. Cody marveled at the number of people in the place that had major bad attitudes! Even the ghosts! But when Harry told her he wanted to know how she died, her manner changed completely. She certainly seemed to like to tell   
the tale of how she died. Cody supposed that if he died and became a ghost he would want to tell people too. It depended on how horrible the   
death was. If it was something he didn't want to remember, he wouldn't want to tell it. Myrtle told of how she'd heard strange voices in the   
bathroom, of how she'd opened the door to tell them off. She told of the eyes she had seen, and how she had died looking at them. Cody   
shuddered, as he realized that this girl really had died, and she remembered every bit of it. Cody decided not to die any time soon. 

"Where exactly did you see the eyes?" Harry asked her. 

Myrtle pointed at a row of dingy sinks. "Somewhere there." 

The boys went to investigate the sink while Lockhart cowered in the corner of the bathroom. What a chicken. Myrtle told them the tap never   
worked, and Harry looked more closely at it. Ron told Harry to try something in Parseltongue. Cody watched with great interest, as he had never   
heard Parseltongue before. 

"Open up," Harry demanded in English. Ron told him so. Harry looked a little closer, gazing at a little snake carved into the faucet, and tried   
again... 

The hairs on the back of Cody's neck bristled up and he shivered as a low, unnatural hiss came from Harry's mouth, a hiss that was formed into   
alien words. The tap glowed white and spun for a few moments before the whole sink sank down into the floor. "Holy cow!" Cody exclaimed,   
grinning wildly. Now _this_ was an adventure! 

"I'm going down there," said Harry. 

"Me too," said Ron. 

"Me three!" said Cody. 

Harry frowned a little, and he and Ron exchanged glances. Cody knew what was coming next! He had only heard it about a million times in his   
life. Although he had to admit, Harry was more tactful about saying it than most adults were. "I...I dunno, Cody, you might be a little young for   
this kind of thing. I mean, this basilisk kills people." 

The child shrugged. "I'm a pure-blood. I have to be, or the Sorting Hat wouldn't've put me in Slytherin; besides," he added before the other   
boys could argue. "If someone told you guys you were too young or little to do something, you'd do it anyways." He grinned and crossed his   
arms. 

Harry sighed, perhaps recognizing the stubborn posture because he himself had assumed it before. "All right. But stay close, okay?" 

Cody nodded. 

"Well," said Lockhart. "You hardly seem to need me. I'll just -" 

Ron and Harry didn't give him the chance to leave. "You can go first," said Ron pitilessly. 

Lockhart was scared. "Boys...boys, what good will it do?" At Harry's prodding, he slid his legs into the pipe, but tried once more to convince   
them that there was no reason to bring him along. He had little chance to say anything else, as Ron shoved him into the pipe. 

Once he was gone, Harry slid in as well. Ron have Cody a look as if to say "Well, are you coming?" then slid in as well. Cody looked   
apprehensively into the pipe, then scowled determinedly. No way was he going to chicken out like Lockhart! He slid his legs in...and then   
shoved himself forward. 

It was rather like a ridiculously long, slippery, twisty slide at the playground, but far darker and a lot scarier. Cody screamed as he went down,   
but it was partially a scream of excitement. It was fun! 

Cody was dropping nearly straight down before the pipe leveled off, and he shot into a dimly lit chamber, sliding madly across the floor. He let a   
screech as he tumbled and ended up in a heap several feet along a corridor, and stumbled to his feet laughing delightedly. "That was fun!" he   
exclaimed, his eyes bright. He was covered with slime and dirt, but he didn't care too much about that. He was washable, after all! 

Cody realized that the glow was from Harry's wand; he had already lit it. "C'mon," he said. Harry started off down the underground corridor, and Cody considered taking his wand out, then reconsidered. He was walking right beside Ron, and in the book, Lockhart had stolen Ron's wand   
when he tried to wipe their memories. Cody didn't want to take the chance that Lockhart might grab Cody's wand instead, because Cody's wand wouldn't backfire. 

"Remember," said Harry. "Any sign of movement, close your eyes right away." 

Oh yeah, Cody thought, feeling nervous again. He bit his lip, scanning the pipes for sign of the great snake, as he had no desire to die like   
Myrtle had. "Eu," he said, grimacing. There were bones all over the place, bones of animals. He edged a little closer to Ron as they went through the dark tunnels. 

"Harry, there's something up there," said Ron. Cody stopped short, peering around Ron's robes. 

"Maybe it's asleep," Harry whispered. 

Cody knew it was only a snakeskin, but the size of it astonished him. It was bigger than the pythons and boas in the zoo! 

"Blimey," Ron said shakily, then looked around as Lockhart seemed to collapse with fear. "Get up," Ron said in disgust. 

But it had only been a trick. Lockhart might be a coward, but he was deceitfully clever. He jumped up and grabbed Ron's wand from him before   
the surprised boy could do anything. 

"The adventure ends here, boys!" Lockhart said, dramatic to the end. Cody scowled as Lockhart told them he would take some of the skin back,   
tell the other teachers he was too late to save Ginny, and that Ron, Harry, and Cody tragically lost their minds at the sight of Ginny's mangled   
body. Cody felt himself pale a bit at the mental image. "Say goodbye to your memories!" Lockhart cried, and raised Ron's wand above his head.   
"Obliviate!" 

The wand exploded, and Cody yelped and turned around, his arms over his head. There was a rumble, and rock and dirt began to shower from a   
weak part of the tunnel above them. Cody dove against the wall and crouched down, his arms still over his head, until the crashing stopped. His   
heart was pounding at twice its normal rate as he shakily stood. "You okay?" Ron asked. 

"Y-yeah...you?" 

"Yeah." 

"Ron!" came Harry's voice from the other side of the avalanche. "Are you okay? Ron? Cody?" 

"We're here!" Ron called back. "We're okay! This git's not, though! He got blasted by the wand!" 

Cody swiped his hair out of his eyes as Lockhart got to his feet, looking bewildered, and headed towards Ron. Ron kicked him in the shins,   
eliciting an "ow!" from Lockhart. "What now?" Ron called. "We can't get through, it'll take ages!" 

Lockhart stumbled towards Ron again, and Ron kicked him in the shins once more. This time, Lockhart backed off and stared at them, looking   
totally and completely baffled. 

"Wait there!" Harry called through the rock. "Wait with Lockhart. I'll go on. If I'm not back in an hour..." 

Ron told him that he and Cody would try and shift some of the rock so that Harry could get back through. Cody nodded in agreement, still with   
a wary eye on Lockhart. "And Harry..." Ron said. 

Apparently not wanting to let himself get upset, Harry said, "See you in a bit!" He didn't sound any less afraid than Ron and Cody were. 

As Harry's footsteps faded, Ron turned to Cody. "Well...let's start getting this done." 

"Why can't we just use our wands? We could use 'wingardium leviosa' that we learned last year." 

Ron frowned, considering this, then looked up at the ceiling. "I dunno, Cody. I think we're safer doing it slow, by hand. I mean, what if the rest   
of the ceiling fell in?" 

Cody looked up also, and winced, a shudder going through him at the thought of all that soil and stone falling on them. Feeling slightly   
claustrophobic, he nodded. "G-good idea." With that, he pitched in and began to help Ron shift the rocks. 

The two boys said little as they worked, though both tried to keep an eye on Lockhart as they worked. The bewildered professor had seated   
himself on the floor and was watching them with a vacant look of mild curiosity on his face. Ron frowned at him, and then sighed. "Hey, maybe   
you should wait over there," he said, pointing at the entrance to the tunnels. "I mean, I don't want you to get hurt or anything." Cody snorted   
softly, but said nothing at this. He deserved it. He had been perfectly willing to invade their minds and take their memories, maybe even damage   
them for good! 

Lockhart looked at Ron with that same vacant expression. "How thoughtful," he said mildly, and wandered to where Ron had pointed. Cody and Ron exchanged a look, and Cody shrugged. Then they went back to work. 

Ron did most of the work, as Cody was not strong enough to lift most of the rocks that had fallen. But he helped as much as he could, and they   
made good process. They talked little during their toil, but that was okay. They needed their breath for lifting, anyway. 

After what seemed like forever, Cody heard footsteps. Ron heard them as well, and straightened, swallowing hard. Cody got his wand out, just   
in case. 

It was Harry. "Ron!" he called out. "Ginny's okay! I got her!" 

Ron's eyes went wide and he let a cry of relief. "Ginny!" He leaned into the gap he and Cody had made, so he could help pull his sister through.   
Cody stood by and watched, his wand again in his pocket, and a wide grin on his face. "You're alive, I don't believe it! What happened, how,   
what – where'd that bird come from?" 

It was Cody's first look at Fawkes the Phoenix, and he stared in fascination at the pretty bird. "Wow, neat," he breathed. He held out a hand to   
stroke Fawkes' feathers, and the bird readily allowed it. They felt like, well, feathers. He looked up as Ron asked Harry why he had a sword.   
Ginny was crying, and Harry said he would explain later, then asked where Lockhart was. 

"Back there," said Ron. "He's in a bad way, come and see." He explained how the memory charm had backfired, and how Ron had told him to   
wait by the entrance. Lockhart asked them then if they lived there. "No..." said Ron. Lockhart only looked up with the mild, bemused expression   
he'd worn since the backfire, and Cody wondered if he would ever recover. 

"Now what?" Cody asked. 

Harry frowned. "I dunno. How do we get back out?" 

But Fawkes seemed to have the answer to that. He waved his scarlet tail feathers in front of Harry, who looked fairly uncertain about it. 

"He looks like he wants you to grab hold," said Ron, as Cody grinned widely. "But you're much too heavy for a bird to pull up there." 

"Fawkes isn't an ordinary bird." Harry turned to Ron and the others. "We've got to hold onto each other." 

The order ended up being Harry first, who held onto Fawkes' tail feathers. Ron came next, then Ginny, then Lockhart. Cody held onto Lockhart's filthy robes. 

It was utterly bizarre. Cody suddenly felt as if he weighed no more than Fawkes' tail feathers, and a split second later, they all were being lifted   
into the air. Cody let out an exhilarated giggle. He had thought he would have to strain to hold on, but he didn't, it was like floating on the air.   
Almost as great as being on a broomstick! 

Moments later, they had all landed with a splash on the waterlogged tiles of Myrtle's bathroom. The sink sealed off the pipe once more. Myrtle   
did not seem to be happy that Harry had survived. "You're alive." 

"There's no need to sound so disappointed." Harry didn't seem to appreciate the sentiment. 

"Oh, well, I'd just been thinking if you had died, you'd have been welcome to share my toilet..." 

Cody stifled a snicker, and hurried out of the bathroom before Myrtle took offense and threw something at him. He heard Ron teasing Harry as   
they, too, exited the lavatory. "Where now?" Ron asked. 

But Fawkes was leading the way. The bedraggled group followed the bird down to Professor McGonagall's office. They went in. 


	11. Year 2, Chapter 6: Mom's Surprise

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 6: Mom's Surprise**

As soon as the adults within realized who had just walked into the room, there was instant chaos. The Weasleys, shocked to see their daughter,   
hugged her as if they'd never let go of her, and Mrs. Weasley hugged Ron and Harry, as well. Cody felt a little left out, but he didn't mind too   
much. He just sort of gravitated towards the wall to watch. Obviously, everyone wanted to know what had happened. And so Harry told them.   
He told them about the voice, and how Hermione had figured out that it was a basilisk (having to admit the rule-breaking that he and Ron had   
done to find all this out, of course), how he'd guessed Moaning Myrtle had been the one who had died... 

When Professor McGonagall prompted him to continue, Harry told them what had happened when they went down into the tunnels. Cody   
blushed as he was named as having helped them somewhat in their adventures. But he had not mentioned Ginny. Not yet. 

But Dumbledore understood. Hagrid really had been right; Dumbledore was a great man. "What interests me the most, is how Lord Voldemort   
managed to enchant Ginny when my sources tell me he is currently hiding in the forests of Albania." 

Needless to say, the Weasleys were shocked at this statement. Shocked and unnerved. Harry explained about the diary that had been the tool   
with which Ginny had been tricked into doing all the things she had done, and Dumbledore expressed his admiration for the brilliance of the   
ploy. He told them that few people knew Voldemort's original name had been Tom Riddle, that he immersed himself in the Dark Arts, changed   
his body and his features, underwent transformations... That he had changed so much that no one recognized him. Cody shuddered. Why could anyone want to do that? Even for power? 

Mrs. Weasley wanted to know what this had to do with Ginny. It was then that Ginny spoke up, telling them how she had written to Tom via the diary all year. 

Mr. Weasley was astonished. "Ginny! Haven't I taught you anything? What have I always told you?" Cody frowned in his direction. Ginny was already feeling bad enough, he didn't have to scold her! "Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain!"   
As he went on, Cody thought about this. That seemed a sort of silly rule, didn't it? He could see where Malfoy kept _his_ brains after all, although he doubted there were many in there, and he wouldn't trust Malfoy as far as he could throw Hogwarts! 

Dumbledore intervened, then, telling the Weasleys that Ginny should be taken to the hospital wing, and that she needed to rest. He told them   
that the Mandrake juice was being administered to the Petrified people, and that no lasting harm had been done. They finally led Ginny out. 

"I think all this merits a good feast," said Dumbledore to Professor McGonagall, and asked her to alert the kitchens. 

"Right," she said. "I'll leave you to deal with Potter and Weasley, and DeDannan, shall I?" 

"Certainly," said Dumbledore. 

Cody swallowed hard and winced, looking slowly over at Dumbledore. He didn't remember if he had been mad in the book or not. 

When Dumbledore spoke, it was mostly to Ron and Harry, since they had been the ones caught at breaking the most of the rules that year. He   
told them that although he had said they would be expelled if they broke any more rules, that "sometimes even the best of us must eat our   
words." Cody grinned at the relieved look on Ron and Harry's faces, and imagined that his must look the same. He awarded Harry and Ron both   
special services to the school awards, and two hundred points apiece for Gryffindor. Cody was astonished and pleased when he was given one   
hundred for Slytherin for his part in it. "Thanks," he said, more shyly than was normal for him. Dumbledore made quite an imposing figure, and   
Cody did not know him well. In fact, he didn't think he had ever really talked to the man before now. 

But now, Dumbledore asked after Lockhart, and why he was being so modest. The three boys had almost forgotten about him. Indeed, in the   
absence of Lockhart's usual ridiculous boasting and puffing up, he had been quite unnoticeable. Ron explained. 

Dumbledore seemed amused, though he hid it fairly well. "Impaled on your own sword, Gilderoy!" 

"Sword? Haven't got a sword. That boy has, though." Lockhart pointed to Harry. "He'll lend you one." 

Cody stifled a giggle. 

Dumbledore asked Ron if he would take Lockhart to the hospital wing, as he wanted to speak with Harry in private. Ron agreed, and he and   
Lockhart left. 

"I'll wait outside, Harry, okay?" Cody said. Harry smiled a bit, and nodded, and Cody slipped out of the door. As he watched Lockhart and Ron   
heading for the stairwell, he slid down the wall wearily. He was exhausted. Exhausted, but still exhilarated. What an adventure! He had never   
thought that going to Hogwarts would be so fun. And it wasn't just that it was fun, either. It was scary, but that was part of what made it   
attractive. Defeating the odds, and getting past the difficulties. Besides, there was a certain exhilaration in danger. 

He sat there for a long time, letting his shaking body calm down, and resting away some of the wobbly weariness from his muscles. Even as   
active as he usually was, he was not used to the exertion he had put out that night. 

Cody was not sure how long he had sat out there, but he had begun to doze off when he heard footsteps. He opened his eyes and blinked as an   
adult swept by him, not even seeing him, and slammed the door to Dumbledore's office open. Malfoy! It was Lucius Malfoy! He was followed   
by Dobby, his house elf. Cody scrambled to his feet, staring at them in surprise for several seconds, before ducking inside as well, his eyes   
wide. 

Lucius was less than happy. He had just gotten finished accusing Dumbledore of returning even though he had been suspended, when Cody   
entered, and Dumbledore looked as calm as ever. Cody slipped over to stand near Harry, and watched, fascinated. Lucius Malfoy really was   
creepy! 

Dumbledore explained calmly that the governors had been rather hasty in asking him to return, once they learned that Arthur Weasley's child   
had been killed by the Chamber's monster. He also told Malfoy that several of them seemed to think that Malfoy had threatened their families if   
they didn't suspend Dumbledore to begin with. Malfoy's look of fury was intense enough that Cody took a step back, retreating the slightest   
bit behind Harry's cloak. 

"So, have you stopped the attacks yet? Have you caught the culprit?" Malfoy's voice clearly indicated he didn't think the answer to that was   
"yes". 

"We have." 

"Well?" Demanded Malfoy. "Who was it?" 

Dumbledore explained that Voldemort had opened the Chamber, the same as before, but used his diary to act through another. He held up the   
book. 

Cody noticed that Harry was looking downward, at Dobby, who was acting strangely. He would point at the diary, then at Malfoy, then hit   
himself in the head. Cody blinked at this, a grim chill going down his back as he realized Dobby was doing that to punish himself. It was more   
amusing when he read about it, than to see it, and realize just how much pain the man in front of him put Dobby through...or made Dobby put   
himself through. The boy began shaking, and tore his eyes from the little elf. He instead gazed at Malfoy, his fists clenched. 

Dumbledore was in the middle of telling Malfoy that if Harry and Ron had not discovered the book (Cody was very glad he himself had not been mentioned. He had to share a dorm with Malfoy's son, after all), that Ginny might have taken the blame for the attacks. Malfoy was less than   
convincing when he expressed how fortunate it was that the book had been found. 

At that point, Harry finally understood what Dobby was trying to tell him, and spoke up. Cody very carefully did not look at Dobby. "Don't you   
want to know how Ginny got hold of that diary, Mr. Malfoy?" Harry said. 

Malfoy turned towards Harry and Cody, his eyes narrowing at Cody for just a moment before settling to glare at Harry. Cody slunk over towards Dumbledore's desk. Maybe it hadn't been such a hot idea to stick around. 

"How should I know how the stupid little girl got hold of it?" 

"Because you gave it to her," Harry said, recalling the scene in the bookstore when Malfoy and Mr. Weasley had gotten into a fight. 

"Prove it," Malfoy hissed. But his face was white, and everyone knew Harry had said true. 

"Oh, no one will be able to do that," said Dumbledore. His voice was mild, but his eyes told Malfoy that he meant every word of what he said   
next. He warned Malfoy not to go giving out Voldemort's old school things. He said that Arthur Weasley, if no one else, would make sure they   
were traced right back to Malfoy. 

After a rather tense moment, Lucius turned to his servant. "We're going, Dobby!" He flung the door open, and as Dobby scurried ahead of him,   
Malfoy kicked the little elf through it. Cody's eyes widened and he stared. Never had he seen someone treat another person with such casual   
cruelty! He clenched his shaking hands into fists, fighting the urge to cry. Had he not known that Harry would soon free the elf, he likely would   
have cried anyway. As it was, he forced himself to look back at Harry and Dumbledore. Harry asked if he could give Malfoy back the diary.   
Cody moved out so that he could see better; he didn't want to miss any of this! 

He watched Harry taking off his nasty sock, and stuff the diary into it. Stifling a giggle, Cody ran after Harry, his filthy cloak flying out behind   
him. "Mr. Malfoy!" Harry cried. "I've got something for you!" And he thrust the dirty sock into Malfoy's hands. Cody stayed behind Harry,   
watching with his eyes wide. Malfoy took the book from the sock. 

Lucius Malfoy was not amused. "You'll meet the same sticky end as your parents one of these days, Harry Potter." Cody scowled, but Harry   
showed little emotion. "They were meddlesome fools, too. Come, Dobby." But Dobby did not. Malfoy frowned. "I said _come."_

Dobby looked up and showed Malfoy the sock, and proclaimed that he was free. Cody nearly cheered aloud. Then he jumped back in   
startlement at the fury on Malfoy's face as he lunged at Harry. 

"You shall not harm Harry Potter!" Dobby shouted. Cody had no clue what the elf did, or how he did it without a wand, but the next thing he   
knew, Mr. Malfoy had been thrown down the stairs. Out of sight of the adult for the moment, Cody grinned, and flashed Dobby and Harry the   
thumbs-up. 

Lucius stood, and drew his wand. Dobby pointed a finger at him, his expression grim. And when he told Malfoy to leave, he did. He was still   
furious, but he wasn't stupid. He, possibly more than anyone else, knew how powerful Dobby was, and he knew that now that Dobby was free,   
he could use that magic against Malfoy if he so chose. 

Once Malfoy was out of earshot, Cody laughed delightedly. "Awesome!" he cried. Dobby winked at him, then turned his face to Harry, his   
expression growing worshipful. 

Cody grinned. "I'm gonna go take a shower an' put my stuff in the laundry," he told Harry, starting down the stairs Malfoy had fallen down a   
moment ago. 

"All right," said Harry, grinning, himself. "See you at the feast." 

Cody waved to both of them then sprinted down the stairs, Dobby's delighted shrill voice reaching his ears even as he ran down the hall. He   
giggled a bit, thinking of Harry's poor ears. But then he thought if he had been a slave to someone as cruel as Lucius Malfoy and someone had   
just freed him, Cody would sound like that, too. 

Malfoy was not in the Slytherin common room when Cody got there; in fact he was the only one there. Everyone else had been called to the   
impromptu feast. If he remembered right, no one had bothered with their uniforms; everyone just went in their pajamas and robes. 

After he showered, as quickly as he could and still get himself clean, he pulled his ThunderCats pajamas on and headed for the feast. 

The feast was one of the best he had ever been to. Everyone was, indeed, in their pajamas, and the celebration showed no signs of slowing   
down. Harry had managed to beat him down to the Great Hall, but he didn't mind. He spent a little time at the Slytherin table, talking with Kathy   
and Kyle, recounting his adventures in the tunnels with Ron and Harry. She snorted when he told her of Lockhart's backfiring charm. "That   
worthless coward," she said, shaking her head. "I wonder if they can find all the people he wiped of their memories, and set them straight?" 

"I hope so," Cody said. "Will the newspaper tell all about him?" 

"I imagine," said Kathy, taking a huge bite of a roast turkey leg she's scored off its platter. "I know there's this one journalist, some woman   
named Rita Sheeter or something, I think, who never fails to write a nasty article about someone. I bet she'll be all over this story." 

Rita Skeeter, Cody thought, and nodded savagely. "Good!" As much as he hated the woman, he thought that one of her articles was just what   
Lockhart deserved. 

He tried talking a little bit to Marcus Flint, but he was in a fairly surly mood. He, after all, did share the common Slytherin opinion that Muggle   
born wizards and witches shouldn't be studying at Hogwarts. And so Cody left him alone. He was too hyper to stay still too long, anyway. He   
had been exhausted only forty-five minutes before, but the shower, the current party excitement, and a very large piece of cake had recharged   
his energy. 

Eventually, he went over to do some celebrating with his friends among the Gryffindors, and jumped up and down with excitement when   
Hermione joined them. That meant the Mandrake juice had worked just fine. "You guys did great!" Hermione said to Harry and Ron. "I can't   
believe you solved it!" 

When Hagrid came in, he came straight over to the little group, and "patted" Harry and Ron on the back. Cody giggled as he stood by and   
watched them being knocked into their plates of food. Then he shrieked with laughter as Hagrid grabbed him and lifted him high up into the air   
by way of greeting. 

Gryffindor won the house cup, of course, which Cody groaned about the same as the other Slytherins (getting some odd looks from the   
Gryffindors surrounding him), but he really didn't mind all that much. But everyone in the Hall except Hermione cheered wildly at the   
announcement that the school exams had been cancelled. An even bigger cheer went up when Dumbledore told the school that Professor   
Lockhart would not be teaching the following year. For that matter, most of the teachers cheered, too! 

It was very late when Cody staggered wearily back to the common room, then collapsed on a chair in front of the fireplace. When Kathy asked if   
wasn't going to sleep in his bed, Cody managed a sleepy grunt, then closed his eyes. He was asleep before Kathy was done shaking her head.   
She covered him with her robe before going into her own dorm. 

Cody spent little time with the Slytherins the rest of the term. Draco was being very difficult to be around, as angry as he was about his father   
being fired as a school governor. In fact Cody ended up spending a good deal of time either with Hagrid, or with the Weasley twins, who   
seemed to be eager to corrupt a young, innocent mind, and were imparting some of their mischief-making wisdom on him. Cody was a willing   
enough student. 

When came the time to leave, Hagrid mock-threatened Cody that he had better write to him, and Cody promised. He also got contact information   
from Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, and the Weasley twins so that he could write to them, too. He wasn't sure how that would work,   
considering how strangely time was acting in regards to him, but he would try, anyway. 

All too soon, it was time for the ride home. Cody shared a compartment with half the Slytherin Quidditch team (Malfoy and one of the Chasers   
were in another compartment with Crabbe and Goyle with them), and played Exploding Snap and practicing hexes. He said his good-byes to   
Marcus Flint, who had just finished his seventh and final year at Hogwarts. Cody was sad at that, but Marcus promised they would keep in   
touch. 

And so, Cody finished his second year at a school of witchcraft and wizardry. 

--- 

When he got home on the Knight Bus from King's Cross station, Cody was in for a shock. His mother was waiting for him, and seemed to show   
very little surprise at the Knight Bus. She stared at it in fascination, but she seemed to have been expecting it. His sister Samantha stood there   
also, staring with wide eyes. "Uh..." Cody said. 

Mom looked at him, looking halfway between amused and reproachful. "Well, come on, young man. We've a few things to talk about. I'll help   
you get your trunk upstairs." 

Utterly bewildered, Cody made no protest as Mom came and took one end of his heavy chest and helped him drag it inside. Samantha even   
helped Cody with his end. Once they were in his bedroom, Mom sat down on his bed; Cody and Samantha sat on his trunk. "So why didn't you   
tell me?" Mom asked. 

"T-tell you?" 

This time, Mom did look amused. "About Hogwarts?" 

There was no mistaking that. She knew. "Well," he said. "I did. Remember? I told you at supper. You though I was make-believing." 

Mom blinked. "You did, didn't you?" she said, her tone mildly surprised, and thoughtful. "Did you know I thought you were pretending?" Cody   
nodded his head. "Why didn't you set me straight?" 

Cody shrugged. "I didn't think you'd believe me. I mean...I came back in time right at the normal time when I left. You wouldn'ta believed me,   
right?" 

"Well, no, I suppose you're right. I wouldn't have." 

"But - but how come you know this time?" Cody asked. 

"Well, do you know when you left for Hogwarts this time?" Cody nodded. It had been right before his regular school started. "Well, it is now   
the beginning of summer; the _next_ summer." 

Cody gaped. "T-the _next_ summer? You mean it's next year! Time went forward this time?" He almost sounded panicked. "Why?" 

"I don't know," said Mom. "I suppose since you went at the beginning of summer last time, it had to do that to keep the times straight." 

"Oh." Cody frowned, and then his eyes widened. "That means I'm eight years old!" He would have had his birthday in March. 

"Yep, it does mean that." 

"S-so how'd you know?" Cody was still puzzled about this. 

"Well, when I discovered you were missing, I worried, of course. And that's not your fault, you figured it would be the same as before and time   
would freeze here, right?" Cody nodded. "But before I went to the police, I got this letter, delivered by an owl." She handed Cody a handwritten   
letter on a rumpled piece of parchment. 

_ "Dear Mrs. DeDannan. When I realized that time was moving in a normal way again, I thought you might be worrying about your_   
_son. He is safe, and has been taken nowhere against his will. This story may be difficult for you to believe, so I would like to meet with you in_   
_the place and time of your choice._

_ Signed, Tony Barado."_

"Oh! Yeah, I know him, he helped me get Merlin!" He gestured towards the bat's cage. 

Mom nodded. "I remember. I'm a little annoyed that you weren't honest with me -" she continued before Cody could protest, "-but I can see   
why you weren't, quite. I probably would have thought you were crazy." She shook her head. "Frankly, I still think you're a little bit crazy, but   
that's to be expected." 

"I'm sorry..." 

"It is accepted." 

Cody felt a little dazed. "But – but that means I missed Christmas, an' everything." 

"That's okay. We saved your presents, so you can open them whenever you like. And next year, you'll be coming home for Christmas, I   
assume." 

Again, Cody was caught very much wrong-footed. "Next year?" 

"Yes. You want to go back, don't you?" Cody nodded. "Well, I won't stop you if you do." Mom smiled, and hugged the child. "And we can   
communicate, now that I know where you are, and how things work. Honestly. Hogwarts..." She chuckled. "It's a good thing I never really   
stopped believing in magic, even though it's fairly hard to come by in the adult world." 

Cody laughed delightedly, and threw his arms around Mom's neck. "Thanks!" 

"You're welcome." She hugged him for a few moments, and then smoothed his hair back. "And so, tell me about your year." She had read the   
books, Cody knew this, but a long time ago, and only the once. But surely she remembered how dangerous the things that happened were! He   
felt a respect and admiration for her, that she was not freaking out and forbidding him to go back. She was one of the rare kinds of parents that   
could both love their child very much, but also let him live and experience life. She trusted him. 

"Didn't Tony tell you?" 

"Well, he told me what happened, and had to go quite along ways towards making me believe it. He had a strange sort of thing that allowed me   
to see what was happening at Hogwarts at that moment." She laughed. "I tell you, I was flabbergasted." 

"Did you see me?" Cody asked with interest. 

"I did." 

"What was I doing?" 

"Well, I admit, I was quite alarmed when I saw you flying in the air on a broomstick, but you seemed to know what you were doing. I'll tell you   
what, I freaked out for a while before accepting that you were all right, and were doing well enough for yourself there." 

She had freaked out, but she was allowing him to go, anyway! She had to be one of the rarest moms in the world. "What about school?" 

"That, I've fixed well enough. I simply told your principal that I was taking you out of the school and sending you to a private one. He knows   
that I am fairly displeased with the school, anyway, of late. And it's true, too, for that matter. But again, tell me about your year! What House did   
you get sorted into?" His mother seemed eager to know the details. 

At this question, Cody's cheeks turned pink, and an annoyed look came over his face. "Slytherin," he grumbled. 

Mom blinked. "You're joking." 

Cody shook his head. "No, I thought so too, but the Sorting Hat said that I had determination, and that I had cleverness and mischief and   
rebellion and adventure in my mind." Mom seemed to be hiding a snort. "So I guess that made me a good Slytherin. There's some really nice   
ones, though, but they're all older than me. I mean in higher years, too. Marcus Flint, he's captain of the Quidditch team, this was his last year at the school. He gave me a broomstick for Christmas! He got a new one, so he gave me his old one!" 

"Wow, that was very nice of him. But Cody, how did you get all of your school things?" 

"Well, I have wizard money in my vault," said Cody, shrugging. "My first mom an' Dad had to have been a witch an' wizard! They musta left me   
that money!" 

"Maybe someone else could have left it to you," said Mom, frowning a little. "An uncle or something, who died, or..." 

"I dunno," said Cody. "But even if it was, my first mom an' dad have to be wizards, or I wouldn't get into Slytherin. That only let in   
pure-bloods." 

This seemed to catch Mom's interest, as she brooded over it for quite a while. "That makes me very curious as to who your parents were," she   
said. "I may have to try and find out." 

"Didn't the orphanage guys tell you?" 

"No. They didn't know." 

"Oh." 

The rest of the conversation was dominated by Cody telling his mom and sister eagerly about his adventures, making his mother wince several   
times with the dangerous parts. But as he made sure to tell her that he usually did refrain from doing something stupid because he knew from the books that it would turn out right, she seemed to take the news well enough. This did bring up the question: "But Cody, knowing what was   
going to happen, didn't that take the fun out of being there?" 

Cody looked at his mother as if she were crazy. "No way!" He looked at her a minute in astonishment, then grinned. "Did you ever fly?" he   
asked her. She blinked and said that no, of course not, except in an airplane. "Did you ever make stuff float? Or make really cool potions? Or   
meet creepy creatures? House elves?" He proceeded to tell her how exactly doing a thing was far different than reading it, even for a child with   
such an imagination as he. 

Mom finally laughed. "Okay, okay, I get the point," she said, holding up her hands in surrender. "Stop, before you make _me_ want to go!" 

Cody grinned. "Besides, I see a lot of stuff that wasn't in the books. And also, it's kinda weird, I forget a lot from the books while I'm there. It's   
like I kinda forget, so it's like being there for the first time. That's part of the magic!" 

"I guess that does make sense. So I suppose you can't show me any of this stuff?" 

Cody sighed. "No, we're not allowed to do magic..." 

"...outside of school," Mom finished. "I will have to go there someday with you, and watch you do some of this stuff. 

Cody grinned. "I bet Tony knows about some places that Muggles can't really see where you could try my broom though! That doesn't count   
as doing magic, since it's already magicked on." 

"I just may take you up on that." 

"I'm really glad to be home, though!" Cody said. "And _really_ glad it's hot here. It's all cold in England!" 

"I bet! Well, come on, Mr. Magic. It's time for dinner." 

And so, enticed by the smells of a cooking supper, Cody following his mother downstairs. School was going to be a lot more interesting from   
then on! 


	12. Year 3, Chapter 1: Professor Lupin

**HIDDEN HERITAGE**

--- 

_Author's Note: This adventure is loosely based on a plotline that was run in a roleplaying game that I play; White Wolf Changeling. My character in that genre is a seven-year old boy named Cody DeDannan, who had an adventure in a realm that is based on what people dream. In this realm, he found Hogwarts Castle, and was able to go through the first two years of it, along with the students from the Harry Potter stories. (We haven't gotten to the other years, yet!) And so, that inspired me to write this._

_This story contains the HP stories seen through Cody's eyes. Please realize that as this takes place in the same time frame as Harry's years at Hogwarts, this fanfic involves a great deal of direct quoting in order to show things through the main character's eyes. Any descriptions, I have put into my own words, but a great deal of the dialogue is quoted._

_Furthermore, that which I have directly quoted, I lay no claim to whatsoever, and the same goes for any characters that are taken from the books. My original creations (that is, my character concepts, which I use in other capacities), however, I do claim. No one may use them without my permission._

**And so I come to my plea: Ms. Rowling (and those associated with her), please don't sue me! I claim nothing that came from you, whether it be a scene, a character, a place, or a story. I have written this fanfiction because, frankly, it's what I always wished would happen. (Yes, I am a 28 year old adult.) I have written this fanfiction because I love your world and want to be a part of it, and so I made my character in order to enjoy it. : ) I certainly make no money with this, only the enjoyment of sharing my imagination with others.**

**Oh, and to all you who might live in the U.K.: In trying to keep the whole setting accurate, I have done a lot of research online, as well as asking my dad (who is from England) and my friend (who lived in England for a year) about things like slang, terms, weather, and the like. So if I screw something up, please don't lynch me! :grin: Though if anyone does spot that kind of mistake, feel free to let me know!**

_Note: The first two years are not my best...but come third year I started getting a little more comfortable with my main character; I get to know him a little better and things start to flow a bit more. The first two years are still good; I just think the later ones are better! And don't worry, I don't make any ridiculous changes in the storyline!_

_And so, with that, I invite you to enjoy this story!_

**YEAR THREE**

**Chapter 1: Professor Lupin**

The summer was interesting. With a few exceptions, it was like most of Cody's other summers. He played with the one or two children that were his friends, he went to the playground, he climbed trees, went swimming, he read and pretended. Most of all, he relished the hot, steamy weather that Florida gave him. 

The exceptions, of course, stemmed from the fact that he was a wizard living among Muggles. He got a letter from Hagrid not long after summer break had begun, just asking how he was, and asking how his mom took to finding out he was a wizard. Wizards sure did know stuff fast, Cody thought. He wrote back, using Merlin to deliver to the nearest Owl Post, where his letter was sent to an Owl Post Office in England. Hogsmeade, he thought. 

He wrote to Harry and Ron and Hermione, and he wrote to Flint and Kathy. Flint was going to try out for one of the local professional Quidditch teams, and Cody told him that he hoped Flint would make it! 

He did have some work over the summer break, which he thought was totally unfair; his normal school didn't give kids homework over summer break! But as this was interesting enough, he did not mind doing it _too_ much. He had an essay on witch-burnings, like all the second-years, some potions writing to do, and one or two other minor things. They were done in the first week, but still! It was the principle of the thing! 

Cody visited Tony on occasion, and asked him if there was someplace that was safe for broom flying. Tony knew of a place near the post office that many witches and wizards used for that very purpose, because it was hidden from Muggles, and was a fairly open area. It was an area of beach concealed by a lot of woods. He took his mother and sister there, and persuaded Mom to take a try on his broomstick. After falling off three times before getting any height, she gave up. Samantha, on the other hand, seemed to take to it quite naturally. Cody cheered his sister as she made a sort of fast spin-around without even wobbling. 

There were thunderstorms to go out and play in, and trips to the nearby beaches to play in the sand. There was swimming and reading, and playing pretend, all effective enough at getting a hyperactive young boy through a hot, humid summer. 

He got a letter from Ron and Hermione, both in the same day. The one from Ron had a copy of the Daily Prophet's front page, where it had the article about the Weasleys winning the cash contest in the paper. He laughed and showed it to his mother, who looked at it in fascination. "Wait'll you see Diagon Alley!" he told her excitedly. They had agreed that the day before school started, Cody and his mother and sister would go to Diagon Alley in the Knight Bus. Mom and Samantha would return home the same way, while Cody would stay the night in the inn at the Leaky Cauldron. "There's pictures all over the place, an' they all move!" 

Ron's letter told him some of the things that they had done in Egypt, and that Percy had been appointed Head Boy. Cody rolled his eyes, stuck out his tongue, and vowed to stay away from Percy as much as possible. Poor Ron was probably drowning in smug. Hermione's letter detailed her vacation to France; he somewhat envied them. Cody had never been to another country before until he attended Hogwarts. Cody's family vacations were usually in places like Disney World (practically in their backyard) or neighboring states. Still, he supposed he didn't have the right to complain. Some kids never got to vacation at all! "On holiday," he murmured, looking down at the letter, and he grinned. English people had weird ways of saying some things! 

Around the beginning of August, Cody got his Hogwarts letter, and read it. Basic Rune Translation, The Monster Book of Monsters, Standard Book of Spells Grade 3, Intermediate Transfiguration... He looked down the list of new books for this next year and grinned, remembering the Monster Book of Monsters. That should be interesting, he thought. 

He went through his supplies, and found that three-quarters of his potion supplies needed refilling, and he needed a couple of new quills, and a bottle of ink. He had also gotten the permission form for his mother to sign, that would let him visit Hogsmeade on the weekends they had them, and his mother had signed it willingly enough. Cody hugged and enthusiastically thanked her. 

Finally the day came, and Cody led his mother and sister outside, to summon the Knight Bus. Mom asked him why no one ever saw this thing, and Cody shrugged. "I dunno," he said. "I think because it's magic, and that makes it so Muggles don't see it." 

The Bus appeared with its normal loud BANG, and screeched to a halt in front of the trio. Cody had his trunk and his fruit bat, and Mom and Samantha were staring at the strange bus in either shock or awe. Maybe both. "Um, are we going to ride on this?" Mom said. 

"Yep!" Cody said with a grin. 

"Is it safe?" 

"Well, it doesn't look like it, but it is," Cody assured her. It took a bit more persuading, but she finally did get aboard and stared at the armchairs that were scattered around the bus. "Weird, huh?" Cody said as he paid Stan for the three bus fares. 

"Don't usually get Muggles 'ere," Stan said. 

"I know," said Cody. "But they can't get to Diagon Alley any other way...Muggles're allowed there, I know they are, cuz Hermione Granger's mom and dad go there when they're buying school supplies." 

"I know that!" Stan said, sounding irritated. "I ain't an idiot, ya know." 

Cody could have argued, but said nothing, and after a few minutes the bus took off again with a BANG! 

The trip was swift and violent, and Cody's mom looked quite ill when she got off it. Samantha, on the other hand had loved every minute of the rocky, bumpy, jerky ride. "I-I don't think that I ever want to ride that thing again," Mom said in a shaky voice when they walked into the Leaky Cauldron. 

Cody giggled. "It's fun," he said. "But don't ever try to sleep. You'd never do it!" 

"I can see why," came the faint retort. 

Cody waved at the innkeeper, then led the way into the back alley, where he took out his wand and tapped the appropriate bricks to open the doorway onto Diagon Alley. Once this was done, he walked onto the street. 

Mom and Samantha acted very much like Cody had when he had first seen Diagon Alley, and he watched them with a wide smile on his face. He pointed out shops left and right, telling them what could be bought there, and the like. He pointed out Knockturn Alley, a row of shops dedicated mostly to the Dark Arts and other magics of questionable nature, but they did not go in. He pointed out Flourish and Blotts, and Ollivander's wand shop, and Gringotts. 

Mom wouldn't go into Gringotts; the sight of the goblins and the story of the roller-coaster-like ride you had to take to the vaults unnerved her enough that she felt it would be a better idea if she and Samantha waited for Cody outside. He tried, marginally, to persuade her, but in the end he went alone. And that was okay; _he_ liked the ride very much! 

Once he had refilled his money bag, he was ready to make the year's purchases. 

Flourish and Blotts was first, it was here that he would get his new books. Mom and Samantha perused the fascinating volumes while Cody found the Transfiguration and Spellbook, but had to have help with the others. The Monster Book was easy enough to find; there was a big cage of them in the front of the store, and the manager of the place was very annoyed when Cody said he needed one of those as well. His book bit the manager, and then Cody, before Cody used his Quidditch arm guard to strap it shut. Mom seemed to be unsettled by a book that bit people, and stayed clear of it. "Hagrid likes weird stuff," Cody said by way of explanation. Mom only nodded weakly. 

Cody was afraid that once having seen Diagon Alley and some of the dangerous stuff that was there, that Cody's mom would rethink her decision to let him go back. But, to his relief, she did not. "This is an interesting place," she said neutrally, once Cody had gotten all of his school supplies. His robes still fit him fine, although he did have to get one set; one had gotten all ripped up during his adventures the previous year in the tunnels beneath the school. 

"Yeah!" Cody said with a grin. "I love it! Hogwarts is even better! I sure hope I make the Quidditch team this year." 

"I don't know whether to wish you luck or hope you don't make it," Mom said, but Cody could tell she wasn't really serious. "After that book I saw, about one of England's teams, after reading and seeing some of the things that happen to them..." 

Cody giggled. "It's not that bad at Hogwarts," he said. "Kids hardly ever get hurt bad, an' besides, Madame Pomfrey can fix anything." 

"Well, you know I'm going to worry about you, right?" Mom was looking at him now, and seemed reluctant to go. 

Cody nodded. "I know...but I'm tough, I'll be okay! Honest!" 

Mom sighed. "I know." She ruffled Cody's hair. "You be good, okay? Don't get into _too_ much trouble. They can send owls to me now if you misbehave, you know, since I know about you going here." 

Cody blinked and looked rather apprehensive about this. That couldn't be good! He wasn't sure if Mom was joking, or serious. 

Samantha hugged him around the middle. "Bye, Cody!" she said with a grin. 

"Bye, twerp," said Cody with a grin, and gave his sister a squeeze. Then he hugged his mother and waved, as she headed into the Leaky Cauldron. A few moments later, he heard the BANG of the Knight Bus and giggled. Poor Mom. She was gonna have to find a different way to come here. 

Once they had gone, Cody dragged his trunk and his new packages into the Leaky Cauldron, and paid for a room that night. To his surprise, Harry and Ron were there, also, and he waved energetically at them. "Hi!" he cried as he handed over some wizard gold for the room. 

"Hey, runt," said Ron with a smirk. Cody could see he had grown taller over the summer and wondered how tall he would be when he was a grown-up. Cody felt very short indeed. 

Still, there was pride to be considered. Short or not, "runt" was not a term that he could let slide! "I am not!" he said. "I'm tall enough!" 

"Tall enough for what?" 

"For my feet to touch the ground," Cody said, as if it were the most obvious answer in the world. Ron snickered. 

He was told, then, that Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys were all staying the night as well. Mr. Weasley came over then, and smiled down at him. "Hello," he said warmly. Cody found himself liking the man immediately. "You must be Cody?" 

Cody grinned. "Yes, sir!" he said. 

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Mr. Weasley, Ron's dad, and there's his mum, over there." He pointed to where Mrs. Weasley looked like she was telling off Fred and George for something, Cody wasn't sure what. Both twins had this innocent, "who, me?" look on their faces that fooled no one. Cody stifled a giggle. 

"You too," he said to Mr. Weasley, in answer to his greeting. 

Mr. Weasley looked down at Cody's trunk, which was bigger than he was, and smiled a bit. "Would you like a bit of help getting your trunk up to your room?" 

"Yes, thanks!" Cody said, relieved. It was very heavy, and one end was all scuffed and scratched from him dragging it everywhere. "I gotta put wheels on this thing." 

Cody realized that all of the Weasleys were there then, and Tom the innkeeper was putting together several tables for them, to eat their dinner on. Mr. Weasley asked Percy if he would come over and help Cody with his trunk. He did, and Cody could rarely remember him looking so smug or pompous. He stifled a giggle as Percy took one end of the trunk, giving Cody a sort of dignified, royal nod. Grinning, Cody told him "hi". 

Once Cody's things were settled in his room, Percy told him solemnly that they were having dinner with Hermione and Harry that night, and that Cody was invited to join them if he wished. 

"Sure!" Cody said as the two youths walked back down the stairs. Cody wondered if Percy would get a crick in his neck from holding his head so stiff. 

When they got back down to the main room, the tables were together, the first course of dinner was on the table, and everyone but Percy and Cody were seated. Mrs. Weasley looked up and smiled. "Well, come on, Percy, your soup's getting cold." As Percy sat down, Mrs. Weasley turned to Cody, who was feeling suddenly shy. "Percy told you you were welcome to join us, dear, didn't he?" she said. 

"Yes, ma'am," said Cody, turning a little red as for a moment, everyone's eyes were on him. 

"Well, then, come on! You don't want your soup to get cold, either!" She made a "come on over" gesture with her hands, and Cody climbed into the only vacant seat, the one next to Mrs. Weasley. 

For a while, Cody only listened to the others talking, as he was very hungry and more interested in the different parts of the meal that was being served. It was weird, eating a meal in parts. Courses, they called them. He was accustomed to getting everything at once. "So what new classes did you take, Cody?" Hermione asked him. She was sitting on Mrs. Weasley's other side. 

Cody finished his mouthful and answered, "Study of Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures." 

"I'm taking Study of Ancient Runes, too," said Hermione with a pleased look. "Maybe we'll be in that class together." 

Cody cocked his head. "Are the Slytherins taking that with Gryffindors?" 

Hermione shrugged. "I don't know yet. The class I'm really looking forward to is Arithmancy. It seems quite fascinating." 

Cody made a face, then had to stifle a giggle at the faces that Fred and George were pulling when Hermione wasn't looking at them. Mrs. Weasley saw, however, and told them to stop it. "I like Runes better," said Cody. "I don't like stuff like Arithmancy. But Magical Creatures'll be great! I like animals." Merlin was hanging off Cody's robes as usual, and taking bits of Cody's meal when he thought Cody wasn't looking. Cody didn't mind sharing. 

"That sounds interesting too," Hermione agreed. 

"So what's your favorite course, then?" Ron asked him. 

"I like Astronomy best!" said Cody. "I like planets and stars and moons, and stuff. An' I'm good in it. An' I like Quidditch." 

"That's not a subject," said Ron. 

Cody shrugged agreeably. "I know. I still like it though. I'm gonna try out for the team again; I hope I make it! Flint said I got a lot better, so I hope I do." He heard Ron's snort at the mention of Flint, but Cody didn't mind. Didn't blame him, really. 

"Well if he's the one in charge of Slytherin's team this year, they'll be a cinch to beat," Ron opined. 

"Not if _I_ make the team!" Cody said with mock arrogance. He giggled at the look on Ron's face, and at Harry's snort of laughter. 

"Right," Ron said at last, realizing that Cody was teasing. "You'll save the team, you will. Harry, you'd better watch out for his mad Beater's bat." 

Cody laughed at the idea of a mad Beater's bat, and returned to his meal. 

As dessert disappeared and Cody sank back into a food coma, Fred asked Mr. Weasley how they were all going to get to King's Cross Station, and Mr. Weasley told him that the ministry was sending two cars. 

"Why?" Percy asked. 

And of course, the Weasley twins took the opportunity to tease their elder brother mercilessly. "It's because of you, Perce," said George. Cody thought that he could finally tell them apart. They were slight differences in the way they talked and moved, though you would have to know them fairly well to realize. "And there'll be little flags on the hoods, with HB on them." 

"For Humongous Bighead," said Fred. Cody joined nearly everyone in hiding a snicker. Percy simply repeated his question, holding his head up in a dignified manner, as if such insignificant teasing were beneath his notice. 

Mr. Weasley explained that they were doing him a favor, as he worked at the Ministry, and Mrs. Weasley said it was a good thing too, what with all their luggage. Cody agreed with her on that. With five Weasleys, and Harry and Hermione; that was seven trunks, three animal containers, and various other bags. 

"You're all packed, aren't you?" she asked. 

Percy sighed and said that Ron hadn't, that he had dumped all his stuff on Percy's bed. Mrs. Weasley sent him up to pack. 

"I'm not sure if we can squeeze you in as well, Cody," said Mr. Weasley. "But we're certainly willing to try if you need a way to the station." 

Cody grinned. "That's okay," he said. "I'm gonna take the Knight Bus; I always do. But thanks!" 

Mr. Weasley smiled. "You're welcome, Cody." 

Cody gazed at him for a moment, and then spoke, turning a little red again. "You guys're really nice. I wish more people were like you guys, 'cuz there's a lot of jerks." 

Mr. Weasley blinked, looking surprised for a moment, but he also looked pleased at the compliment. "Thank you," he said after a moment. "It's always nice to hear that." 

Cody grinned, then climbed out of his chair. "Thanks for dinner." He yawned, covering his mouth. He usually didn't like to admit when he was tired, as his mother always made him go to bed when she saw it. "I'm gonna go an' make sure all my stuff's in my trunk." 

"See you at King's Cross," said Mr. Weasley. The few people left at the table also said good-bye, and Cody waved to them. 

The soft bed and feather pillow in his little room never looked so welcoming to Cody, as he was very tired. He had gotten up early to get ready, and to pack his trunk for the trip on the Knight Bus to England, and had spent a tiring but fun day. He put Merlin in his cage, put on his pajamas, and crawls under the covers. Very soon, he was fast asleep. 

--- 

He arrived fairly late the next morning at the Station, and had to hurry to get onto the platform before eleven o'clock. He enlisted the help of an older student to get his stuff stored, and then headed down the corridors, looking for a compartment of friendly faces. 

Malfoy didn't qualify. He peeked into the compartment where he was sitting and quickly moved on, not wanting to be seen. He liked Malfoy less and less. 

Finally, he did find his friend Kathy Skinner, who was sharing a compartment with a few other seventh-year girls. Cody wasn't wild about sharing a compartment with a bunch of girls, but as Kathy was one of the few other Slytherins who were friendly (and in Cody's opinion, decent), he slipped in at her invitation. "Hi!" he said. 

"Hey kid, how're ya doing?" Kathy patted the seat besides her, and he climbed up next to her. "Have a good summer?" 

"Yep! My mom knows about Hogwarts now. Time stopped acting weird." 

"Well that's good, isn't it?" said Kathy. 

"Yeah! I don't have to go to my normal school. Mom said she told the Board of Education that I was going to a private school. Hogwarts is tons better than my other school." 

"I know what you mean. I went to a Muggle school before I turned eleven, too, and I hated it. My teachers were all a bunch of stiff-necked -" She broke off, glancing down at Cody, and he had the idea that the next word wasn't going to be one that Cody was allowed to say. 

He giggled. "It's okay. Flint always said cuss words around me, an' Fred an' George do too. An' sometimes Ron." 

"True enough! Hey, did you hear from Flint over the summer?" 

Cody nodded. "He wrote an' I wrote back. He's trying out for one of the Quidditch teams! I hope he gets in one." He spent quite a while talking to the girls about the school and about what America was like. The lunch cart came, and he bought a delicious looking ham sandwich, two Chocolate Frogs, a bottle of apple juice, and a little bag of chips. 

Kathy laughed and asked in a teasing voice how long it had been since he ate. 

"I had breakfast," he said through a mouthful of chips. 

After that, the talk turned more towards the upcoming year, and though Cody contributed on occasion, there wasn't a whole lot that interested him. After all, they were in seventh year, and he was in third. After classes the talk turned to the summer holiday, and then, to Cody's disgust, boyfriends and romance. He decided that was his cue to leave. 

The boy hopped off his seat, stretching. He didn't like sitting so long, anyway. "Heading off?" Kathy asked him, looking amused. 

Cody nodded. "Yeah, I'm gonna see who else is here." 

"Everyone's here," said one of the other girls with a teasing smirk. "It's the Hogwarts Express." 

Cody stuck his tongue out at her, which made her chuckle. "You know what I mean." 

"See ya in the dorms then, kid," said Kathy. 

"Bye!" 

Cody wandered out into the corridor, running around a bit to expend his energy, looking for where Ron and the others had parked themselves, and finally found them at the other end of the train. The train had begun to slow down, making Cody wonder if they were at the school already. Surely, not yet! 

He peeked in and smiled brightly at them. "Hi! Can I come in?" 

"Sure," said Ron, gesturing to the half-empty compartment. "Don't be too loud, though, one of the new professors is in here." He looked fairly baffled himself. 

Cody came in and closed the door softly. "How come he's on the Hogwarts Express?" 

Ron shrugged. "We're not sure." 

"Oh. How come we're slowing down?" 

But before Ron could answer, the train suddenly screeched to a halt, knocking Cody off his feet and against the bench opposite him, and at the same time, the lights went out. "Ow!" 

"What's going on?" 

"Ouch! Ron, that was my foot!" 

"D'you think we've broken down?" 

"Dunno!" 

Amid the sudden din, Cody felt someone's hands helping him to his feet. 

"I think people are coming aboard," said Ron. 

There was a distinct lack of organization in the compartment as those within tried to figure out what on earth had happened. Then the door to the compartment opened, and there was suddenly at least one more person in the room. The little space was a jumble of stumbling bodies and legs, and confused voices. Hermione said that she was going to go and see what was going on, but before she could, the door opened yet again. 

Cody yelped as someone stepped on his foot, and sent him crashing to the floor again. Someone – Neville, he thought – fell on top of him. "Ow!" 

"Who's that?" 

"Who's _that?_" 

"Ginny?" 

"Hermione?" 

There was a babble of voices as everyone tried to figure out who was there, and then tried to get seated. 

Suddenly, there was a hoarse voice that belonged to none of the children in the compartment. "Quiet!" The professor, Remus Lupin. Everyone quieted. He lit the compartment using some kind of charm that let him conjure up a fire in his hands, and everyone looked at him. Cody crawled up onto one of the benches as Lupin told them to stay where they were. But as Lupin made his way to the door to find out what was going on, it slid open... 

Cody's face paled at the sight of what stood there in a long, black cloak, its face hidden by the hood, a slimy, dead-looking hand protruding from the sleeve. The child stared in horrified fascination. He gasped as the creature sucked in a breath, and a vicious cold enshrouded his body, sinking horribly into his skin and muscles. Cody screamed, terrified, and scrambled desperately up onto the bench, trying to get as far from the horrible thing as he possibly could. He suddenly found himself remembering, as if someone had torn his brain open and was forcing the memories inside, the times in his life he had felt the worst. He burst into tears and curled up in the corner, hiding his face in the set of robes nearest him. He didn't know who it was, all he knew was that whoever it was put their arms around him, and that whoever it was, was shaking almost as badly as Cody was. 

He heard, vaguely, Lupin standing up, telling the dementor that none of them were hiding Sirius Black under their robes. He heard Lupin growl "Expecto Patronum!" and caught a flash of silver light even through his shut eyes. 

Cody slowly felt the cold easing a little, and saw the lights coming back on. He realized that he was whimpering, and tried valiantly to stop, but he could no more stop it than he could stop breathing. He realized that the person he was clutching was Neville, who looked about how Cody probably looked. Neville let go of Cody to smooth back his hair, which was hanging into his eyes, and to try and compose himself. Cody wasn't going to do that, he could tell that right now. He must still have looked terrified, because once Neville let go of him, Professor Lupin gently put an arm around his shoulder. Cody huddled against him, his shaking beginning to abate. 

Poor Harry had fallen to the floor, half conscious, and Cody knew why. Ron and Hermione were kneeling next to him, and helped him get back on the bench. 

"Easy," said Lupin, his hoarse voice quiet as he spoke to him. "It's okay, it's gone now." 

Cody managed to nod, trying to stop shaking. He wiped his eyes and looked to see what everyone else was doing. He was glad no one was looking at him; Ron and Hermione were busy telling Harry what had happened while he was out. Cody jumped at a loud snap beside him; Professor Lupin had snapped a huge piece of chocolate into several smaller pieces. He handed Cody one. "Go ahead and eat it," he said, still in the same low voice. Cody took it and nodded, as Lupin turned to the others and added, "It'll help." 

Harry asked what the thing had been, and Lupin told him it was a dementor of Azkaban, then stood up. He smoothed Cody's hair back once then told the others he was going to speak to the driver. Cody watched him go, and took a bite of his chocolate. Strangely, it seemed to warm his body from the terrible cold that had invaded it; it calmed his shaking and soothed the dread that had hovered in his mind since the thing stepped into the compartment. 

"You okay?" Neville asked him quietly, and the boy nodded, but he kept his knees drawn up and did not stray from the corner just yet. He only ate his chocolate, getting it all over his hands, as the others discussed the dementor's invasion. They were telling Harry how Lupin got rid of it. 

Cody had both stopped shaking and crying by the time Professor Lupin came back and smiled at Harry. "I haven't poisoned the chocolate, you know," he said. 

Harry bit into it and discovered what Cody had; that it was a wonderful remedy for the effects of the dementor's presence. Lupin told them that they would be at Hogwarts in ten minutes, and Cody was highly relieved. Nothing that he had read in the books came close to describing how horrible the things were, and how horrible it felt to be near one... 

Lupin sat down, and Cody looked at him, managing a weak, slightly sheepish smile. "Are you okay?" Lupin asked. The boy nodded, and Lupin smiled. "You have chocolate on your face and hands. You might want to clean it off." 

Cody looked down and his smile widened a little, and he nodded. He used his shirt to wipe his hands, then stretched it up to clean his face; it was washable, after all. 

Little else was said as they sped towards Hogwarts, but Lupin stayed near him the remainder of the journey, which Cody appreciated immensely. 

When the train let them off at the stop, it was raining hard, and not the nice, warm rain that they got in Florida, either. It was a cold, chilly rain, and Cody shivered as he stepped out and the first damp wind washed over him. He heard Hagrid greet them, and waved back, shivering again, this time from a normal cold. Cody decided he didn't mind this kind of cold all that much after all. Compared to the dementors, it was a relief. He realized that he had forgotten to put on his school robes, but he didn't really care a whole lot at the moment. He climbed into one of the coaches, and sat in the damp seat. This year had not exactly started out in the best sort of way. 

To Cody's horror, the carriages passed by the gates as usual, except that tonight there were two towering dementors standing guard there. He whimpered and curled in the back of the coach, glad that no one from Slytherin was there to see. Fortunately, it was only a momentary coldness, then it was gone. 

He got out of the coach and turned his face to the driving rains. The rain was cold as heck, but the familiar feeling of it on his face soothed him; he liked rain whether it was cold or not. It's just that he would not want to go out and play in this particular rain. How it could be so cold in the summertime, Cody didn't get. 

He spotted Harry and the others, and ran over to them just as Malfoy was leaving. Professor Lupin was there, also, and he smiled at the professor, whom he already greatly liked and admired. 

He ran on ahead of them into the school where it was warm, and headed for the Great Hall. 


	13. Year 3, Chapter 2: Slytherin Discord

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 2: Slytherin Discord**

As Cody approached the Slytherin table, he began shivering as he started to warm up from the rain; it was nice and warm in the Hall, but the "sky" above was as stormy and rainy as ever. Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed, and Cody was delighted by it. Thunder, lightning, and rain without getting wet and cold! Now _that_ was magic. 

He might have stood there, distracted by the magic ceiling, had someone from behind not given him a little shove. He looked back and saw that he was standing right in the way. With a sheepish smile, he scooted on over to the table. 

He got quite a few queries about why he was wearing Muggle clothes, and told everyone he had forgotten to put his robes on. He was soaking wet, so it was not evident that he had been crying, which was another thing that made Cody happy. He stood up on the bench to watch the Sorting as usual, as he was shorter than most everyone in the school. 

The Sorting went much the way it had the year before, with the little first years queuing up to try on the Sorting Hat, which divided the students into their houses. Cody clapped with the rest of the Slytherins for those that had made it into their house. 

As the Hat was being taken away to rest for another year, Cody caught sight of Hermione and Harry entering the hall. Cody wondered if his sister Samantha was a wizard, too, or rather a witch, but he didn't think so. Samantha was adopted as well. It would have been neat, though. Still, she was only five. 

Once the Sorting was over, Dumbledore stood up to speak. He told them of the dementors, and how they could not be fooled by most means of magical disguise and sneakery. He told the students that no one was to leave the castle without permission, that dementors did not care about pleading and excuses. Cody shivered. No way would he go anywhere near them! 

And then, he introduced the two new teachers in the school. "First, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher." 

Few really applauded this new teacher, except for a few polite bouts of clapping. Cody, however, joined the others that had shared his compartment on the train in giving him an enthusiastic ovation. 

But when Dumbledore announced that the old Care of Magical Creatures teacher had retired to enjoy his remaining limbs, Cody grinned, waiting for the announcement. "I am delighted to say that his place will be filled by none other than Rubeus Hagrid, who has agreed to take on this teaching job in addition to his gamekeeping duties." 

Cody let out a yell of delight and jumped up and down on the bench a couple of times, earning a dirty look or two from the Slytherins next to him. Again he applauded wildly, grinning up at Hagrid at the staff table. He noticed that only about half of the Slytherins were clapping for Hagrid. Well, what did they know? 

The feast began then, and once Cody had his fill, he sat still and let his stomach rest a bit. When the feast was over, he jumped and ran over to where Harry and the others were congratulating Hagrid for his new job. "Hagrid!" Cody yelled, laughing. "That's so cool!" 

Hagrid laughed. "Thanks, Cody...I hope yeh'll like my classes." 

"I will, I know it!" 

The students were shooed away from the table then, and everyone separated to their respective houses. 

One of the Slytherin prefects led the new first years down to their dormitory, and gave everyone the new password: parseltongue. (Cody rolled his eyes.) Once in the common room, Cody looked at the now-familiar gray tone walls, warm fire, old-fashioned couches and chairs, and creepy green lamps. He grinned. 

"Welcome back, Cody," Kathy Skinner said, coming up behind him. Cody looked up and thanked her. 

"Hey, kid." Cody turned around at the new voice, which sounded a little weary. His eyes widened to see Marcus Flint standing there, dressed in Hogwarts robes. 

"Marcus! But...but I thought..." 

Marcus shrugged. "Failed my NEWTs," he said in a low tone. "So I've got to repeat this year again." 

"NEWTs...those are..." Cody was a little baffled. He knew about NEWTs, of course, having read all five books, but never having been to high school didn't truly understand the concept of final exams. 

"The tests you have to go through in seventh year," Marcus explained. "If you don't at least scrape a passing grade in enough of them, you have to redo your seventh year." 

"That's so they make sure people graduating out of Hogwarts know enough about magic to be able to do well in the world," Kathy said. "Although knowing some of the adults in England, I would say that they must have missed a few." 

Marcus gave Kathy a dirty look, but turned back to Cody without saying anything in reply. "So, guess you're stuck with me as your Quidditch captain for another year," he said with a bit of a smirk. 

Cody grinned, then shrugged. "That's okay!" he said. "I'm gonna make it this year, I just know it!" 

Marcus nodded. "I just bet you are. Anyway. I'm heading for bed. See you later, kid." 

Cody was used to being called "kid". Nearly all of the older students called him that, and half the younger ones, as well. He didn't mind. Yawning, he stumbled after Flint towards the boys' dorms. 

As everyone was tired from their journeys and the feast, most of the Slytherins went to their dorms right away as well. Cody took only enough time to unpack the things he would use most often, before climbing into the curtains and under the covers. He would be sad to leave this place after he was finished with it, he knew that. That was one thing that was bad about growing accustomed to a place. Sooner or later, for the most part, you had to leave it. 

Still, he didn't have to worry about that for four more years beyond this one. 

--- 

At breakfast the next day, he got annoyed by Draco's ridiculing Harry about the dementor, and sat at the opposite end of the table. The good thing was, he didn't have to deal with Draco in Study of Ancient Runes, as he had not taken that class. They had it with the Ravenclaws, though, so he didn't see Hermione, either. 

It ended up being a very interesting class to Cody, even though there was a lot of looking up pictures of runes in books. The sitting-still part wasn't entirely entertaining, but the runes were. For now, they were only beginning to learn what the symbols meant, but eventually they would be actually using the runes in their magic. The professor said that they would not even be _studying_ some of the actual runes from the Dark Ages and before, but would use more recently made facsimiles. "The older runes have more power," he explained. "But I'll want you to have learned about the runes and practiced on the lesser ones before we get into the old magics. That will probably be fourth or fifth year studies." 

Cody was disappointed that he had to wait for that part, as it seemed really interesting and exciting to him. Still, it was a cool lesson, and he didn't have any homework. 

After Runes, it was Herbology, which he survived through, though he wasn't entirely pleased with it. (He never was.) His other new class would be after lunch, and it was Hagrid's first one. He decided to eat a largish lunch before this one. He would need the energy! 

By the time he got to Hagrid's hut, it was nearly time for the class to start, and most of the class was there already. Gryffindor and Slytherin. Cody grinned and waved to Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and got a wave or two in return. He was disappointed to see that everyone had their books open; after the hard time Malfoy had given Hagrid about the books, he had wanted to show that he knew how to open the silly thing. 

As it turned out, he did get the chance. As he approached, Hagrid had left to get the creatures for the first class, and Cody looked at Malfoy, who was griping about Hagrid. "Can _you_ open this stupid thing?" he said as Cody walked up. 

Cody gave him a mild look and took hold of his Monster Book (no longer bound with his Quidditch arm guard) and held it up. He casually ran a finger along the book's spine, and it fell open with a shudder. Malfoy scowled, but Cody turned his back on him and shot a bit of a grin over at the Gryffindors. Ron was snickering. 

His attention was drawn to the paddock they were all gathered at by the sound of Lavender Brown's "Ohhhh!" He looked where she pointed, and indeed, Hagrid was bringing out several hippogriffs for them to examine. Cody's face split into a grin as he viewed the bizarre creatures. Their hind halves were like horses, but the front halves were some kind of bird; eagle, Cody thought. He had not brought Merlin to this class, thinking it a rather poor idea to bring a bat to such a class. Getting Merlin eaten was not high on Cody's list of things to do. 

"Hippogriffs!" Hagrid said, indicating the creatures. "Beau'iful, aren't they?" 

Cody had to agree. They were weird, but they were very pretty creatures, all the same. Still, they looked fierce, and Cody knew full well if you didn't respect the beasts, they'd let you know they were offended. Painfully. 

"So," said Hagrid. "If yeh want to come a bit nearer..." 

Cody, who was already at the fence, climbed up onto it and sat there, still gazing at the hippogriffs. Everyone else gathered at the fence to listen to Hagrid's lecture on the beasts. Hagrid told them how proud the creatures were, and how insulting them was the last thing a person wanted to do. He told them how to approach a hippogriff (you bow, and wait until it bows back), and about how their talons hurt. And then, he asked who wanted to try first. 

Cody was itching to try, but he decided that maybe he should wait and see it done once or twice before trying it himself. He gave the talons a wary look, and winced a little bit, trying not to imagine them tearing his skin. 

Harry Potter finally volunteered, and Hagrid gave him a grateful look. "Good man, Harry!" he said. "Right then, let's see how yeh get on with Buckbeak." 

Cody watched eagerly as Harry climbed the fence and approached the hippogriff that Hagrid un-tethered. He grinned as Harry tried very hard not to blink, listened to Hagrid coaching him, watched Buckbeak looking rather snobbish, in Cody's opinion. Not that he would ever tell him that! 

Harry bowed, and there was a long moment during which nothing happened, and then the creature bent its knees and sank into a reciprocal bow. "Yeah!" Cody called delightedly. Harry didn't seem so ecstatic. He looked nervous as he approached the hippogriff and patted its beak, but Buckbeak seemed to enjoy it. 

"Right then, Harry – I reckon he'd let you ride him!" Hagrid said happily. 

Cody stifled a giggle at the look on Harry's face. Not that Cody blamed him. That seemed scary, to ride something like that. And from what he remembered reading, it wasn't very easy! Cody had to admire Harry's guts as the older boy reluctantly climbed up onto the hippogriff's back, and the beast took off. "Neat!" Cody cried, craning his head to watch Buckbeak's circuit around the paddock. The beast landed safely, Harry climbed off, and Cody joined most of the class in applause. Unsurprisingly, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were the only ones who did not applaud. 

"Good work Harry!" Hagrid cheered. "Okay, who else wants a go?" 

This time Cody did intend to go into the paddock, but before he could hop down he felt hands on his back, and ended up sprawled in the dirt. Furiously, he stood and glared behind him, where there was only a sea of black robes, although he thought he saw a smirk on Malfoy's face. "Who did that?" Cody demanded. 

No one answered, but he thought that Pansy Parkinson looked rather smug. That dumb girl! Cody glared at her for a minute, then walked over towards the hippogriffs, brushing dirt off his robes. 

The hippogriffs were released, and soon people were bowing all over the paddock. He joined Neville at his, giggling as Neville had to retreat repeatedly from it. Of course it wouldn't bow for Cody, either, but he thought that was pretty funny too. He and Neville exchanged several nervous grins as they tried to persuade their hippogriff to bow. "I'm not good at this," Neville said in frustration after the fifth try for both of them. 

"Maybe this one doesn't like people," suggested Cody. He tugged Neville's robe-sleeve and grinned at him when the older boy looked. "You keep sayin' you're not good at stuff...I bet that's why you can't do stuff sometimes. My mom says if you keep telling yourself you can't do something, you won't try very hard because you already think you can't do it." He looked back at the hippogriff, who Cody could swear looked like it was smirking. He looked back to Neville. "Besides, it's not horrible if you can't do a lot of stuff. I can't either, because I'm little. It's still fun to try, though. Besides, you're really good at Herbology, aren't you? I'm no good at all at that!" 

Neville smiled at the younger boy. "Thanks," he said quietly. "Not very many people tell me I'm good at stuff - or tell me it's okay if I'm not." 

Cody snorted. "That's because a lot of people aren't very nice." 

Neville nodded vehemently. "That's an understatement," he said, and he and Cody both laughed. 

"Okay." Cody looked determinedly at the hippogriff they were working with, who stared insolently back. "Okay, let's try again, maybe if we both do it at the same time?" 

Neville nodded. "All right." 

The two boys approached once more and bowed. But when they looked up to see if the creature would do the same, it tossed its head angrily and reared up slightly on its rear hooves. Cody and Neville both let out a yell of alarm and ran from it once more. They looked at the smug hippogriff, then at each other, and they both laughed. 

They did not get a chance to try again. Cody looked over at Malfoy, as he sneered that this was an easy task. Said it must be easy if Potter could do it. Cody rolled his eyes; what a jerk! And then: "I bet you're not dangerous at all, are you?" Malfoy said to Buckbeak. Uh-oh, Cody thought. "Are you, you great, ugly brute?" 

Cody could scarcely see the hippogriff's movement; the next thing anyone knew was Malfoy's scream and Hagrid wrestling Buckbeak back into his collar. The hippogriff was still trying to get at Malfoy, who lay on the ground yelling that he was dying. 

"Yeh're not dyin'!" Hagrid said, hurrying over to Malfoy, scooping the boy into his arms. "Someone help me, gotta get him outta here..." He ran for the castle, looking worried. 

Harry and Hermione ran to assist Hagrid as he ran toward the main castle; the rest of the class were climbing out of the paddock and following. "They should fire him straight away!" Pansy cried, weeping. Cody gave her a disgusted look. Dean snapped that it was Malfoy's fault, and Crabbe and Goyle flexed their muscles. 

"Well it was!" Cody said, earning a glare from Crabbe, and a more subtle frown from Goyle. "Hagrid said you're not supposed to insult them, and he did anyways!" 

"I'm going to see if he's okay!" Pansy said, running up the stairs into the castle and towards the hospital wing. 

Neville snorted and said quietly to Cody, "Yeah, go simper over him." 

Cody might have normally laughed, as much as he disliked Pansy, but he felt too angry and disgusted to. He only nodded in agreement. He waved to him as the Gryffindors peeled off towards the stairs to Gryffindor Tower. 

Cody and the other Slytherins headed for their dungeon dorms, arguing the whole way. Most of them seemed to think that Hagrid was at fault, but one or two admitted that Malfoy hadn't been too smart. "Still," one said. "You shouldn't say that stuff in front of the Gryffindors. You're supposed to show loyalty to your house. 

Cody felt his face burn furiously at this rebuke, and he scowled at the boy who had said it. "It doesn't matter about house! Hagrid's my friend, an' Draco's trying to get him fired, and that's wrong! Just 'cuz he's in my house doesn't mean he can do that kinda stuff, it's still wrong!" 

"Oh come off it," Goyle growled. "Hagrid had no business bringing in monsters like that to a class." 

"They're not monsters, they're hippogriffs," Cody said. "Draco shoulda listened!" 

The debate continued all the way down to the Slytherin common room, and Cody became so annoyed that he stormed into the third-year dorm and slammed the door. 

Once he stopped shaking enough to be able to write legibly, Cody wrote a note to Hagrid, looking to see if Merlin was in his cage; he was. "Dear Hagrid," he wrote. "Malfoy is stupid. And it's not your fault. If they try to fire you, I'll help tell everyone that you told people not to insult the hippogriffs but Malfoy did it anyway." He signed his name (his signature was simply his printed name, as he didn't know cursive yet) and rolled the parchment up tightly. He took Merlin out of his cage. "Could you give this to Hagrid for me?" he asked him. 

Merlin gave him the "happy-bat" look, the expression he had on his face when he was feeling happy and agreeable, and Cody grinned. "Thanks," he said. He held out the parchment and Merlin took it in his mouth, and flew off. 

Class had ended fairly early, and it wasn't for twenty minutes or so that the other Slytherins began arriving in the common room. Cody nearly pounced on Kathy Skinner, to tell her what had happened with Hagrid's first class. In a corner, away from most everyone else, he told her what happened, his voice angry, a scowl on his face. Kathy frowned as Cody related this to her, then sighed and shook her head. "That little prat," she said. "Why he's always got to try this garbage, always has to try and ruin people." 

Cody scowled. "Yeah, well, that's 'cuz his dad's a -" He broke off, having been about to say "a Death Eater". That might not have been the wisest thing to say where he could be overheard. "His dad's...not nice, either," he finally said, scowling darkly down at his knees. 

"I never met him," said Kathy. She seemed about to ask him something, then changed her mind. Instead, she put a hand on Cody's shoulder. "Don't worry. I don't think they'll sack Hagrid over this. You know Dumbledore, he's a good man." 

Cody nodded, feeling a little better. "Yeah, he is," he agreed. 

By dinner that night, all of Slytherin house and half the rest of the school knew what had happened that afternoon, and as far as the Slytherins were concerned, Cody and Kathy were in the small minority in thinking that Malfoy had been at fault, and that there was nothing wrong with Hagrid's teaching. 

--- 

Cody didn't see Draco for a few days, which was no great loss. But he appeared in Potions on Thursday, acting like he'd been in some sort of war, and on the losing side, no less. Sitting at a table with Crabbe and Goyle, Cody frowned as Draco staggered in. 

"How is it?" Pansy asked. Neville was right, Cody thought; she did simper. "Does it hurt much?" 

"Yeah," said Malfoy. When he winked at Crabbe and Goyle, once Pansy had turned her head, Cody rolled his eyes. 

"You must be really weak then," Cody said, so just Draco and his two thugs could hear. 

Draco glared, and Crabbe slugged Cody in the arm, knocking him off his chair. He yelped in surprise and picked himself up, rubbing his arm where he'd been hit. "Oww!" he said angrily. He was tempted to slug him back, but he knew that Crabbe could squish Cody into little pieces and decorate the dungeon with them. Cody rubbed his arm briskly, trying to persuade the pain to leave it. He was going to have a bruise there, he just knew it! 

"Settle down, settle down," said Snape, looking over at them. Cody took his cauldron and switched places, sitting defiantly at a table with Neville Longbottom. 

The class wasn't a greatly enjoyable one. Malfoy was taking full advantage of his "injury", making Ron and Harry cut his ingredients for him, and prepare his potion elements. Cody tried to put Malfoy's sneering voice out of his head and concentrate on their potion, which was fairly complicated for what they had learned so far. It was a Shrinking Solution. He thought that he was doing fairly well; he had sliced his roots fairly evenly, had skinned his shrivelfig, and cut up his caterpillars. (That part was kind of gross.) Cody peered into his cauldron, where a forest green mess of stuff resided. It was supposed to be neon green, but he hadn't been able to get it the right color. 

Still, he was doing better than poor Neville, for whom Potions was very difficult. Cody peered into his friend's cauldron and winced. "Er..." he said quietly. "I don't think it's supposed to be orange." 

"I know," Neville moaned. "I think I put in too many -" 

Cody was startled then by Snape's voice, right above him, and he sat up quickly. Snape ladled some of Neville's potion and let it splash back in. "Orange, Longbottom. Orange. Tell me, boy, does anything penetrate that thick skull of yours?" Neville's face turned pink, and he looked the way Cody did when trying not to cry. Cody clenched his fists, feeling furious with Snape on behalf of his friend, and glared up at the teacher. Snape took no notice, too busy berating Neville for his mistake. "Didn't you hear me say, quite clearly, that only one rat spleen was needed? Didn't I state plainly that a dash of leech juice would suffice? What do I have to do to make you understand, Longbottom?" 

What a jerk! Cody thought. Or maybe he was a git. Or maybe both! 

Hermione offered to help Neville put it right, to which Snape replied that he hadn't asked her to show off. Then he told Neville that they would feed some of his potion to Trevor at the end of class and see what happened. Cody was suddenly glad that he had not brought Merlin to Potions. 

Neville turned to Hermione's nearby table and pleaded for her to help. She did, speaking softly to him from the corner of her mouth. She did know what she was doing, Cody thought admirably, as Neville's potion had slowly turned from orange to green. Cody's own had thickened up to the point of being sludge, and he gave it a dirty look. He spent the rest of the lesson thinning it out, and finally managed a passable if not good Shrinking Solution. He scooped up some into a vial to give to Professor Snape. 

Snape finally walked over to Neville and Cody's table, and told everyone to gather around. Poor Neville looked terrified. Snape picked up Trevor's toad, and had Cody not known that the potion would not poison the poor toad, he would have grabbed it from his hand. No one had the right to kill someone's pet like that! 

As it was, once given the solution, Trevor gulped for a moment before making a popping noise and transforming into a tadpole. Cody grinned as the Gryffindors clapped. The only thing that ruined the moment was Snape taking off five points, correctly guessing that Hermione had helped him. What a creep. 

Cody was glad to get out of Potions. 


	14. Year 3, Chapter 3: Boggarts and Beaters

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 3: Boggarts and Beaters**

He walked with the Gryffindors toward Defense Against the Dark Arts, one of two classes he did not have with the Slytherins. There had been an error on his schedule that put him in that class with the Gryffindors, while the rest of the Slytherins went to Astronomy. And while the rest of the Slytherins went to Defense Against the Dark Arts, Cody had Astronomy with a class of Ravenclaws. Snape had offered to put things right, but Cody had said he preferred it that way. As Dumbledore had given his okay to this, Snape said nothing else, but the child could tell that he was annoyed. 

Cody realized with some excitement that this would be his first class with Professor Lupin teaching it. He had not seen a lot of him since the ride to school, and found himself looking forward to the lesson. "Good afternoon," he said to them when he walked into the room. He asked them to put their books away and take out their wands. Cody did so with a grin. Lupin asked the class to follow him, and led the way out the door. Cody was right up front as the class did as they were asked. 

The procession was interrupted by the sight of – who else – Peeves, hovering upside down, and stuffing a nearby keyhole with what turned out to be chewing gum. As they approached, Peeves looked up, looking delighted at the sight of them, and began singing rudely, "Loony, loony Lupin! Loony, loony Lupin!" over and over again. 

Lupin took this in stride, and suggested mildly that Peeves remove the gum, and got his answer in the form of a loud raspberry. Cody stuck his tongue out at Peeves, who was happy enough to return the gesture. 

He looked back as Lupin took out his wand and asked the class to watch him. "Waddiwasi!" he said, pointing his wand at Peeves. 

Cody watched in fascination as the wad of gum shot out of the keyhole and up Peeves' nostril. Cody laughed as Peeves whirled around and fled, spitting curses Cody had never even heard before. 

"Cool, sir!" said Dean Thomas. 

"Thank you, Dean," said Professor Lupin, and as he put his wand away, he invited them to follow once more. That was another thing that Cody liked a lot about Lupin; he called students by their first names, and it was not a sign of disrespect, but of friendliness and warmth. 

"I gotta learn that!" Cody said. "He dumped a whole urn of milk on my head last year!" There was a little bit of laughter at this, and some dark muttering, presumably from those students who have had their own run-ins with the poltergeist. 

The class was led into the staff room, where Professor Snape sat alone. Cody waved at him, but Snape did not return the wave, only gave Cody a fairly disgusted look before turning to Lupin. "Leave it open," he said, referring to the door. "I'd rather not witness this." 

What a jerk, Cody thought, and stuck out his tongue when neither of the professors was looking at him. A couple of the Gryffindors snickered. 

Before Snape left, he turned and spoke to Lupin once more, warning him that this class contained Neville Longbottom. "I would advise you not to entrust him with anything difficult. Not unless Miss Granger is hissing instructions in his ear." 

Cody gaped as Neville went red with embarrassment, as who wouldn't? But Lupin merely said that he had hoped Neville would assist him with the first part of the class, and expressed surety that Neville would do just fine. Snape left, and Neville's face went even redder. Cody wondered how red a person's face could get before it exploded or something. "Don't listen to him," he hissed to Neville, pointing at the now-closed door. "He's just a jerk. I can't believe he said that!" 

Neville looked down at Cody and smiled a little, appreciating the thought, but still very embarrassed over Snape's nasty little remark. "Why'd he give _you_ a dirty look, though?" Neville asked. "You're in his House, aren't you?" 

Cody nodded. "Yeah, but he doesn't like it that I'm with you guys in this class." 

"But wasn't that a mistake?" 

"Yeah, but he told me they'd get it fixed, and I asked if they could leave it 'cuz I liked it the way it was. He said it didn't happen a lot, but he'd ask the headmaster. I guess he said yes." 

"Oh. Why _didn't_ you want the mistake to be fixed?" 

Cody shrugged, grinning. "I like you guys better. Most the Slytherins are mean." 

"Oh." Neville finally grinned back. 

"Now then," said Lupin, causing Neville and Cody to look forward again. He led them to what they called a wardrobe, which so far as Cody could tell meant it was a closet that you could move around. It rattled, making the class exchange nervous looks. Cody caught Neville's eye, and they both shrugged. Of course when Lupin told them not to worry, there was just a boggart in the wardrobe, no one seemed too relieved by the information. Lupin went on to describe how boggarts like dark, small places, and how this one had moved into the wardrobe not long ago. "So the first question we must ask ourselves is: what is a boggart?" 

Hermione put up her hand, and Cody rolled his eyes. She really was a know-it-all. "It's a shape-shifter," she said. "It can take the shape of whatever it thinks will frighten us most." 

"Couldn't have said it better myself," said Lupin. He went on with his explanation of boggarts, and Harry told him what their advantage in being a large group was. Lupin told them of a boggart he had seen that tried to frighten two people at once and turned into half a slug, and Cody giggled. Lupin looked at him and smiled. "Which brings us to our lesson. The thing that really finished a boggart is laughter. What you need to do is force it to assume a shape that you find amusing. We will practice the charm without wands first. After me, please: Riddikulus!" 

"Riddikulus!" chorused Cody with the class. 

"Good. Very good. But that was the easy part, I'm afraid. You see the word alone is not enough. And that's where you come in, Neville." 

Neville looked terrified. Cody tugged his robes and flashed a smile his way. "You'll do good!" he said. Neville's smile attempt looked more like he was about to vomit. When Lupin asked Neville what he was most afraid of, even Cody couldn't hear him, and he was standing closest. 

"Didn't catch that, Neville, sorry," said Lupin. 

Neville didn't answer again at first, but finally whispered, "Professor Snape." Cody giggled with the rest of the class, and even Neville grinned a bit at his own expense. He didn't really blame Neville, though; Snape was absolutely evil to the poor kid. 

"I believe you live with your grandmother?" Lupin asked him. 

"Er, yes, but I don't want the boggart to turn into her, either..." 

Lupin smiled, and Cody was again struck by what warm expression it was. He really was a good person, Lupin was. He asked Neville what sort of clothing his grandmother wore, and Neville answered. When he came to the part about the vulture-hat, Cody gave him a strange look. Why would anyone wear a hat that had a vulture on top of it? That was just really strange. 

"And a handbag?" Lupin asked. 

"A big red one." 

"What's a handbag?" Cody asked. 

Lupin smiled at him. "It's the bag that ladies carry their things in, Cody." 

"Oh! Like a purse. My mom's got one of those." 

"Right then," said Lupin. He asked Neville to envision the clothes clearly in his mind, and Neville said that he had. "When the boggarts bursts out of its wardrobe and sees you, it will assume the shape of Professor Snape. And you will raise your wand, thus, and cry Riddikulus!" Lupin demonstrated. "And concentrate on your grandmother's clothes. If all goes well, Professor Boggart Snape will be forced into that vulture-topped hat and that green dress, with that big red handbag." 

Cody clapped his hand over his mouth, laughing delightedly at the mental image, and he saw that the rest of the class thought it just as hilarious. The wardrobe wobbled at the shouts of laughter. 

Lupin told the class that the boggart would likely shift its attention to everyone in turn, and that the students should think of what scared them the most. And more importantly, how they could make it look silly. Cody frowned, thinking; what did scare him the most? He wasn't sure. He hadn't experienced enough of life yet to have really met many things that scared him. He had nightmares sometimes, he knew, but as he always forgot them upon waking, he wasn't sure what was in them to scare him. He supposed the bad guys in his books would scare him, the ones with guns, but as he had never come across one, the idea didn't hold so much terror. 

He thought briefly of the dementors, which admittedly did terrify him, and thought he might have stumbled on it. He thought that maybe making their robes bright pink and all flowery like his sister's nightgown would be pretty funny, but what if it didn't turn into a dementor? 

Cody thought so long that by the time he brought his attention back to the staff room, Lupin had already opened the door of the cupboard. Alarmed, Cody took a couple of steps backwards, and watched carefully. 

Professor Snape stepped out of the wardrobe, looking even more menacing than usual, and advanced on Neville, reaching inside his robes. For a wand, Cody assumed. Would the boggart-Snape even have a wand? And if he did, would it work? 

Cody never found out. As Neville pointed his shaking wand up at Snape, and stammered out the charm, there was a loud cracking sound, and Snape stumbled. The next moment, he was wearing a long, old-lady dress, his head covered by a huge witch's hat with an old, stuffed vulture on it, and he was swinging a big, red purse at Neville. Cody nearly fell over laughing. 

Cody watched the boggart turn into a mummy, which Parvati unraveled; a banshee that Seamus Finnigan made lose her voice. It turned into several things in rapid succession, making Lupin shout that it was getting confused. Cody assumed this was a good thing! It turned into a hand that Dean Thomas trapped in a mousetrap, and then into a huge spider whose legs Ron vanished. 

Next would be Harry, and then Cody. But before Harry could try his hand at it, Lupin darted forward to intercept him. The boggart vanished, and after a few moments, Cody noticed it had turned into a glowy orb, which Lupin vanished with the Riddikulus charm. The boggart made its cracking sound and disappeared from sight once more. Cody noticed, then, a cockroach scuttling around the floor. 

"Forward, Neville, and finish him off!" Lupin cried. 

Neville dashed forward, far more confident this time, and the boggart rose from the floor in the shape of Snape once more. "Riddikulus!" Neville yelled, and the Snape was dressed like Neville's grandma again. Neville burst into laughter along with the rest of the class, and a second later the boggart had disappeared for real, bursting into a tiny wisps of smoke. Then it was gone. Cody let out a cheer. 

"Excellent!" Lupin said as everyone burst into applause. He awarded five points to everyone that tackled the boggart, and five each to Harry and Hermione. Neville got ten because he faced the thing twice. 

As the class left, everyone was talking excitedly about the boggart. Cody was disappointed at not having gotten a turn at it himself, but he did talk with the others about Snape in the vulture hat. Everyone seemed to agree that had been their best Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson yet, and even Hermione approved of his teaching. "But I wish I could have had a turn with the boggart..." 

Ron snickered. "What would it have been for you? A piece of homework that only got nine out of ten?" 

As Hermione glared balefully at Ron, Cody held his hand against his mouth to stifle his own snicker. 

Cody was still thinking about his Defense Against the Dark Arts class, as he headed out to the Quidditch pitch for the tryouts. He liked Professor Lupin a great deal; enough that between reading about him, and then meeting him, he thought he would like him as a father. He wondered if Professor Lupin liked him as much. 

He then wondered just what Hermione's boggart _would_ turn into, and thought that Ron might not have been far off. 

His thoughts were finally centered back on Quidditch when he arrived on the pitch to hear Madame Hooch telling everyone to be quiet so that she could call out the names of the students trying out. He caught sight of Flint, Chaser and still captain of the Slytherin team. He waved, and Flint waved back. Cody ran over, grinning from ear to ear. "Did I miss anything?" he asked eagerly. Flint shook his head and pointed to Madame Hooch, who was looking over her list. 

Names were called as usual in alphabetical order; as the tryouts started, Cody looked around. Oliver Wood of the Gryffindors was there, glaring over in Flint's direction. Flint smirked and gave a mock-cheery wave. Cody wasn't sure what he thought of Oliver Wood, but he had the idea that he and Cody might not get along very well. Wood was obsessed with Quidditch, and anyone from a rival team was sure to be The Enemy. Besides, Cody thought that Wood sort of acted like a jerk when it came to the game. 

After a first year girl who could barely stay on her broom was finished with her tryouts, Cody's name was called. Grinning, he ran over, clutching his Nimbus 1700. "Here!" he called, as if answering a teacher taking roll call. 

The tryout was much the same as they were the previous two years, but there was a difference in how Cody executed it. He was far more confident on the broom, having practiced with the team all the pervious year, and occasionally at home. Not only had he practiced broomstick-flying, he had been able to practice the game itself, with the team. Last time he had tried out, what practice he had been able to get beforehand had not made enough of a difference. 

This time, however, the awkwardness was gone; when he finished and landed smoothly enough that he didn't look like an elephant trying to ride a broom, he felt that if he had not made the team, that at least he had made a very good show of it. He grinned at Madame Hooch, who nodded back, and the tryouts continued. 

Despite his confidence, Cody was nervous when the last student finished his moves, and the captains conferred with Madame Hooch about whom they wanted on their teams. He held his breath as the captains walked back to where they had been watching, and Madame Hooch held up a small roll of parchment; he held his breath. 

No one made the Gryffindor team; Wood had kept it as it had been last year. Hufflepuff got a new player, and Ravenclaw got a new Beater and a new Chaser. And then, Slytherin. 

A Slytherin Cody barely knew got one of the Chaser positions. Cody had his teeth clenched, barely resisting the urge to bounce up on his toes as he waited to see if he had gotten the position he wanted. 

"And," Madame Hooch called, "as Beater: Cody DeDannan!" 

Cody's eyes grew very big, and he stared in shock at this announcement. He stayed like that for several seconds, and might well have remained like that all through the night had Flint not clapped him on the shoulder and said, "Welcome to the team, kid." 

This seemed to break the spell, and Cody let a yell of excitement and elation loud enough for Flint to flinch and take a step back. But Cody didn't care; he was too excited, and if he didn't let that out somehow, he suspected he might blow up. He laughed, dashed forward, and squeezed Flint around the middle. He broke away before the astonished Chaser could say anything, and began bouncing up and down. "Thankyouthankyou!" Cody yelled, and grinning, tore off for the castle. He had to tell Kathy! He didn't see Flint's half amused, half astonished expression behind him, nor did he hear him wonder aloud if Cody had gone mad. 

It was nearly time for supper, but Cody couldn't wait to tell his news; he ran up the stairs and into the castle, then sprinted for the steps leading down to the dungeons. He burst into the common room and looked around for Kathy. About half the Slytherins were already at dinner, but Cody was in luck, spotting Kathy finishing up some Transfiguration homework by the fire. "Kathy!" he yelled, leaping from nearly mid-room to land on the cushioned chair next to her. 

Kathy's eyes widened in surprise and she flinched slightly, causing the hand holding her quill to make a long, jagged line across her essay. "Cripes, Cody, you nearly scared my heart into attack!" 

Cody giggled and held his hand over his mouth, blushing slightly. "Sorry," he said, watching her use a Quick-Fix eraser to fix the line. He was distracted for a moment at how it only erased the line, not the writing it touched. 

"It only erases the last thing you wrote," Kathy explained. "So was there a reason for scaring the life out of me, or was that just for the heck of it?" 

Cody giggled again, his grin resurfacing. "I did it!" he proclaimed. 

Kathy cocked her head. "Did what?" 

"The team!" Cody said, as if this should be the first thing on everyone else's mind, too. "The team, the Quidditch team, I made it, I'm a Beater!" 

Kathy blinked, and then she laughed, and reached over to give the boy a quick squeeze. "Fantastic, congratulations!" she said. "All that practice paid off, did it?" 

"Yeah!" Cody agreed, bouncing a little in his seat. "I can't wait 'til next month when we start to practice again! 

Kathy chuckled at the boy's enthusiasm. "Well with you on the team, I bet we'll have a victory," she said, her tone slightly teasing. She winked. 

Cody snorted. "Maybe… I just can't wait to play a game!" Before Kathy could say more, Cody had jumped from his seat and pelted for the door. "I gotta tell the others!" 

The Great Hall was nearly full when Cody got there and nearly dove onto the bench near Draco, and Goyle and Crabbe. "Draco! Gregory!" Cody didn't even mention Crabbe; he didn't like him. "Guess what!" 

"We know," Draco said, smiling a bit. "Flint's told us…good job." 

Goyle punched him lightly, and grinned. "Yeah, good job, kid." 

Still trying to catch his balance (Goyle's idea of a light punch nearly sent him off the bench) Cody nodded excitedly. "Thanks! I can't wait for Quidditch season to start!" 

He spent a few moments when the others students were piling in to catch his breath and slump theatrically across the table, claiming that he ran so much that he died. When he was finished "dying", he sat up and grinned at everyone that came in. Dinner that night was more satisfying than usual, as meals after good news usually were. Cody ate quickly and had seconds, washing it all down with a nice, cold glass of milk. He happily joined in the various conversations around them until the meal was over, and students began heading back towards their common rooms. 

Cody bolted from his seat and sprinted over to where he caught the flaming red top of Ron's head. He jumped in front of them as they headed for the steps to Gryffindor Tower. "Hey!" he yelled. "Guess what!" 

Looking a bit taken aback, Ron didn't answer at first. The twins were behind him, and Harry and Hermione were a few yards ahead of them. "Er, what?" he asked after a moment. 

"I made it on the Quidditch team! I'm on the Slytherin team!" 

Ron blinked. "Oh…well, good job, then, mate!" he finally said, laughing a little and ruffling Cody's already-wild hair. 

"Thanks! I can't wait until a game!" 

George smirked; he and Fred looked highly amused at the idea of the small boy in front of them playing Beater. "So, are you the Bludger or the bat?" he asked with a straight face. 

Cody looked at him a moment blankly, while George snickered. Then he got the gist of the tease and crossed his arms, trying not to look amused, and tapped his foot on the stone floor. "Neither," he finally said. "I'm a Beater, so you guys better watch out. I'm gonna be hitting all kinds of Bludgers at you!" 

Fred grinned. "Is that so? Well then, me and George better watch out, then, hadn't we? With this fierce new Beater Slytherin's got, our days playing Quidditch are numbered!" The twins grinned and walked on past them towards Gryffindor Tower, and Cody glared at their backs for a few moments. He did feel amused somewhere in there, but he also felt highly annoyed. 

"Those two," Ron said, rolling his eyes. "They do that kinda stuff to me all the time, don't worry about it." Ron smiled, and Cody was grateful for the encouragement. "You'll do good, you'll see." 

Cody nodded, smiling. "Thanks." 

"Of course," said Ron with a wink, "it's really too bad that Gryffindor's gonna win, anyway." 

Cody laughed, shaking his head. "No way! We're gonna cream you guys!" 

"We'll just see about that, huh?" 

"Yeah! Bye guys!" Cody waved in Ron's direction, then Harry and Hermione's, as he bounded away from the stream of Gryffindors. The two friends parted, each going his separate way. 

Cody didn't really mind the twins' teasing as much as he could, even if their teasing sometimes got a little mean. They did the same with Ron and the others, too, so that was all right. The twins' attitudes towards Cody were not like the way they treated most of the Slytherins; it was easy to tell the difference in how they made fun. And so, as he re-entered the Slytherin common room, Cody felt happy indeed. And that night, he dreamed of Quidditch. 


	15. Year 3, Chapter 4: Hogsmeade

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 4: Hogsmeade**

Cody noticed that there seemed to be three main categories of Slytherins. One group, the group that Draco hung out with, were the nastiest sorts. They would make snide comments about anyone they took a disliking to, and took every opportunity to be mean and nasty. Then there were the ones that Cody tended to hang around, that included Kathy Skinner and Kyle Tiller. Kyle was in the seventh year with Kathy, and he was a quiet boy who disliked nastiness as much as Cody did. He had helped Cody with his trunk his first year at Hogwarts. The last group was somewhere in the middle. They didn't necessarily go out of their way to make fun, but agreed for the most part with Draco and his little gang. Flint seemed to be in this middle category most of the time. 

As such, Draco Malfoy seemed to have the worst things to say about Lupin. The state of his shabby robes being the most oft-mentioned aspect of him. But even half the Slytherins liked Lupin well enough, and enjoyed his classes a great deal. Cody did too! 

He couldn't wait each time he was due for a Defense Against the Dark Arts class, and eagerly awaited the new lessons. They moved from boggarts to red caps (which Cody thought were fairly disgusting.) Kappas were very creepy, but also very neat; they were little water-dwellers that looked vaguely like reptilian monkeys. He would often talk with Lupin when he saw him between classes, and decided that yes, he liked the professor a great deal. 

Potions, however, was not as fun. Cody was only glad, for once, that he was not a Gryffindor, as Snape was being viler than ever towards them. He was even fairly nasty towards some of the Slytherins, too, and so Cody did not usually draw attention to himself in class. Poor Neville, though, had to endure Snape's humiliating and berating him every lesson. 

Herbology was as lousy as it ever was, and Cody only barely got through the lessons; he couldn't see how some people found it so easy to deal with the weird plants and flowers of the magical world. He and Neville spent several afternoons going over the day's Herbology lessons. Cody wished he were as good at it as Neville. 

Care of Magical Creatures wasn't so hot, either, for that matter. As much as he loved Hagrid, Cody found his classes boring; after the hippogriff incident, they'd been learning about flobberworms. Flobberworms were slimy, toothless little worms that ate mostly lettuce and other greens. 

The Study of Ancient Runes were the only other class besides Astronomy and Defense that Cody was enjoying, and he did fairly well in it. 

--- 

October dawned, chilly and crisp, as Cody was coming to realize was the normal for England. On the one hand, he longed for the warm, humid autumns of Southern Florida, but on the other, Quidditch practice was coming up! Cody was all but leaping up and down when Flint called their first practice, and the team met in the locker room. "All right," said Marcus, then looked over at the small green and silver figure bouncing energetically beside the benches. He gazed at Cody for a moment, then raised his brows. "Okay, okay, you mad aleck, sit down. I can't talk with you jumping up and down like a Bouncing Bulb." 

_Mad aleck?_ Cody thought incredulously. He started laughing, covering his mouth, but he did sit down. A few of his teammates chuckled at the scene, but Cody didn;t mind in the slightest; there was nothing that could ruin his mood that day! 

"Okay. Quidditch season is coming up, of course. And we're gonna win this time. Potter's luck isn't going to hold forever, and that's all that's been sending the Snitch into his miserable little hands." 

There was a general sound of agreement from the rest of the team. Cody disagreed, but said nothing aloud, of course. He only listened to the rest of Flint's pep talk. 

"We've got a new Beater, and a new Chaser. So, today we're gonna see how they work with the rest of the team, and start coordinating ourselves." He grinned at the team, and Cody noticed again why people said he looked like a troll. He _did_ look like a troll. He stifled a giggle. "Well, what are you all waiting for? Let's get out there and practice! And just keep in mind as we practice, that soon we'll crush Gryffindor under our heels!" 

"Yeah!" cried the team, and this time Cody joined in. Friendships were friendships, but _this_ was Quidditch. He'd play his best against Gryffindor, and he was sure they would do the same! 

Practice went well. Cody was only a little bit out of practice, not able to access a safe field for flying during the summer as often as he would have liked, but the others were a bit rusty as well, so it was okay. Cody worked well with the other Beater, and by the end of practice, they had been able to coordinate their moves well enough. They even hit one of the Bludgers simultaneously at one time, hard enough to send it the full length of the pitch, towards the castle. "Yeah!" Cody cried, thrusting his bat into the air in a gesture of victory. 

Bole, the other Beater, grinned and clicked bats with him before they both dove back into practice. 

"All right!" cried Flint when they had finished their practice. The team had landed, looking windswept and bedraggled from flying in the chilly autumn wind. "We're gonna win this year, I just know it!" 

"Yeah!" Cody agreed. "We're gonna cream everyone else!" 

"That's the attitude I want!" Flint looked upwards at the darkening sky, then turned to his team. "Okay, guys, that's enough for today, let's go ahead and head inside." 

Bletchley spoke up. "How many days are we gonna be practicing?" he asked. 

"Probably three, like last year," Flint answered. "Four if we start playing like crap." 

Bletchley nodded. "Sounds good." 

Cody returned to the school in extremely high spirits. 

--- 

As the weeks passed, Cody found that he had more homework than he had had the previous year. Some of it was fun, some was hard, and some was simply boring and unpleasant. Still, Cody managed to get through it all, along with practice for Quidditch, and for the choir, which he was in again. 

As Halloween neared, about halfway through the month, there appeared a notice on the Slytherin common room bulletin board. Cody slipped in among the students crowded around it so that he could get up front and see; he laughed when he saw it. The first Hogsmeade weekend would be on Halloween day! "Cool!" he exclaimed. "When do we give Professor Snape our permission slips?" 

A fourth year answered, "Usually he does it during Potions," he said. 

"I can't wait! Is it really neat there?" 

The fourth year grinned, nodding. "It's wicked," he said. "A whole wizarding village, where you don't have to worry about a lot of miserable, stupid Muggles. And there's this sweetshop there that's like heaven." 

"The Shrieking Shack's the best, though," said another fourth year, this one a girl. "I always go there and check it out. I never hear anything, but I always hope that I will. Sometimes when the wind blows, it sounds like there's people in there screaming, just like in the legends." 

"Wow," breathed Cody. "I can't wait!" 

An older girl, fifth or sixth year, looked down at Cody with a faintly disdainful look on her face. "You're kinda young to be going, aren't you?" she asked. 

Cody scowled at her. "I'm a third year." 

"Yeah, but you're just a baby, I mean, the students are pretty much on their own there, are they still letting you -" 

Cody scowled, and interrupted her. "I am not a baby!" he cried. "And yes they are _too_ letting me go, I got the permission slip an' everything, an' my mom signed it!" He shoved past the girl and out of the little knot of people, all now watching the little altercation. Cody left the common room, muttering darkly about stupid girls. 

Snape did indeed ask for the Slytherins' permission slips during the next potions class and Cody handed his over. Snape only glanced at it, and nodded, as he did with all of them. 

Come Halloween day, Cody woke in the morning and remembered it was the day to go to Hogsmeade! He leapt out of bed, pulling on some jeans and a ThunderCats T-shirt, and his socks and sneakers. His school robes went on after those, although he left his hat behind. After a moment's consideration, he grabbed his winter cloak, as he was sure he'd get cold at some point in the day. He was used to Florida, after all. He grabbed his money pouch and Merlin, who hung happily from his robes, then headed down to the Great Hall. 

After breakfast, Cody excitedly joined the queues of students lining up to head into Hogsmeade, unable to keep from bouncing up and down with sheer hyperactivity. He had managed to annoy three Slytherins, a Ravenclaw fourth year and a Hufflepuff third year before they made it out of the castle. He added Fred and George Weasley to the list as they approached the gates, but that could have been because he accidentally trod on their feet as he bounced around. 

At the gates, Cody balked, stopping dead as he gazed at the gates. He had quite forgotten that the dementors were guarding the gates, and that he would have to pass them to get to Hogsmeade. Swallowing hard, he had to spend nearly a full minute convincing his suddenly reluctant legs to bear him forward. 

He passed Filch, who marked off his name on a list, but barely noticed the old buzzard. He had his eyes on the two tall, cloaked figures standing stolidly at either side of the gate. Shaking, he sprinted past them, and didn't stop until he reached the front ranks of students. 

"You okay?" came a voice to his left. It was Ron; he and Hermione were walking together at the front of the group. 

"Yeah," said Cody, his voice shaking a little. "I just...I don't, I don't like those." 

"Understandable," said Hermione, impulsively putting an arm around the boy and giving him a little squeeze. 

Cody gave her a smile. "Thanks...so what's Hogsmeade like? Have you ever been there?" 

Hermione shook her head. "Neither of us have," she said. 

"I can't wait! There's a really great candy store there, right?" 

"You mean the sweetshop?" Ron asked. "Yeah, Honeydukes. It's got about everything you'd want there." 

Cody grinned. "And the Shrieking Shack's haunted, right?" 

"Yeah! And Zonko's, you should see the stuff they've got there!" 

Hermione snorted. 

"What?" said Ron, sounding mildly irritated. 

"Really, Ron, why do you have to moon over these things? Dungbombs, and fireworks... There're more important things in life, you know." 

"You're just mad that Fred and George snuck one of Dr. Filibuster's fireworks into your trunk last week." 

Hermione frowned darkly; "I still don't know how they got into my dormitory," she grumped, as Cody covered his mouth to stifle his snickering. "Boys aren't allowed in." 

While the pair bickered, Cody walked along in silence, simply looking around with interest. He had been hardly anywhere in England, except for King's Cross Station, Diagon Alley, and Hogwarts. Merlin squeaked here and there at whatever happened to catch his eye. Sometimes he would fly above everyone, sometimes he would hang from Cody's robes. 

The walk was fairly long, and even Cody had taken off his winter cloak by the time they arrived at Hogsmeade. Most everyone else were in their short sleeves, and some had even rolled up their pant legs. Cody looked eagerly around as they passed into the town's borders. 

"Can I come with you guys?" Cody asked, as Ron and Hermione entered the village. 

"Of course," said Hermione. 

"Cool! Where're we gonna go first?" 

"Well, whatever we feel like, I guess," said Hermione. "I mean, we've got all day." 

"Oh, go on, Hermione," said Ron. "Let's go to Honeydukes first!" 

Hermione rolled her eyes. "We promised we'd bring Harry a whole load of sweets," she said. "Do you really want to carry all that around Hogsmeade all day?" 

"Oh, well, I guess not," said Ron, gazing at the highly visible sign that read "Honeydukes." 

"Where, then?" Cody asked. 

Hermione looked around, and then pointed. "Look...is that what I think it is?" 

Cody and Ron looked; a dilapidated old shack was visible at the top of a hill, fenced off from visitors, and looking as if no one had lived there for years. "That must be the Shrieking Shack!" Ron said. "Let's go!" 

The threesome trotted over to the low fence that surrounded the property and looked at the old house. Cody gazed, enrapt, at the house that had been rumored for so long to have been haunted by very violent spirits. It was quiet now, of course, but it was still avoided by most wizards. "Neat," Cody said. "I bet it's really creepy in there." 

Hermione nodded. "It's supposedly the most severely haunted dwelling in the country," she said. 

Ron suddenly turned to Cody. "Do you guys have haunted houses over in America?" 

Cody nodded. "Yeah, but I don't know where any of them are. I see them on TV sometimes, though!" 

"TV? Isn't that that Muggle...entertainment thing?" Ron said. 

Hermione nodded. "Yeah, it is." 

"So Muggles know about these houses?" Ron sounded surprised. 

"Yeah," said Cody, looking up at Ron. "There's lots of Muggles that believe in ghosts and stuff, but hardly any ever saw one." 

"Weird." 

"But they keep looking for ghosts," Cody went on. "They have all kinds of machines and stuff that's supposed to record them." 

"Do they work?" Ron asked interestedly. 

Cody shrugged. "I dunno! Some people think they do." 

They spent a little longer looking at the creepy looking old building before heading back into the town proper. 

"Now where?" Ron asked. 

They next went to the post office, where they looked in fascination at the many different kinds and sizes of owl. Merlin had some sort of verbal altercation with one of the owls, and Cody had to take him out before they got into a brawl. "What's the big idea?" Cody asked Merlin crossly as they left the store. He was waiting outside for Ron and Hermione. 

Merlin did not answer, except to fly up off of Cody's robes, and to fly up into the air. 

"Fine," Cody said crossly as the bat left, presumably back to the castle. As Merlin often went off on his own, Cody wasn't worried. He looked after him for a few moments, then went back inside the post office. 

After a visit to Gladrags, a shop that sold only wizard clothing and where Cody got himself a pointed hat that had a picture of a Quidditch Beater on it, they headed for The Three Broomsticks. There, according to Hermione, they sold all manner of drinks. "How do you know if you've never been there before?" Cody asked her curiously. 

"I've read about it," Hermione said, at the exact same time as Ron said "She's read about it!" 

Cody giggled. "Hogwarts, A History?" he asked. 

Hermione shot Ron a dirty look. "No," she said to Cody. It was a book called 'Sites of Historical Sorcery'." 

The three students entered, then, and Cody had his first excited look at The Three Broomsticks. It was a brightly lit, clean, tavern-type bar that was crowded with students. "Cool!" Cody exclaimed. A couple of students turned to look at the new group, then went back to their conversations. "This stuff isn't beer, is it?" 

Ron laughed. "Are you mad? They'd never serve beer to kids here." 

"Aw, nuts. I always wanted to try some of that stuff." 

Hermione gave him a very stern look. "Cody! You're only...what, eight?" Cody nodded. "It's illegal for kids to drink beer!" 

"I can't wait until I'm eighteen," said Ron." 

"Why?" asked Cody. 

"Because I can drink beer, then, of course!" 

Cody blinked. "Eighteen? Are you sure?" Ron nodded, looking at Cody as if he were being silly. "You only have to be eighteen? Weird! You have to be twenty-one in America!" 

"Twenty-one?" Ron asked in amazement. 

Cody nodded. "Yep! I asked my mom if I could taste her drink...I think it was rum. She let me, but said I can't have a whole one 'til I'm twenty-one." 

This sparked a conversation about what ages people had to be for various things, and although Cody only knew some of them, what he did know was very different than in England. 

Hermione ordered three butterbeers, and Cody and Ron gave her the money for them. "But if we can't have beer, how can we have butterbeer?" Cody asked, bewildered. 

"It's not _real_ beer, silly," Hermione said. "They just call it that, kinda like root beer. Go on, have a taste." 

Cody looked down at his mug and sniffed it. It smelled sweet. He took a cautious sip and his eyes lit up in delighted surprise. It was absolutely delicious! It tasted a little like when you put butter on a blueberry muffin, or something of the sort. It also seemed to warm up his insides. "Wow, this'd be great for when I'm really cold!" he said. "Can you get it in bottles?" 

"I think so," said Hermione. 

Ron nodded. "Yeah, you can, Fred and George have had it in bottles before. C'mon, let's go sit down somewhere." 

"Cool!" Cody purchased three bottles for later, then carried his huge mug to a little round table, where Ron and Hermione had already sat. "I wish Harry could come. He's missing some great stuff!" 

"Yeah, no kidding, mate. We gotta find a way that he can come and see this place. Next year, if nothing else!" 

"Well, I still say it's a good thing that he's not allowed to come," said Hermione, "what with Sirius Black running around." 

Ron snorted. "Yeah like he's gonna try anything here in front of all these people." 

"Why not? He killed thirteen people at once with the same curse." 

"Yeah, but twelve of them were Muggles, who couldn't defend against the curse. Here, they're all wizards. With wands." 

"I suppose. But still." 

Cody knew how Harry felt sometimes, as he listened to the two arguing. They sure did it a lot! But then he guessed that was because they were teenagers. His mom always said that adolescence was hard on the emotions. He wasn't sure exactly what adolescence was, but he knew it had something to do with being a teenager. 

The three students ate lunch in the village, after which Cody said he was gonna go look around. "When're you guys gonna go to Honeydukes?" he asked them. 

"Probably last," said Hermione. "You wanna meet us there?" 

Cody grinned. "Yeah!" 

"All right then," said Ron. "See you then. We're gonna go check out Zonko's." 

"Okay! Bye!" 

Cody bounded off, dashing here and there to expend some of the energy from lunch, and the sweet butterbeer. He had brought enough money with him to do his Christmas shopping, and he visited several stores trying to get some ideas. He met up with Kathy and her group of Slytherin girls, but didn't stay with them for too long. They were nice enough to him, but all they wanted to talk about was stupid stuff, like boyfriends and beauty spells. He tagged along with Flint and a couple of sixth years, too, but they were a lot older than him, and he strayed from them eventually, as well. Neville, he couldn't find. He did manage to shop for him, Ron, Marcus, and Kathy before he was done, though. 

Hogsmeade was not a large town, but Cody still managed to get somewhat lost in it. He asked two witches for directions, but they only waved at him impatiently, telling him to ask his mum. Annoyed, he left them to their gossiping, and sought out someone else that would help. He found a short wizard, shorter even than Cody's mom, who looked at him curiously. "Aren't you a bit young to be out here alone?" Then his eyes happened on Cody's robes, and his brows rose up towards his receding hairline. "Hogwarts? You're an awful wee lad to be goin' there! How old are you?" 

Cody was still mildly annoyed, but as the wizard's tone was friendly and curious rather than disdainful, he answered the question. "Eight, sir. And I guess they let littler kids in sometimes." 

"Hmm. Well, special circumstances, I suppose. Good luck to ye! Anyways, the shop you're lookin' for is just down this street an' to the right." He pointed. 

"Thanks!" Cody said. 

"You're welcome. Don't get yourself a stomachache ache, now!" 

Cody giggled. "I won't! 

He ran down the street, shivering a little bit. It was starting to get a bit later, and as such, a bit chillier. He put on his winter cloak and looked around for the shop. As he turned the corner, things were suddenly familiar, and he caught sight of the candy store right away. His face breaking out into a grin, Cody ran towards the shop. 

Once inside, Cody only stopped and stared; this had to be the best candy store he had ever been to in his life! Even the more mundane treats looked wonderful to him. "Woooow," he breathed. 

"Nice, eh?" said a voice beside him. He looked up to see George Weasley's face grinning down at him. (At least he _thought_ it was George). "Bet you never saw anything like this in the Muggle world. 

"No way," said Cody. "But it's not all magical, is it?" 

"Nope," said Fred, joining his brother, carrying a clear bag full of candy. "There's a lot of Muggle-type sweets here." 

"But even those are bigger and better than in most Muggle shops," George finished. 

"I'll say!" Cody agreed. He looked around, wide-eyed, at the array of toffees, chocolates, hard candies, lollipops, licorice... Just about anything he could think of was there, and a lot of things he would never have dreamed of! 

"Well, we're off, Cody," said Fred. "We have to make a quick stop at Zonko's for some, er..." 

"...supplies," finished George. Cody snorted. 

"That's right! Gotta stock up, you know. See you at the feast, kid!" 

Grinning, Cody waved, trying not to think what kinds of things they were going to buy at Zonko's. He walked further into the store, looking for Ron and Hermione; he finally found them gazing into a bin of Bertie Botts' Every Flavor Beans. "Hi!" he said, running up to them. 

"Oh, there you are,' said Ron. "We weren't sure if you were gonna come." 

"I got lost," Cody said. "This store is the best! It's great, look at all the stuff here!" 

"Yeah," said Ron dreamily. "Isn't it fantastic? The things that confectioners think of, it's bloody brilliant!" 

Cody had to have Ron explain what a confectioner was, but once he knew, he agreed. "I'm gonna get tons of candy!" 

Ron shook his head at the word. "You Americans are weird," he said. 

Cody grinned. "Yeah! Almost as weird as you English people!" 

"Riiiight." 

There was little further talking as the students milled about the store, Ron pointing out his favorite sweets, and Hermione answering his questions about them. All in all, Cody ended up getting a large bag of Jelly Slugs (they seemed a lot like his favorite sweet, Gummi Worms), a lollipop as big as his head that flashed different colors, some Chocolate Frogs and Fizzing Whizbees, some Pepper Imps, a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans (he was feeling brave), some fudge, some toffees, two Sugar Quills, and an assortment of other varied sweets. 

Under the Unusual Tastes section, he was even brave enough to buy a Blood Lollipop, a Cockroach Cluster, and a squishy little square that looked like Jell-O. He wasn't about to ask what it was made of, though, else he wouldn't have the courage to try it. 

"You're a braver man than I," Ron said, looking at these latter purchases with a look of disgust on his face. 

Cody giggled. "I like trying weird stuff. How do you know that cockroaches don't taste good?" 

Ron looked green. "I think I can live my entire life without finding out." 

"This stuff'll last me the whole year!" Cody exclaimed as they left the shop. Ron and Hermione were similarly laden, along with extra sweets for Harry. 

"I still can't believe that you got a Blood Lollipop." 

"At least I didn't get an Acid Pop." He wanted nothing to do with a lollipop that burned your tongue. 

Ron shuddered. "At least you've got some sense." 


	16. Year 3, Chapter 5: Black's Attack

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 5: Black's Attack**

By the time Cody and the others returned to Hogwarts, it was very nearly time for the Halloween feast, and he was freezing. He had his hood up, and was still shivering, but all in all, he decided the visit had been well worth the cold. Cody decided he would bring his Blood Lollipop to dinner and gross everyone out. The rest could wait. He was going to try a tiny bit of everything he had never had before tonight, then mete out the rest through the year. Or the next Hogsmeade visit, depending on how quickly he went through them. 

Cody filed into the Great Hall for the feast, and caught sight of the choir standing up near the staff table. His eyes went wide, and he put a hand to his mouth. The Halloween concert! He had forgotten all about it! Stowing his unopened Blood Lollipop in his robes, he sprinted over to the group, asking worriedly if he had missed much. 

"Nope," one of the older students told him. She was a soprano, like Cody was. "You just got here in time." 

Cody breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, good," he said. This wasn't to be a major concert, but he loved singing, and would have been upset to have missed any. 

As the students began filing into the Great Hall, and the tables filled themselves up with food, the choir started singing their collection of spooky songs. Cody's favorite was called "Something Wicked This Way Comes." 

Finally, he was allowed to join his housemates at the Slytherin table and partake of the excellent food. After second helpings of everything that he liked, Cody was debating whether he wanted thirds. After a moment, he decided that yes, he did. 

Once that was taken care of, Cody produced his Blood Lollipop, and grinned at Kathy, next to whom he was sitting. "What's that?" she asked him, and Cody held it up so she could see. Kathy gave him a revolted look. "You _like_ those?" 

Cody laughed; they had caught the attention of a few of the other Slytherins. "I dunno, I never tried one before! I got a Cockroach Cluster to try, too, and some gooshy stuff." 

Kathy seemed almost alarmed. "Cody, you're not seriously gonna eat that, are you?" 

"Yep!" Thoroughly enjoying himself, Cody unwrapped the pop and gazed at it for a moment. He had a vague idea of what blood tasted like; anyone who's ever bitten their tongue or had a split lip knows, but he wasn't sure if he liked the taste or not. Gross factor aside. Shrugging, he put the pop in his mouth. 

Everyone at his end of the table was watching now, and he even caught a glimpse of Ron and the twins' curious faces over at the Gryffindor table. Cody's face was expressionless at first as he tried to decide if he liked this weird thing or not. Finally, he took the candy from his mouth and looked at it. "It's okay," he finally announced, shrugging. And it _was_ okay, but not likely something Cody would get again. 

"Gross!" cried Pansy Parkinson. "You've got blood all over your mouth now!" 

Cody frowned and wiped his mouth with a napkin. "It's not _real_ blood, though, is it?" 

"No," said Kathy. "It's only a flavoring. But it sure does look real." 

"Really?" Cody looked at the napkin and looked at the "blood' smeared on it. He sucked on the lollipop for a few more moments to get his mouth nice and red, then grinned ghoulishly at his Housemates. A few looked disgusted, but many only looked amused. 

"You're one strange child," said Marcus Flint. 

Cody felt highly flattered. 

After everyone had finished their excellent meals, Cody looked up as most of the ghosts of the castle flew into the dining hall above them, surprising the students with a show of formation gliding. Cody was delighted by the spectacle, and clapped along with everyone else when it was finished. Sir Nicholas' reenactment of his almost-beheading was rather gross, though, and although Cody enjoyed it, he thought it was a good thing that no one was still eating. 

Most everyone was too stuffed to want to move once everything was finished, and there were groans and moans as everyone dragged themselves out of their seats. Cody had had a fantastic day, and was quite ready to spend some time in his bed, reading. He thought it the perfect ending to a great day. 

Unfortunately, he did not get the opportunity. Not two minutes after he entered the common room, Professor Snape came in and announced that everyone was to meet in the Great Hall. Puzzled, Cody followed his house back out into the hallway, and towards the Great Hall. He saw that the other four houses were there again as well, and only the Gryffindors seemed to know what was going on. 

Professor Dumbledore gained everyone's attention, and told them that the teachers had to search the castle, and that for the students' safety, they would have to stay in the Great Hall for the night. "I am leaving the Head Boy and Girl in charge!" He said something to a pompous looking Percy Weasley, and turned to leave. But before he went through the door, he paused. "Oh yes, you'll be needing..." 

The headmaster waved his hand, and the house table flew to the sides of the halls and stood themselves up against them. He waved the hand again, and big, plush sleeping bags covered the floor. Cody marveled at how powerful Dumbledore must be to not even need a wand for such things. "Sleep well," he bade his students, before finally leaving the hall. 

Cody ran over to where the Gryffindors were telling people what happened. He found Neville, and asked him what was going on. "It's the Fat Lady!" Neville said excitedly, his round eyes wide. 

"The Fat Lady?" 

"She guards the entrance to our common room, she got attacked!" 

Percy, meanwhile, was barking orders. "Everyone into their sleeping bags!" he shouted. "Come on, now, no more talking! Lights out in ten minutes!" 

Yeah, right, Cody thought. Like you can stop us from talking! 

Neville pointed to where Harry, Hermione, and Ron were taking their sleeping bags. "Let's go over there," he said. 

"Okay." Neville dragged his heavy sleeping bag over to where a large group of Gryffindors had settled down. Cody ignored the dirty looks he was getting from some of the ones who didn't know him well (they only knew he was a Slytherin), and dropped the big, purple sleeping bag. 

While the others discussed how someone had gotten into the castle, Neville told Cody what had happened. "We couldn't get into our portrait hole," he said to Cody. "And no one knew why, but when Percy came to see what was going on, everyone got out of the way and we could see... The Fat Lady's portrait had been torn to pieces! She's the one who lets us in, and she wasn't there, so we were stuck. And Percy said for someone to get Dumbledore, and when he got there, Peeves came to brag, you know how he is." 

Cody nodded. He certainly did! 

"Anyway. Professor Dumbledore made Peeves tell why the Fat Lady had fled. And he said that someone tried to get in without a password, and when the Fat Lady refused, he attacked her. And you know who it was?" He paused dramatically, even though Cody had already guessed who it was. "Sirius Black! He was here, in the castle!" 

"But...how'd he get in? The Dementors -" 

"Well, no one knows that, do they?" said a nearby Ravenclaw. 

"The lights are going out now!" Percy called bossily. "I want everyone in their sleeping bags, and no talking!" 

Cody stuck out his tongue at Percy in the dark. 

After his long day, Cody was very tired. Although he tried very hard to stay awake to hear what was going on, he failed miserably, and was asleep not long after he set his head down on the comfortable sleeping bag. Wondering vaguely if the bags were not enchanted to make the sleeper as comfortable as possible, he drifted off into slumber. 

--- 

The next few days, unsurprisingly, were filled with talk, gossip, and rumors about Sirius Black. Everything from Apparition, to Transfiguration into a flowering shrub, to invisibility were suggested as the means with which Black had gotten in. Even Cody could not remember how Black had actually gotten inside the grounds. 

The furor did not die down for several days, and even then, people still talked of it. Cody, meanwhile, had something else to occupy his mind; the first Quidditch match of the season was coming up, and he was going to play! The weather lately was no good for game, but that didn't matter to Cody. He was going to play! 

At the last training match before the game, however, Flint gave his team unwelcome news. Well, it was unwelcome to Cody, at least. Everyone else seemed to think that it was hilarious. "Malfoy's arm is still injured," Flint announced to the team, most of whom snickered appreciatively. Indeed, Malfoy had been practicing, but had not used his "hurt" arm since Buckbeak attacked him. Cody frowned. "So we're not going to be playing next week." Cody's jaw dropped. "I've already told Madame Hooch, and she'll be telling the Gryffindor team before their practice tomorrow." 

"But Draco's not really hurt!" Cody called, his face a mask of disappointment. He turned to Draco. "Don't you wanna play Quidditch anymore?" 

Draco smirked. "Sure I want to play Quidditch, but you know, this arm of mine..." He put on an expression of sorrow that fooled no one, then snickered. "Think about it, kid. The weather's supposed to be downright vile that weekend. Do you really want to be out there playing Quidditch in the rain and winds?" 

Cody thought about it, then his expression lit up. "Yeah!" Sounded fun to him! 

Draco rolled his eyes, but Flint spoke up. "You're pretty little, Cody," he said. "I mean, the rest of us might handle it okay, but the wind would toss you all over the place. How can you hit a Bludger when you're getting tossed around by the winds?" 

"He's right," said Bletchley, the Keeper. "I was almost as small as you, my first and second year. When I got on the team we had to play in a gale once. Knocked me clean off my broomstick." 

Flint nodded. "I remember that." He looked at Cody, who still looked highly disappointed, and put an arm around him. "Oh, come on, kid. Malfoy's arm gives us a good reason to not play next week, and plenty of extra time to practice. It's not like we're missing a game, we'll still get to play the same amount. Just at a later date." 

"Okay..." Cody finally capitulated. He wasn't entirely happy about it, but he supposed they had a point. He _was_ little, and the winds would not do anything to improve his performance. And he wanted to do well, his first game. 

He wasn't entirely enthusiastic that practice, but he did well enough not to get yelled at. Still, he had really been looking forward to the game, and now he had to wait. 

--- 

The day before the match was indeed filled with ugly weather. A massive storm was brewing, and although it surely would be exciting to play in such conditions, Cody knew that he would have little chance of accomplishing anything on a broomstick. He might not even be able to stay on the pitch! 

Cody sprinted into the Defense Against the Dark Arts class, his energy high from the weather and the impending Quidditch match. That, and the fact that he was eager for the lesson that day. He had not been to a class yet that he did not enjoy, even when the lesson was not a practical one. Professor Lupin seemed to make everything seem far more interesting than Quirrel or Lockhart had. 

He was in for a rather unpleasant surprise, however; Professor Lupin was not sitting at his desk; Snape was. Cody blinked. "Er, Professor?" he said. "Where's Professor Lupin?" 

"Sick," came the curt reply. "Sit down, please." 

Frowning, Cody did so, wondering what was wrong with Lupin before remembering that the moon was probably full. That was too bad; Cody didn't like Snape-lessons much. He did not make many things seem interesting to Cody. He frowned as Snape began the class by commenting on how unorganized Lupin was, and looked around the class. He caught Ron's eye, and Ron scowled. Cody nodded his agreement, but neither of them said anything just yet. 

Halfway through Snape's introduction, which was really just a rant about Lupin, Harry came hurrying into the class, apologizing to the absent Lupin for his tardiness. Cody frowned unhappily as Snape took ten, and then five more points from Gryffindor because of Harry's tardiness and questions. Harry finally sat, looking rather defiant. 

"As I was saying before Potter interrupted, Professor Lupin has not left any record of the topics you have covered so far -" 

"Please, sir," said Hermione, raising her hand. She told Snape what creatures they had studied so far, but Snape did not let her finish. 

"Be quiet. I did not ask for information, I was merely commenting on Professor Lupin's lack of organization." 

"He's the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we've ever had!" Dean Thomas said, and most of the class agreed. Snape looked less than impressed. 

"You are easily satisfied Lupin is hardly overtaxing you. I would expect first years to be able to deal with red caps and grindylows." 

Cody snorted. "Yeah, but look who taught us," he said. "In first year Quirrell taught us, and all he did was read stuff from the textbook...and then last year, we had Lockhart! An' he didn't know anything!" 

He got a dirty look from Hermione at this, but most of the rest of the class murmured agreement. 

Snape did not answer this, but favored the class with a sour look before continuing. "Today we shall discuss...werewolves." 

"But sir," said Hermione. "we're not supposed to do werewolves yet. We're due to start hinkypunks -" 

Snape's expression was scary. Calm, but malevolent. "Miss Granger. I was under the impression that I am teaching this lesson, not you. And I am telling you all to turn to page 394. All of you! Now!" 

The class was looking and sounding fairly rebellious, but everyone reluctantly opened their books to the required page. Snape asked the class who could tell him how to distinguish a werewolf from a true wolf. He ignored Hermione's hand, using this as yet another opportunity to comment on how "poor" a teacher Lupin was. 

"We told you, we haven't gotten as far as werewolves yet, we're still on -" Snape cut Parvati's protest off, commanding silence, and saying that he would have to tell professor Dumbledore how behind the class was. Cody wasn't worried; he knew that Dumbledore wouldn't fire Lupin. He knew what was what! 

The boy sighed and slumped back in his chair as Hermione spoke up yet again. Snape was being a jerk, yes, but Hermione just couldn't shut up sometimes! And it was going to get her into trouble. She began telling Snape how to tell the difference between a werewolf and a normal wolf when Snape cut her off again. 

"That is the second time you have spoken out of turn, Miss Granger. Five more points from Gryffindor for being an insufferable know-it-all." 

Hermione's face turned scarlet, and she slumped back in her seat, looking at the floor. Cody felt his own face burn, very embarrassed on her behalf. In fact, the whole class was glaring evilly at Snape. 

"You asked us a question and she knows the answer!" Ron said angrily. "Why ask if you don't want to be told?" 

Oops, Cody thought. It was true, but that was the wrong thing to say, nevertheless. Someone should tell Dumbledore about how mean Snape was to everyone! Maybe Cody should. 

Snape moved slowly towards Ron, looking evil, and got right in his face. "Detention, Weasley,' he said quietly. "And if I ever hear you criticize the way I teach a class again, you will be very sorry indeed." 

Cody glared at Snape, his fists clenched, almost seeming to physically retrain himself from letting loose an angry outburst. Sure, he thought, you can insult everyone and make them feel awful, but if someone does the same to you... 

It was several minutes before he could pick up his quill and make legible notes on werewolves, especially with Snape skulking around all the desks, muttering every now and then about how badly the class had done at their homework. Cody was very glad when the bell rang. 

Before he allowed them to leave, Snape told everyone that they would turn in an essay on the ways one recognizes and kills werewolves. Two rolls of parchment were to be handed in by Monday. "It is time somebody took this class in hand. Weasley, stay behind, we have to arrange your detention." 

Cody stalked out of the class, an ugly expression on his face. He knew why Snape had done this, he just wanted everyone to figure out that Lupin was a werewolf. He wanted to get Lupin thrown out. Well it's not gonna work, Cody thought triumphantly. He's staying, and you can't do anything about it! 

--- 

The next day at breakfast, Cody went over to wish Harry and the other Gryffindors luck at the match. 

"Thanks," Harry said with a sigh. "You sure are lucky not to have to play in this." 

To his credit, Harry was keeping his tone civil, but Cody could tell he was highly annoyed. "Nah, I like rain," he said. "Besides, this woulda been my first game, and now I gotta wait." He paused, then leaned in closer, to speak so only those directly around him could hear. "That was a really mean thing Flint did...I'm kinda mad at him about it. An' Draco's just acting like a big baby. I'm sorry they messed with you guys like that." 

Harry smiled a bit. "Thanks," he said. 

"Good luck!" Cody grinned at the Gryffindors before heading back over to the Slytherin table. 

Soon, everyone was going out into the evil weather to watch the match, and Cody pulled his winter cloak tightly around himself. He was shivering already! He vowed that he would bring his raincoat next year, for days like this! He hoped he could find someone to share an umbrella with, as he had none. 

Cody did find a group of second years sharing a huge umbrella, and gained permission to share the dry. Trying to warm up a little, Cody wrapped his arms around himself and peered out on the pitch. He could barely make out the forms of Oliver Wood and Cedric Diggory through the driving rain. They shook hands, then lifted off into the rain. 

It was an exciting match, what Cody saw of it. The lightning flashed, illuminating the players for brief periods of time, as they zoomed around the pitch on their brooms. Cody huddled with the second years under their umbrella, clutching his cloak tightly around himself. He saw, vaguely, the Gryffindor team landing for a time out, where he knew Hermione was rain-proofing Harry's glasses. He watched the team fly back up, and resume the match. He cheered when Gryffindor made a goal, but also cheered when Hufflepuff scored, just so people didn't get mad at him for rooting for Gryffindor. He watched Bludgers zoom around and knock into people, heard the crack of the Beaters' bats over the rain and thunder, and listened to the faint commentary coming from the magical megaphone Lee Jordan held in a gloved hand. There were a few times that Cory wished he were out there anyway, despite the weather; but for the most part he enjoyed the match as a spectator. 

But then, something happened, that halted everything short. The wind seemed to grow unnaturally frigid, and a strange sort of silence began to descend over the stadium. Panic wormed its way into Cody's mind, and his eyes widened, looking downward. Dementors. Lots of them. The Quidditch players were yelling, the crowd was pointing, the teachers looking alarmed. As the dementors' unearthly cold began to seep into the air, Cody whimpered in fright and ducked down behind the barrier, pulling his cloak up over his head and hugging his knees. He noticed some of the first years doing the same. 

It was not as bad as the first time Cody encountered them. There were many dementors, yes, but they didn't stick around long enough for Cody to dissolve into terror, as he had before. The child faintly heard Dumbledore's furious voice ring through the pitch, saw above him a flash of silver from the Patronus being cast on the dementors, and felt the cold beginning to dissolve. Cautiously, Cody stood and peered shakily down at the pitch, which was now empty of dementors. Harry was on the ground, surrounded by both teams, and a few teachers. Cedric Diggory stood holding the Snitch, and looking upset. 

Cody looked up and saw a small, dark shape drifting off towards the Whomping Willow, and he winced, knowing that it was Harry's broomstick. He saw Dumbledore conjure a stretcher to take Harry back to the school, and heard McGonagall's voice on the megaphone, instructing everyone to head back to their dormitories, that Hufflepuff had won. 

Everyone was talking about the dementors as the students walked back to Hogwarts Castle. A sea of black and gray cloaks massed through the front doors, talking excitedly of the events of the match, closing umbrellas, and shaking water from hair. Cody took off his saturated winter cloak and found that his robes were just as wet. No wonder he was cold! He made a mental note to write home and ask his mom if she would send him some long underwear. 

Cody visited Harry in the hospital wing that weekend, and gave him a badly-written get-well-soon card. He had performed a charm on the face he had drawn, making it stick out its tongue at regular intervals. It made Harry smile a bit, which made Cody glad. At least he had helped. 

On Monday, during potions, Cody sat with Neville Longbottom again, not wanting the company of any of the other Slytherins in his year. There were none that he liked very much, and Draco had been annoying him thoroughly with his stupid dementor imitations. Halfway through, the child ducked, as a large crocodile heart sailed through the air and hit Malfoy in the face. Cody let out a shout of laughter, and quickly covered his mouth as Snape took fifty points from Gryffindor for the assault. When Cody asked Ron later, Ron had said it was worth it. Cody had to avoid Draco for a while though, as he wasn't happy that Cody had laughed. 

When Cody got to Defense Against the Dark Arts, he was happy to see that Lupin was there once more. He joined the general complaint about Snape being a jerk at the last class, while Professor Lupin listened. Finally, he smiled, and told them they did not have to do the essay. They studied hinkypunks, which Cody was thoroughly creeped out by. 

The weeks passed, until Christmastime came around once more. Just before break, there was another Hogsmeade weekend. He spent the first part of it alone, finishing a bit of Christmas shopping. He had asked Professor Snape if it was okay to get his parents something wizard-ish, like a photograph that moved, or the like. He said that so long as they kept it out of sight of other Muggles, it was okay. And so he got his mother a moving picture of a Norwegian Ridgeback dragon, and his sister a moving picture of the Wimbourne Wasps Quidditch team. Happy with his purchases, he headed for the Three Broomsticks for a drink of butterbeer. He had already drunk the bottle he bought last time! 

The boy spotted Ron and Hermione in the corner table and waved, grinning. Clutching his tankard and lugging his bag of purchases, he went over to sit with them. 

Before anyone could say anything, he set his bag down and was about to sit on the bench, when a hissed voice whispered "Not here!" Startled, Cody stood straight up, a look of shock on his face, for the voice had come from under the table! 

He blinked when Ron grabbed his arm and sat him down on the other side of the bench, whispering in his ear. "Harry's under there!" 

"Huh?" Cody looked at him, baffled. 

"In his invisibility cloak...and he's not supposed to be here, so keep quiet!" 

A look of recognition brightened the boy's face; he remembered that! "Got it!" he said, nodding, and happily went about drinking his butterbeer. 

There were some adults in the bar as well, and apparently, Cody had come in in the middle of their conversation. He noticed that Ron and Hermione were very intent on this conversation, and this drew Cody's attention to it. And it was interesting, indeed! They were talking about Sirius Black. "I musta bin the last ter see him before he killed all them people!" Hagrid was saying. Cody's eyes widened a little bit, and he set his tankard down, a butterbeer mustache on his lip, and listened hard. Fascinated, he listened to the story of how Hagrid had rescued Harry Potter as a baby, and him with the slash on his forehead, and his parents were dead. Cody bit his lip, and wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his robes. How had Hagrid felt, seeing two of his friends killed, on the floor? Knowing that the baby he held was an orphan? And orphan who would be "cared" for by some of the most horrible Muggles in England? The boy glanced to Ron and Hermione, who were also listening hard. 

_"I comforted the murderin' traitor!"_ Hagrid suddenly roared, making Cody jump a mile in the air. 

"Hagrid, please!" said Professor McGonagall, as Cody landed. "Keep your voice down!" 

She needn't have bothered. Most anyone who wanted to listen could hear them. 

Once the story had been told, there was silence for a couple of moments. And then Hagrid, growling that he wouldn't bother with wands. He'd just rip Sirius Black limb from limb with his bare hands. Cody was rather inclined to agree, that that's what the Potters' betrayer deserved. As Cornelius Fudge described the scene, Cody's eyes widened, and was startled at Ron's hands over his ears. Cody's first impulse was to shove them away, but on second thought he let them stay there. He didn't think that he wanted to hear the rest. 

Ron did not uncover Cody's ears until the teachers had stood up and were heading back to the castle. Cody was chewing on his lip, the last fourth of his butterbeer forgotten. "Harry?" said Hermione softly. She and Ron looked under the table where Harry sat, looking stunned. Cody peeked under, just as Harry came out from under the table and stared at the doorway. 

"You all right?" asked Ron. But Harry did not seem to have heard. He only draped his invisibility cloak around him, and was lost to sight. He was only very lucky that no one had seen. 

Cody looked uncertainly at the older students. "Shouldn't we go after him?" the boy asked. 

Ron shook his head. "Better let him be, mate," he said. Although he looked worried, too. 

Cody finished the last of his drink without tasting it, and then walked with Ron and Hermione back towards Hogwarts. None of them said a whole lot, though Ron kept saying, "I can't believe it...his dad's best friend." 

Dinner that night was rowdy and loud, as the students were busy anticipating the Christmas holidays. Though as Cody looked over to the Gryffindor table, he noticed that three of them were very quiet. He himself didn't feel much like talking. He stuck his tongue out at some teasing from Flint, but that was about it. Cody found he could not wait to get home. 


	17. Year 3, Chapter 6: First Game

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 6: First Game**

The next day, the Hogwarts Express was waiting to take most of the student body home for Christmas, and Cody waited, shivering, on the platform for it. He had his trunk with him, just because he liked keeping his things with him, though it was enough of a pain in the tail end that he might not do it the next year. He was wearing two school robes, and his winter cloak. He wore a green and silver striped scarf, and his dragonhide gloves. The hood of his cloak was drawn up - and still he was freezing! 

It was warm on the train, warm enough for Cody to take off the cloak and one robe. The scarf and gloves sat on the bench next to him. He was sharing a compartment with most of the Slytherin Quidditch team, and even joined in the conversations. None of them, for once, were mean-spirited. 

At King's Cross station, Cody found that the Knight Bus was there, waiting for him! Someone must have told him that he would be taking it home, he thought. He waved to the other Slytherins, and climbed aboard. 

After the very bumpy ride, Cody paid the conductor the fee, and stepped off in front of his house. Amazing, he thought, how none of the Muggles ever heard. 

Mom was waiting for him outside the house, and he grinned, dropping the end of his trunk to run and throw his arms around her waist. Merlin, in his cage, squeaked with excitement. "Hey, welcome home!" Mom said, squeezing Cody tight. "Let's get everything inside...goodness, you'd think it was snowing out, the way you're dressed!" 

Cody snorted as Mom helped him get his things inside. "It IS snowing in England! And it's cold, and it's...and you've got shorts on! No fair!"   
Mom laughed and ruffled his hair. "Hey, that's the price you pay for being a wizard,' she said, once the door was closed. 

Cody stuck out his tongue. He removed his robes, his cloak, his scarf and gloves. Then after a moment's thought, he removed his shirt, too. "Ahhh...much better!" he exclaimed. He was very glad to be home in Florida, where it was about 75 degrees outside. 

"So, how did term go?" Mom asked. 

Cody felt a very strange veil of unreality come over him. It was strange, his mother suddenly being a part of what was only in his imagination not long ago. And how quickly she had adjusted to having a little wizard as a son! As Cody put his trunk away and let Merlin out to fly around the house a bit, he told his mother about the term. Anything he had not written her about, he told her of now. He complained about Malfoy, and told her about Hogsmeade. He told her about the Blood Lollipop, and saw her look at him, her eyes wide. "Cody DeDannan, you didn't!" she exclaimed. 

"Yep!" said Cody proudly. 

"You ate something made of someone's _blood_?" 

Cody giggled, shaking his head back and forth. "No way, Mom, it's not _real_ blood. It's just blood-flavored." Mom let a sigh of relief, and Cody made a face. "No way would I eat real blood. It grossed everyone out though!" 

"Yeah, I bet that it did!" 

Cody complained about the cold and asked if he had any long underwear, and when she said no, he asked if he could get some. She laughed, and said they could go to Wal-Mart and get him some long underwear. 

"Do they have Wal-Marts in England?" Mom asked. 

Cody giggled. "I dunno!" He looked up at Mom, who seemed a little surprised. "What?" 

"You know what?" said Mom. "You're getting an English accent." 

It was Cody's turn to look surprised, and he did. Almost comically so. "Really?" 

Mom nodded. "Really." Strangely, she looked a little sad! 

Cody wasn't sure what to think. He didn't hear it, himself, but then he was used to listening to people like Ron and the twins, whose accents had been strong enough at first that they were hard for Cody to understand. Now, he was used to them. "Well...it'll go away when I'm home for a while, right?" 

Mom chuckled, and nodded. "Yes, I suppose that it will. All right, kiddo, let's get you that long underwear. Then we can go shopping for Christmas dinner. 

And so, they did. 

Christmas was very enjoyable. Cody had not realized just how much he missed his family! He played with his little sister all evening, and even tucked her into bed. (He'd tried to carry her up the stairs, but he wasn't big enough.) He put his wrapped presents under the tree, fed Merlin, and went to bed. It was strange, sleeping in an open bed like that, when he had become accustomed to the four-posters at Hogwarts. He rather thought he liked the four-posters better. 

The next day was Christmas Eve, and Cody was all but bouncing off the walls with excitement. He and Samantha watched Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman, both of which were on TV that night. Cody grumbled that he had seen enough snow, but otherwise enjoyed it. It was nice to enjoy a normal Christmas, like the ones he was used to. The children hung their stockings, and spent the rest of the night with Mom, who read to them in the hopes of getting them to sleep fairly early. 

Unfortunately it didn't work that way, and she hadn't really expected it to. It was just wishful thinking, as it was fairly late before the two excited children drifted off to sleep. Mom didn't bother moving Cody to his room. She just tucked him in with Samantha, and left downstairs to get the presents from Santa out of the closet. She really couldn't blame the kids. She was excited, too! 

The next morning was a chaotic swirl of hyperactive children and excited yells. It was amazing how two kids could sound like a whole herd of them on Christmas morning! 

Cody was delighted to have gotten the whole set of new ThunderCats comics. Mom told him that she had debated a while, since the new ones were kind of dark and more for adult reading, but after the things he had handled at Hogwarts, she thought he could handle it. She just made sure to tell him that if he did not understand something to ask. And to remember that it was only a story. Cody promised. He also got a wristband with the ThunderCat symbol on it, a bucket of high-bounce balls, and a little set of Hot Wheels. He opened a few miscellaneous gifts from his family, including a yo-yo from his grandpa, and a set of marbles from an uncle. There were some gifts from Hogwarts as well, which Cody opened. And Santa had brought him some new books. 

The last gift turned out to be an old-school Lion-O figure from Samantha. 

"She saw it in a thrift shop not long ago," Mom explained. "And asked if it could be from her." 

Cody just gaped at it for a few moments. It even had the sword, and the shield, and the little battery pack that made the eyes light up! "That's awesome, Samantha! Thanks!" He hugged the little girl who beamed at the praise. 

He watched her open her picture of the Quidditch team and she gazed at it, enrapt, for several seconds. Mom liked the dragon a lot, too. Cody had also gotten them a few little assorted trinkets at Hogsmeade, along with some sweets from Honeydukes. 

Dinner that night was ham and pineapple, Cody's favorite meal in the entire world. He stuffed himself silly with mashed potatoes and peas, and ham, and pineapple, and rolls. "What's for dessert?" asked Cody. 

"Ice cream of course!' said Mom with a grin. 

"It's sure good to have normal food!" said Cody. 

Mom cocked her head. "Don't tell me they eat things like lizard tails and stuff at Hogwarts..." 

Cody blinked, and then began giggling as he realized his mother was serious. "Noooo, of course not! Euuu... That's really gross! No, but they have weird English food. I can't even say some of it. They have chicken and stuff but they have weird stuff too." 

Looking amused, Mom nodded. "I can see where you'd welcome some normality." 

After dinner, Cody and Samantha played with their new toys, and Mom hung the pictures up. One in Samantha's room, one in Mom's. 

Christmas vacation was spent quite pleasantly, and Cody just took the time to enjoy his family (and his new toys). He got an owl from Hagrid in that time, asking how he was, and he wrote back that this was a cool Christmas. He got an owl from Kathy Skinner, as well, with a gift, and a note asking him if he liked the book she had given him, which turned out to be a book on ThunderCats! It was like a comic, only with a hard cover! He wrote back, asking her where she had found it, but as it was towards the end of vacation, he figured he would see her soon, and did not expect a reply. He eagerly showed it to his mother. 

But all too soon, the time came for him to go back to Hogwarts. He found that he was very reluctant to leave, to go back to England where the wind was all cold, and where he'd have to live with Draco Malfoy, and be away from Mom. She told him that he didn't have to go back. 

Cody considered staying. He thought of his nice, warm bedroom, with all his stuff in it, and he thought of the nice hot sun outside. But then he thought of his friends at Hogwarts, and everything that he would miss if he just never went back. He did not want to be a quitter, so in the end, Cody went back. Mom told him she was proud of him, and that she'd see him come summer break! 

But there was something in her eyes, something that Cody registered somewhere in his subconscious, that was sad. Something that did not want Cody to leave. For a moment, Cody felt a strange shiver of trepidation, but quickly shook it off. And the next day, he was on his way back to England. 

--- 

Classes started the day after everyone got back on the Hogwarts Express. Cody wore his long underwear to his classes, and was fairly warm (except in Potions...that dungeon was _cold!_) Though for Care of Magical Creatures, he wore both pairs of long johns, two robes, his cloak, scarf, and gloves. With the fire that Hagrid had going, Cody stayed warm there, too. He listened, fascinated, as Hagrid told them about salamanders, who only lived as long as the fire that spawned them was kept burning. Those weren't the kind of salamanders he'd ever heard of! 

Defense Against the Dark Arts was fun, as usual, though the rest of Cody's classes were fairly boring. He had to write an essay on runes, much to his annoyance, and got half of it done that night, grumbling the entire time. Kathy helped him with some of the hard parts. The only fun part about it was drawing the glyphs from the runes. 

What Cody was really looking forward to was the upcoming Quidditch game. His first, ever! Classes that day took _forever_, and even Professor McGonagall had finally given up trying to get him to pay attention. After classes, Cody nearly flew down to the dungeon common room. 

Marcus Flint was there, gathering his Quidditch gear, and he grinned at the boy. "Ready?" 

Shaking with nervousness and excitement, Cody nodded his head so hard he thought it might fall off. 

Flint chuckled. "I can see that you are. Well, come on, kid, let's get to the locker room. We're playing Ravenclaw today, shouldn't be too horrible a match." 

"Okay...I gotta get my robes. Man, it's gonna be cold up there." Grumbling not-nice things about cold weather, Cody gathered his robes and shin and arm guards. He grabbed his bat from his trunk, and his broomstick from underneath his bed. Then he followed the rest of the team out of the common room. 

They passed a few of the Gryffindors on the way out, including Fred and George Weasley. Cody grinned widely and waved to them. "Good luck, kid!" Fred called. 

"Yeah!" George added. "You'll need it!" 

Knowing the teasing was good natured, Cody only laughed and stuck out his tongue. 

"We'll be ready with pillows and cushions!" Fred called as he disappeared towards the pitch. 

"Boy, I'm gonna get him for that one!" Cody said to Marcus Flint as they walked to the locker room. 

"Eh, that's okay. When we squash them at Quidditch, they'll be thinkin' quite differently. 

Cody's grin widened again at that, and he nodded. "Yeah!" 

In the locker room, Cody dressed quickly. (It was cold!) He put on both pairs of long underwear, then his Quidditch robes. He supposed he wouldn't notice the cold once he got up there. He hoped. 

"Now," Marcus said, once the team was all sitting down, then looked at Cody who fidgeted restlessly in his seat. Marcus threatened to put a Permanent Sticking Charm on the seat of Cody's robes if he didn't quit it. Cody, suspecting Marcus might be dead serious, made himself settle down. Satisfied, Marcus continued. "Now Ravenclaw's got a fairly cohesive team, but their skill's nothing fantastic. Their Seeker is fast, Malfoy, so keep a close eye." He looked to Cody and Bole. "And their Beaters are strong. Bole, I know you've got size and strength on them, but Cody, you're gonna have to rely on your speed to avoid them." 

Cody nodded, trying not to let himself shake too badly. 

"Okay. Well, it's about time, then. Let's go. Play your best!" 

"Yeah!" cried Malfoy, standing, and raising a fist. The rest of the team also stood, shouting their determination. 

When the Slytherin team walked out onto the pitch, Cody very nearly froze up, and stopped walking. But then he thought of what the twins would say if they knew Cody had wimped out on a match, and found the strength to keep walking. 

"Now, I want a good, clean match!" said Madame Hooch after the captains had shaken hands, her eerie yellow eyes sweeping both teams. They seemed to settle briefly on Flint's face before looking away. She knelt and grabbed the Quaffle from the box, and placed her whistle to her lips. "Mount your brooms!" 

Cody swung a leg over his Nimbus 1700, took a big breath, and tried to get the sound of the booing, cheering, yelling crowd out of his head. Just like practice, he thought. He crouched slightly, ready to kick off from the ground, and when the whistle sounded, he shoved off, hard. 

"And, the match begins!" came Lee Jordan's voice from the magical megaphone. I guess he does all the games! Cody thought as he flew into the frigid air. Cripes, but it was cold! His hands were getting numb already! Scowling, he tried to ignore the wind as he looked around at what was going on. It was a little disconcerting to see Ravenclaw's yellow robes flying about the pitch; he was used to only seeing green. 

But then the Bludgers were released, and Cody grinned; now he was in his element. He ducked one, and streaked after the other, intending to smack it at the Ravenclaw Seeker. Cho Chang, he realized. It had to be. 

He gripped his bat with both hands and landed a solid smack on the Bludger, sending it flying towards Cho's head, but his aim was a little off, and it missed. He dodged a Ravenclaw Chaser who streaked past him in a blur of yellow, then took off for the other Bludger. 

It was like nothing Cody had ever done before in his life. Even practice could not have prepared him for the chaos of playing in an actual match. The wind whipped through his hair as he sped around the pitch on his broom; the spectators (mostly cheering for Ravenclaw) screamed and cheered and booed, making a holy racket. Lee Jordan's commentary was distracting, and the Ravenclaw players were good. And this wasn't just practice, this counted! The crack of the bat sent Bludgers, both at him and at his teammates, and it was his and Bole's job to avoid them and protect the others. And it wasn't easy! 

Cody winced as one of the Ravenclaw Beaters sent a Bludger at Flint. Cody was closest, but couldn't get to it in time, and it struck Flint full on the arm. "Sorry!" he called as he passed him. 

"Keep your mind on the game!" came the reply. 

Good idea, Cody thought. And went back to scanning for the evil things. 

The game was long. Malfoy had improved in skill as Seeker, and the Ravenclaw Seeker was good, too, and so neither one of them was getting the Snitch without being foiled by the other. Cody and Bole both charged down a Bludger that nearly unseated one of the Slytherin Chasers, and hit the thing at the same time. It made a satisfying CRACK and flew at Cho's back. She twisted in time to likely avoid some serious injury, but still took it on the shoulder, and was nearly knocked off her broom. "Yeah!" Bole yelled, clicking bats with Cody. 

About three-fourths through the game, Cody took a fairly bad Bludger shot in the thigh, and screamed in shocked pain. He nearly dropped his bat, and his broom swerved about three feet to the right as he dealt with the sudden pain. He had taken grazes before, and half-strikes, but never a solid hit; it_ hurt_. He veered with his broom to the left side of the pitch, taking a few moments to desperately try and get a hold of himself. He saw one of the Slytherin Chasers give him a concerned look, but he waved at him to go on. Tears welling in his eyes, Cody took a big breath and held it. 

After a bit, the sudden pain faded, enough that he could concentrate on Quidditch once more. He zoomed back out onto the pitch, vowing a bit of revenge for the Beater that had sent the Bludger his way. He didn't end up getting it himself, but Bole actually unseated him later in the game, so Cody was satisfied. 

It was Malfoy who finally caught the Snitch. Ravenclaw's Chasers were good, and so they had run the score up high, but when Malfoy finally caught the Snitch, it put Slytherin enough ahead that their score was the higher by sixty points! 

Malfoy let out a whoop as he thrust his fist in the air, the tiny Snitch struggling against his hand. Cody cheered, laughing delightedly, and the rest of the team converged. 

"Slytherin wins!" Lee Jordan cried, though to Cody he sounded fairly disappointed. Oh well, he thought. Slytherin won! 

"Yeah!" Flint growled, as the team flew a sort of victory lap around the pitch. Cody grinned, looking down at the crowd, and waved to the sea of green along one side of the bleachers. 

When they passed the area where the adults were sitting, Cody was surprised to see Draco's father sitting there, smirking. And he was even more shocked to see his own mother sitting there, Samantha at her side! The boy very nearly fell off his broom at the sight of her, and only waved when he'd passed them, and was looking back. 

"Flint, my mom's here!" Cody exclaimed as they headed for the ground. 

"Yeah? Then she saw us win," he said with a grin. 

"Yeah..." Cody said as the realization crept to him. "Yeah, she did! Awesome!" 

Cody brought his Nimbus 1700 down gently to the ground and landed, feet first. He gasped, nearly falling, as he put weight on the injured leg, and clenched his teeth. "Ow..." He had almost forgotten about it. 

Frowning, Flint came over to look while the others were busy congratulating each other on the win. "You okay, kid?" 

"Y-yeah. I just...a Bludger hit me on the leg, hard. That Beater that Bole got later hit it...it hurts." Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, Cody once again felt his leg, and was suddenly fighting tears. 

"That's right, you've not taken much damage in practice yet, have you? Can you walk?" 

"I th-think so." 

"You think it's broken?" 

Cody took a few experimental steps, then shook his head. "N-no...no, it just hurts." He took a big breath of the frosty air, and managed a sort of sick smile. "I'm tough." 

Flint nodded. "Yeah, I guess you are. Come on, I'll get you to hospital wing." 

"Thanks," Cody said gratefully. 

The two Slytherins walked (Cody limped) back to the castle, as the rest of the student body also began heading back. Flint took the boy to Madame Pomfrey, who was tending the Ravenclaw Beater Bole had knocked off his broom. "Hey," said the Beater, with a bit of a grin. "Sorry I had to hit ya, kid. But you know, Quidditch is Quidditch." 

Cody found that he was not angry anymore. After all, Quidditch _was_ Quidditch and that was the job of a Beater! "It's okay," he said. 

The Ravenclaw offered a hand, and Cody shook it. "Good game." 

Cody smiled, and nodded. "Thanks. You too, you guys' Chasers are good." 

The older boy smiled. "Thanks. Well, I'm off to our common room." He gave a little wave, and Cody waved back. 

"Well, at least he's a good sport," said Flint grudgingly. 

Cody nodded. "He is!" 

Madame Pomfrey came in then, frowning in concern when she saw toe two boys standing there. "Which one of you this time?" she asked. 

Cody might have taken offense before, but by now, he knew that she just didn't approve of dangerous sports. He had to hide a grin as he raised his hand. "Me; a Bludger got my leg." 

"Oh, dear, okay, well let me help you up on the bed here." She looked at Flint, scowling. "Well, give the boy some privacy!" 

"Okay, okay." Flint backed off a bit, letting Madame Pomfrey draw the curtain around the bed. She had Cody take off his shin-guards and his breeches so she could take a look. Cody scowled down at the large bruise that was spreading on his thigh. Madame Pomfrey prodded the leg with her wand (Cody had to stifle an outcry) and nodded. "Well, nothing broken at least," she said. She gave the leg another prod, and the pain left. The bruise stayed, though. "Just a bruised muscle." 

"It sure hurt a lot," said Cody. 

"I bet it did. One of the main nerves in the body is right there on your thigh, and you've not a lot there to cushion the blow. The bruise'll stay the normal amount of time. Unfortunately, magic doesn't easily get rid of the discoloration." Cody nodded, and she helped him down off the bed. Cody picked up his breeches and leg guards, and his bat. "And be careful, for goodness sake!" 

Cody nodded. "I will," he promised. He decided to leave the breeches off; the robes were long enough that it didn't matter much. 

As the boy emerged from the curtained area, he saw his mother and Samantha hurrying in. "Mom!" he cried, his grin once more fixed on his face. 

"Cody!" Mom looked worried, and Cody resisted the urge to roll his eyes. She hugged him to her, then knelt. "Are you okay? I saw that...ball hit you..." She wasn't frantic, but she was definitely worried. 

"It's okay," said Cody. "Madame Pomfrey can heal anything, and she said I didn't even break anything." 

Mom closed her eyes and drew in a big breath. "I'm glad." She hugged him once more, then stood. Noticing Flint for the first time, she blinked. "Sorry, that must've seemed pretty rude." 

"Oh! This is Marcus, he's the Captain of the Quidditch team. That's my mom, Marcus." He was somewhat worried that Flint would be rude to his mom, since she was, after all, a Muggle. But he only nodded a little. 

"Nice to meet you, Marcus," said Mom. 

"You too," mumbled Flint. But at least he hadn't been rude! 

"An' my little sister, Samantha." 

The little girl giggled and hugged Cody around the waist. "That was so cool!" she whispered. "I wanna try it when I get big, like you!" 

Cody blushed at this fairly extravagant praise from his little sister. "Thanks. I didn't know you guys were coming!" 

Mom smiled. "Well, we weren't gonna. But Tony convinced me to at least go to this game, see you play for the first time. I was pretty impressed!" 

With the rest of his body being so cold, Cody felt like his cheeks were melting off. He always turned all sorts of red when someone praised him, especially in front of others. 

"But anyway, Samantha and I have to be going soon. We've got to catch that...blasted Knight Bus." 

Cody stifled a giggle. Mom hadn't enjoyed the Knight Bus all that much! The boy hugged her, and she ruffled his hair. 

"You be careful, got that, kiddo?" 

"I will. I promise." He watched them leave, waving as Mom looked back once, and then they were gone. An unexpected wave of homesickness came over him and he bit his lip. 

"Muggles, right?" said Flint, also looking at the door through which they had left. 

"Yeah..." Cody tore his eyes from the door and turned them on Flint. "Thanks for not saying something mean to them." 

Flint looked a bit uncomfortable, but he shrugged. "Well, I guess for Muggles, they're not that bad," he mumbled. "Come on, let's get down to the Common Room. I'll bet we're already missing the party!" 

A party! Nodding happily, Cody followed him out of the infirmary. 

Flint was right; there was a full-fledged celebration in progress when they got down to the dungeons. Most of the house was in there, the team still in their robes, and most everyone else in their school robes or their pajamas. "It's about time!" Bole cried when the pair walked in. "I was beginning to wonder if you hadn't died of your injuries or something, Cody!" 

Cody shrugged sheepishly, and laughed. "Naw, it wasn't even broken. Madame Pomfrey fixed it easy." 

"That's good! Wouldn't wanna be short a Beater. Come on, we've got some butterbeer, and some Honeydukes sweets, and some food from the kitchens. Join in!" 

And so they did. 

It was very late when Cody got to bed, but the next day was Saturday, and there were no classes, so he would be able to sleep in. Feeling very happy, the boy collapsed onto his four-poster, full of food and butterbeer. He thought he wouldn't be able to sleep for being so excited, but ended up drifting off right away. After all, it was the latest he had ever been up. (Barring Astronomy lessons, that was.) 

--- 

The next day, Cody visited Hagrid, and told him all about the match, even thought Hagrid had been there. Hagrid only smiled amusedly and let the boy give him the play by play. "So yeh won, eh?" said Hagrid. "Congratulations!" 

"Thanks! Boy...it's...it's really..." He couldn't quite find the words to describe what an experience it had been. "It's great, I love it!" 

Hagrid laughed. "I'm glad yeh've taken such a liking to it, then." 

"I have!" 

"So what else has been going on?" 

"Christmas! And I got long underwear!" Seeing the half surprised, half amused look on Hagrid's face, he explained, "It's cold here!" 

"I see! It does get pretty cold in the winter here, I'll admit. Doesn't it get cold in the United States?" 

"Well sure, in other states. But not mine, really. 'Specially where we live. We're way south so it's nice and warm all the time. We live in Florida." 

"Never been to the United States, meself. Like to someday, though. Maybe I cin come and visit yeh, eh?" 

Cody giggled. "That'd be awesome! My mom'd like you. My sister would probably be scared though, because she's really little." 

"Aw, that's all right. We'd get along okay, I think, once she got used ter me." 

Cody nodded. "Probably!" 

The two spent an hour or so talking, when Cody said he was going to go back and sit in front of the fire in the Slytherin common room and read a book. He waved goodbye to Hagrid, and left. 

When he next got together with the Weasley twins, Cody had smug all over his face. He crossed his arms and stood right in front of them. "Well?" he said expectantly. 

Fred and George exchanged a glance, then looked down at Cody, their eyebrows raised. "Must've been a fluke," George said, crossing his arms. "Just dumb luck, you know." 

"Yeah...it happens sometimes, after all," Fred agreed. 

Cody put his hands on his hips and made a sound of exasperation. "You guys're -" He sputtered, not able to think of a word that described what they were! 

Fred finally laughed, and ruffled Cody's hair. "You know we're just joking with you, kid. You did good." 

"Yeah, congratulations. It's too bad you guys have to lose when you play us, though!" 

Cody snorted. "Yeah right!" Well things were normal here! Fred and George were being pains, and Cody was being overconfident. Cody stuck out his tongue. 

"You know, kid, that's gonna get stuck out there like that someday," threatened George. Cody just gave him a look. 

Kathy Skinner and Kyle Tiller got the same earful that Hagrid got, and offered congratulations to the team. She watched in amusement as Cody bounced around the common room, excitedly reliving the match to anyone that would listen. 

The month droned on, and the weather stayed cold. Cody found that he couldn't wait for the warmth to arrive! His classes went on much the same as they had the previous months, and there was Quidditch and choir practice. And Quidditch practice in the frigid winter air wasn't a whole lot of fun. 

Around the end of the month, when he was talking to the twins one day, they told him that Ron's rat had been eaten. Cody rather thought they were being pretty insensitive about it; he knew how he would feel if Merlin got eaten! He almost told Hermione that Crookshanks had better not eat his bat, but refrained at the last minute. He already knew she felt bad. 

The next Quidditch match was coming up, this between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. The morning of the match, Cody looked up at a sort of procession making its way into the Great Hall. His eyes widened as he realized that Harry was carrying his Firebolt! "Woooow!" he exclaimed. "Awesome!" 

Harry sort of grinned his way, then continued to the Gryffindor table. 

Cody ran to the Slytherin table and looked for Flint. "Marcus!" he cried. "Look! Harry's got a Firebolt!" 

"_What?_" Flint gaped for a moment, then stood up so that he could see. The rest of the Slytherins were noticing too, and everyone looked rather shocked. "Is he that rich?" 

Cody shrugged. "I dunno! I dunno how much money he's got; that sure is a great broom, though, isn't it? I wonder how fast it goes!" 

_"Fast,"_ Marcus answered dazedly, finally sitting down, but like the rest of the Slytherins, he kept glancing over to the Gryffindors. 

"I'll fix him," Malfoy muttered. He leaned in to talk to Crabbe and Goyle, and Cody leaned in, trying to hear what they were saying. He couldn't hear it all, but he got the general idea; they were planning to dress up as dementors. He stifled a snicker, and went back to eating his breakfast. He noticed that Marcus Flint joined the conversation too, and shook his head. 

The match was a fairly exciting one. Lee Jordan kept blathering on about the Firebolt, and Professor McGonagall got exasperated at him. Cody giggled. If anything, Lee Jordan was usually fun to listen to; aside from not being very objective, he would often stray somewhat into hughly amusing tangents; Professor McGonagall's exasperation was pretty funny too. 

Near the end of the game, people started pointing down at the ground, where three tall "dementors" glided across the ground. Malfoy and the others, of course. Cody grinned as Harry cried out "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" A silvery shape charged at the dementors, knocking them all down onto the ground. Cody very nearly broke up laughing; he had to clap his hands over his mouth to stop it. Had Marcus not been down there he wouldn't have bothered stifling it, but he liked Marcus. Shaking his head, he looked back up to the Gryffindor team all of whom were hugging Harry in some way, shape or form. He grinned as they descended to the ground. 

Once the Gryffindor team had disentangled, a very angry female voice distracted him for a moment, and he looked over to the fallen "dementors". Marcus Flint, Draco Malfoy, and the two thugs Crabbe and Goyle were in a tangled heap. Professor McGonagall was giving them a verbal what-for. Cody winced. Flint was going to be in a less than happy mood for a while! 


	18. Year 3, Chapter 7: Buckbeak's Sentence

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 7: Buckbeak's Sentence**

A couple of days after the match the rumors were flying that Sirius Black had attacked one of the students. Ron Weasley, in fact. After a Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson, he wandered over to where Ron, Harry and Hermione were all talking, and he asked Ron what had happened. Ron was only too glad to tell the story. 

There wasn't much to tell. Black had been admitted into the common room when he spoke the password, and that idiot Sir Cadogan had let him in. Cody winced when he learned it had been Neville's list of passwords that had been swiped. Poor Neville! The next morning, Neville got a Howler from his grandmother, who Cody had always thought was a mean old bat. The Slytherins all laughed as Neville ran out of the Great Hall, his grandmother's voice shrieking at him. Cody did not laugh. 

After breakfast, he tracked Neville down. He was sitting in one of the empty classrooms, looking miserable. Cody wasn't sure what to say, and so he only sat down next to him. "Guess I deserved that," he muttered. 

Cody scowled. "You did not," he said indignantly. "I heard all about that stupid knight painting. I wouldn't ever be able to remember all his stupid passwords, either!" 

"Yeah, but I shouldn't have written them down. We're not supposed to." The older boy sighed and leaned back on the windowsill, gazing out onto the grounds. 

"Well...maybe. But still. Everyone's being really mean about it." 

"Yeah, well, I should be used to that, shouldn't I?" 

"I guess." Cody didn't say anything after that. He just sat with his friend and gazed out onto the lawn. Not long after, Filch chased them both out. "That big git," Cody muttered as they walked down the corridor. "Boy, what an old grouch!" 

"He scares me," Neville admitted. 

Cody snorted. "His face'd scare anyone." 

Neville laughed a bit. Cody was glad to hear it. 

Neville was not allowed to go to the next Hogsmeade weekend. Cody debated staying back at the castle with him, but Neville insisted that Cody go and have fun, and he liked the village too much to disagree. 

After Hogsmeade, Cody's pockets full of sweets, he met up with Harry and Ron back at the castle. They had just come back from Snape's office, and Harry was telling Ron about his magical map. "And then the map started insulting Snape!" 

Ron looked like he was hiding a smirk. "What did it say?" He looked down to Cody. "Hey, kid." 

"Hi." He looked up and listened as Harry recited the map's insults to Snape. "Well, when he tried to get the map to show up, writing appeared! First it said 'Mr Moony presents his compliments to Professor Snape, and asks him to keep his abnormally long nose out of other people's business.'" Ron snorted laughter, and Cody clapped his hands over his mouth. Harry wasn't sure whether to be annoyed or whether to laugh also. "And _then_ it said, 'Mr. Prongs agrees with Mr. Moony and adds that Professor Snape is an ugly git!'" 

Cody burst out laughing, leaning against the wall and holding his belly. He had to remember this to tell this to Neville! 

"I mean it's funny, but I thought Snape was gonna skin me alive or something," Harry said. 

"Did it say anything else?" Ron asked gleefully. 

"Yeah. 'Mr. Padfoot would like to register his amazement that an idiot like him got to be a teacher,' or something like that...and then Mr. Wormtail, whoever he is...said he bid Snape good day and advises him to wash his hair, the slimeball!" 

At this, Cody and Ron were both laughing hard enough to have to lean against the wall for support. After a moment, Harry laughed too, but he was shaking his head. "I mean not that I didn't agree, but -" 

At that moment, Hermione approached them, looking upset. Harry frowned, and Cody straightened up to look. Ron looked angry...but then Cody remembered he had been angry with her because of Scabbers. "Come to have a good gloat?" he asked. "Or have you just been to tell on us?" 

"No." Hermione looked like she was about to cry. "I just thought you ought to know. Hagrid lost his case. Buckbeak is going to be executed." 

Cody gasped, his eyes going wide. Hermione handed over a note that was blotched with what Cody assumed were tears. Harry took it, looking as horrified as Cody felt. "They can't do this. They can't. Buckbeak isn't dangerous." 

"Malfoy's dad frightened the committee into it. You know what he's like. They're a bunch of doddery old fools, and they were scared." Hermione wiped her eyes. "There'll be an appeal though. There always is. Only I can't see any hope, nothing will have changed." 

"Yeah, it will," growled Ron. "You won't have to do all the work alone this time, Hermione. I'll help." 

Hermione burst into tears and flung her arms around Ron's neck. Ron looked alarmed. "Oh, Ron!" The shocked Ron finally patted her head, and Hermione disengaged. "I'm really, really sorry about Scabbers!" Cody looked on, feeling a little uncomfortable. He wasn't used to seeing anyone that upset! 

"Oh, well...he was old. And a bit useless." Seemed that now that Hermione had apologized, Ron was no longer angry. "You never know, Mum and Dad might get me an owl now." 

During the next Care of Magical Creatures class, Cody joined the others in talking to Hagrid. He felt awful for him! Hagrid was his friend, and Buckbeak was going to get killed, and there wasn't anything he could do about it! He narrowed his eyes as Hagrid said that the committee had just...done what Lucius told them to. "He's a jerk," Cody hissed. 

"There's still the appeal!" said Ron. "Don't give up yet, we're working on it!" 

"I'll help, too!" Cody said. 

Class had ended, and the fivesome were walking up towards the castle again. Hagrid smiled a bit and clapped Cody hard enough on the shoulder that he sprawled on the ground. Merlin, who had been on his robes, squeaked indignantly and took flight. When Hagrid headed back to his cabin, Malfoy's voice sounded derisively from the doorway of the castle. Cody picked himself up off the ground and whirled around to glare. 

"Look at him blubber! Have you seen anything quite so pathetic? And he's supposed to be our teacher!" 

Cody moved back as Ron and Harry started towards Malfoy, but Hermione pushed past all three of them, raised her hand, and smacked Malfoy across the face hard enough to make him stagger. Cody gaped, as she raised her hand again, livid. "Don't you _dare_ call Hagrid pathetic, you foul - you evil -" 

Ron and Harry looked shocked. "Hermione!" said Ron, making a half-hearted effort to pull her back. 

Hermione shook off his hand. "Get off, Ron!" She pulled out her wand, and Malfoy retreated a step. He knew full well that Hermione could have cursed him right then and there. Crabbe and Goyle looked as shocked as Malfoy did. "Come on," Malfoy growled. And the trio slunk off. 

"Hermione!" said Ron, stunned. 

"Whoa!" Cody stared, a little nervous. Hermione was frightening when she was mad! 

"Harry, you'd better beat him in the Quidditch final!" Hermione shrieked. "You just better had, because I can't stand it if Slytherin wins!" 

Harry glanced at Cody, who only shrugged and shook his head, not about to say anything to the contrary when Hermione was that angry. 

"We're due in Charms," said Ron a bit faintly. "We'd better go." 

Cody blinked and then made a fist. "Nuts, I'm late for Herbology!" That realization broke the astonishment he had felt at seeing Hermione hit Malfoy, and he turned and ran for the greenhouses. He was slightly late, and got five points taken off from Slytherin. He was in less than a thrilled mood during class. Malfoy shoved him on the floor, sweeping past him at the end of class, and Cody called him a git. All in all, it was not a fun class. 

At least Cody was able to ditch Malfoy and his goons in Study of Ancient Runes. None of them took the class. 

As spring approached, the third years had a heavy load of work. Cody, who was not accustomed to anything like this from his school at home, was having trouble keeping up. He and Neville often met in the library to try and get their work done. And, in between classes and work, Cody had Quidditch and choir practices. He had very little time to meet with Ron, trying to help Hagrid with Buckbeak. But he did try. Hagrid was one of his best friends, after all. 

And to top it all off, the Quidditch finals were approaching, and Cody would be playing in them. Malfoy had cornered him in the hall not long before, and said that if Cody didn't play his best, Malfoy would personally flay him. He seemed to think that Cody would not want to play his best against his friends in Gryffindor. Cody was mad. He told Malfoy that unlike him, Cody knew what loyalty meant. "If you'd catch the Snitch faster, we'd win!" 

Malfoy hissed and whipped out his wand; alarmed, Cody fumbled for his as well. Just as they were hurling curses at each other, Filch caught them, and gave them both detention for the duel. They spent it polishing brass in the trophy room. 

And they weren't the only ones. Peter Garl, a Slytherin sixth year, had gotten into a wand fight with one of the Gryffindors, and they both ended up in hospital wing. Fights were breaking out all over the halls, and the Quidditch teams were at each other's throats. Cody tried to stay out of it. 

He was glad, though, that his friends on the Gryffindor team weren't mad at him. 

The day of the match, Flint woke his team up early, and they all went down to breakfast. Cody was trembling with excitement, and Flint was tense. Malfoy was his smug self, determined to win at all costs. Most of the Great Hall were applauding the Gryffindors as they entered, and Cody wasn't surprised. Most of the Slytherins had been acting horrible the last few weeks. 

Flint didn't have a whole lot to say in the locker room before the match. The team was dressed and ready to play. Soon, they were walking out onto the field. The weather was mild, and Cody was glad of it. A fantastic day for a Quidditch game! 

Cody was not nearly as nervous as he had been the previous match. But then this wasn't his first match. Still, this game would determine who earned the Quidditch Cup, so he did have his share of the shakes. 

He caught George's eye as the teams walked out onto the pitch to the roar of the crowd in the bleachers above. "Prepare yourself," said George with a rather evil grin. "Because you're gonna be eating our Bludgers!" 

"Oh yeah?" said Cody. "The only things that's gonna eat your Bludgers is my bat!" He caught a glance of approval from Marcus as he said that. He grinned and stuck out his tongue at the twins, who amazed him by returning the gesture. 

Wood, however, was glaring at Cody. "Stop bantering with that scrawny Slytherin," he said to the twins, who simply shrugged and continued onto the pitch. 

Scrawny! Cody scowled, and shook his bat at Wood. Wood was a jerk. 

Lee Jordan had announced the Gryffindor team, calling out the names of the team members. "And here come the Slytherin team, led by Captain Flint. He's made some changes to the lineup and seems to be going for size rather than skill -" 

"Hey!" Cody cried in indignation, glaring up at the stands where Lee was commenting. The Slytherins booed the commentary, and he caught Fred and George snickering. "Boooo!" Cody called. 

"Captains, shake hands!" Madame Hooch commanded. They did, though grudgingly. Cody wouldn't have been surprised to hear bones break. "Mount your brooms! Three, two, one -" 

The whistle sounded, and the teams shot into the air. And, as before, it was instant chaos. Cody felt the now-familiar thrill of excitement as he plunged into the game. He ducked a Bludger, then growled at himself for not having hit it, since it hit Warrington a glancing blow to the side and made him drop the Quaffle. Angelina, from the Gryffindor team, scored with the Quaffle, and Cody struck the air with his bat in a show of annoyance. "Nuts!" 

He caught an outcry, as Marcus collided with her, and he rolled his eyes. Friend or not, Flint was pretty obvious. Then Fred threw his bat at Flint's head, smashing his nose against his broom and making the blood fly. 

Needless to say, Madame Hooch was less than thrilled about this, and awarded penalties to both teams. The teams watched as the Chasers took their penalty shots; Gryffindor got theirs, Slytherin did not. 

Cody had to admit, that though he was enjoying the game, he was getting annoyed with his team. If they'd just play fair, they'd do better! Cody did manage to nail Fred with a Bludger not long after, though. 

Then, all of a sudden, Harry streaked off, and a surge of adrenaline went through Cody's body. He must have seen the Snitch! He leaned forward, his broom speeding towards one of the Bludgers. He took both hands off his broom to slam the Bludger towards Harry, who ducked it, barely. Cody hissed in frustration and darted forward again, going after the ball. He heard Bole hit the other Bludger, and saw it graze Harry's arm. Bole also went after his Bludger to get another shot. 

And neither Beater realized they were on a collision course. 

Harry zoomed upwards all of a sudden, as Cody and Bole sped towards him. Cody's eyes widened in alarm as all of a sudden, Bole was right there in front of him, and he let a screech of surprise. Bole yelled, and the two Beaters collided in midair. Cody rebounded, having to drop his bat to clutch at his broom, scrambling wildly to keep from falling off. He and Bole had hit heads, and Cody's head was now throbbing. Bole clutched his own thick skull while Cody scrambled back onto his broom. 

"Ha haaaa!" cried Lee Jordan gleefully. "Too bad, boys! You'll have to get up earlier than that to beat a Firebolt!" 

Cody growled, and Bole glared venomously at the Gryffindor commentator. Shaking his aching head, Cody dove at the ground to retrieve his bat. He felt abysmally clumsy, having run into Bole like that. He should have seen him! And dropping his bat! In the warm sunshine, he almost didn't feel his cheeks heating up, but they did. 

Once he had his bat again, he let a Bludger fly towards Lee's spot in the bleachers. He was lucky he was too far away for the ball to make it, else Cody would have gotten a penalty against his team at the very least. But when Flint grabbed the Quaffle, and Cody intercepted a Bludger that would have hit him square in the back, Cody shot a smug look Lee's way. Especially when Flint scored, and Lee cussed into the megaphone. Cody snickered as Professor McGonagall tried to wrestle the megaphone away from him. 

As Fred and George flew over to Angelina, who had just scored, Bole flew up alongside Cody, and pointed to Wood, who was at the moment, unprotected. Cody nodded, and the two Beaters cracked the Bludgers towards the Gryffindor captain. Both hit him, right in the gut. "Ha!" Cody said. Served him right for calling Cody scrawny! Wood clutched at his broom, struggling to catch his breath. 

Madame Hooch, however, was livid. Cody winced as she shrieked at the two Beaters. You do not attack the Keeper unless the Quaffle in within the scoring area!" Oops. "Gryffindor penalty!" 

Cody glanced over at Bole, who shrugged. And Angelina scored. 

A little while into the game, Harry once again took off, and this time, Cody caught the glint of gold. He had seen the Snitch, this time, and for real! He looked around frantically for a Bludger, but they were all too far away. Malfoy, however, took matters into his own hands. He grabbed Harry's broom. Madame Hooch called a penalty once more, and Lee Jordan howled indignantly into his megaphone. He called Malfoy a filthy, cheating...and then he said a word that Cody wasn't about to repeat. And Professor McGonagall was even shaking her finger at Malfoy! 

The Snitch was lost, and Angelina was streaking towards the goal with the Quaffle, Flint yelled, and signaled a block, and Cody sped forward with the rest of the team. But they hadn't counted on Harry's Firebolt. Cody was startled by a roar from Harry as he shot at them on his broom, and Cody flung himself sideways to avoid another collision. He spun around on his broom and had to take a moment to steady it, as Angelina scored one more time. He shook his bat in Harry's direction. 

But as hard as Slytherin tried, it was Harry who got the Snitch. Bole belted a Bludger at Harry's head, but the Firebolt was so fast, and Harry's skill was enough, that the Bludger didn't get anywhere near him. And then he caught it. 

Cody sighed, and slumped over his broom, actually feeling very disappointed at the loss. He had never played sports before Hogwarts, and was tasting defeat for the first time. And it didn't taste very good! 

He watched the Gryffindor team sink to the ground in a large group hug, and sighed once more. He rubbed his sore head, sitting back on his broom to watch. Flint swore rather vehemently. Cody supposed that if Wood wasn't such a jerk, Cody might be happy that Wood finally got to win the Quidditch Cup before he left Hogwarts. But as it was, Cody was wishing that Slytherin had won. 

But then they _had_ won one game. Cody felt he should be satisfied with that! 

The students cheered the Gryffindor team as Dumbledore handed Harry the cup. Hovering in midair, the Slytherin team watched with varying degrees of resentment and disappointment. Cody gazed at the cup, thinking that it would have been nice to see their house's name on it. 

After the match, the Slytherin team trudged into the locker room. No one said much. There were some grumbled threats of retaliation against the Gryffindor team, and some muttering about bad game calls, but other than that, little was said. 

Cody stripped off his robes and got on his regular Hogwarts robe, folding his Quidditch uniform to put away in his trunk. He intended to take a long, hot shower, then go sulk in the dorm. 

"That was a cheap shot you and Bole pulled at the game yesterday," said Ron on Monday, during Defense Against the Dark Arts. 

"Huh?" Cody looked up from the drawing of a Red Cap he was working on. 

"The Quidditch match, attacking Wood like that when the Quaffle wasn't anywhere near him." 

Oh yeah, that. A sheepish expression came over Cody and he shrugged. "Yeah, I guess it was." 

"Why'd you do it, anyway?" 

Cody huffed, sitting up straight. "Wood's a jerk. An' he called me scrawny before the match, when me and Fred and George were threatening each other." He shrugged. "I guess... I dunno. I just didn't think." He did feel a bit ashamed. It hadn't been exactly an honorable thing to do. He supposed he really did belong in Slytherin. 

"Well, I guess Wood can be a jerk sometimes," he finally said. No more was said on the subject, but Ron knew Cody was sorry, and Cody knew he'd been forgiven. That was how friends worked, after all. 


	19. Year 3, Chapter 8: The Executioner's Axe

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 8: The Executioner's Axe**

A month after Slyther's loss, Ron spoke to Cody quietly at one of Lupin's classes, when they were supposed to be reading up on vampires. (Cody didn't like vampires much.) "Buckbeak's appeal," he said. "It's the sixth of June." 

Cody frowned. "That's when we're finishing our exams." 

"Yeah. But the thing is, they're bringing an executioner to the appeal." Ron frowned, looking worried. 

"A - but why? What if Buckbeak wins the appeal..." 

Ron sighed; Cody got the idea. Buckbeak probably would not win his appeal. 

"They've got to allow the appeal, that's the rules," said Harry, whispering around his book. "But they've likely made up their minds." 

Cody clenched his fists, shaking. Malfoy! This was all his fault, that miserable, miserable git! No wonder he'd been bragging all over the place that he would be responsible for the poor creature's death! No longer able to concentrate on vampires (although wishing a few times that one would bite Malfoy), he fumed the rest of the class. 

Exams were the following week, and Cody found that he needed all his concentration for the tests, and so did not worry quite so much about Buckbeak. Cody and the Ravenclaws he did Astronomy with had their exam the first night, and Cody thought that he did reasonably well. And he surprised himself in Transfiguration by managing to transfigure his teapot into a tortoise fairly well. It was a bit of a strange looking tortoise, but he thought he had done well, just the same. 

The days passed, and exams were taken. Cody thought he passed Herbology, if barely. In Potions, he accidentally overturned his cauldron and had to start over, and had the sneaking suspicion he had failed the test. 

All in all, Cody was glad for the end of exam week. 

One of their last exams was Defense Against the Dark Arts, and that one Cody actually enjoyed. It was an obstacle course. He had to deal with a grindylow that Cody called a jerk, cross a mini bog without letting the hinkypunk lure him into the deep parts, get past a bunch of redcaps (Cody got hit in the behind by one of them as he crossed, and it hurt) and then deal with a boggart. 

The boggart. Cody had not gotten to face the boggart when they had practiced, though he knew the charm well enough. When he crept inside to face whatever was in there, Cody was surprised at first when he saw nothing. But he felt it. And surprisingly, it wasn't a dementor. At first what he felt was a crushing sense of hopelessness and banality, as if all of a sudden he was stuck among the worst types of Dursley-like Muggles one could imagine. A place where there was no imagination, or magic, or fun. Cody eyes widened at the unexpected feeling of taint and very nearly ran out of the trunk the boggart was supposed to be hiding in. 

A moment later, he saw something strange, sort of like unnatural stormclouds, spreading in the trunk, and he realized it looked a lot like the Nothing from one of his favorite movies, The Neverending Story. So...the loss of dreams and fantasy was Cody's fear. It made sense. He would rather have faced a hundred dementors than the feeling of hopelessness that came from the loss of dreams. 

Shaking, Cody raised his wand, and tried to think of the right spell, but it seemed to have gone out of his head. What was the point? The magic had gone out of the world, it wouldn't even work! For that matter, just for a few seconds, the air around him seemed to waver, as if he were fading in and out of the wizarding world. 

Gasping, he fumbled for the door of the old wardrobe and stumbled out, his face white, his eyes wide. He shut the door and leaned against it, looking gratefully up at the warm sunshine above. He caught sight of Lupin standing to one side, watching the participants of his exam, and he caught sight of some of the students who had yet to take their test. Ron and Harry were among them. Scowling, Cody looked at the trunk once more, imagining the boggart within. Biting his lip and grasping his wand tightly, he ducked back inside. 

This time, Cody had a bit more luck. He closed his eyes and didn't wait for the feelings to start overwhelming him; he raised his wand and concentrated very hard on the image of someone making a funny face...and cried "Riddikulus!" There was a large crack, and when Cody looked up, the Nothing clouds had formed the shape of a smiley face with its tongue out and its eyes crossed. Cody giggled, and the feelings of hopelessness began to diminish. 

He didn't wait around for what it might turn into next. Still a bit shaken, but at least smiling, now, Cody crawled back out and went over to Professor Lupin. "How...how'd I do?" 

Lupin put a hand on Cody's shoulder. "You did fine, Cody." 

As Ron began to run the course, Cody asked when exam results would be known, and Lupin told him they would get them at the end of term as usual. 

He looked over to Harry and Hermione, both of whom looked upset. "What's wrong?" he asked. 

"Cornelius Fudge went by when you were doing your exam," Harry said tensely. He was glaring in the general vicinity of Hagrid's hut. "With the executioner; I don't think the appeal is going to make any difference." 

Cody bit his lip, also looking over to the hut, and stomped his foot in a gesture of helpless frustration. "But why? Are there that many bad people in the Ministry?" 

"Shhh!" Harry cautioned him. "It's not that, I don't think. It's just Malfoy; Lucius Malfoy's got them all scared." 

"But-but they're killing something innocent! That's wrong!" 

"I know." Harry sounded very tired, and Cody bit his lip. 

Cody's last exam was Study of Ancient Runes. As Ron and Harry went up to Diviniation, and Hermione to Muggle Studies, Cody trudged up to the Runes classroom, where he would have to perform a spell with a set of runestones, and translate a page of the old ones on a piece of parchment. He was very distracted, but thought he might have done okay, just the same. He was just glad none of Draco's little gang were in the class. He would not have been able to concentrate. 

At supper that night, Cody ate with the Gryffindors. He knew half his House was probably annoyed at this, but Cody didn't care in the slightest, and sat down between Ron and George Weasley. "Buckbeak lost," Ron whispered. Cody gasped. "They're..." Ron took a big breath. "They're gonna kill him at sunset." 

Cody looked shocked. Even knowing it was probably going to happen, he had still held onto the hope that maybe the appeal would have worked. "But-but they can't!" Cody cried, his eyes beginning to burn with tears. "It's not fair, Buckbeak didn't do anything!" A dozen or so head turned in his direction at that, but Cody didn't care. 

"Shhh..." Ron whispered. But he didn't look so pleased, himself. 

Cody swallowed hard and wiped his eyes, glancing back at the Slytherin table. Malfoy caught his eye and smirked, making a throat-cutting gesture across his own neck. Cody's eyes widened and he growled, grabbing his wand from under his cloak. He felt a hand on his shoulder pushing him forcefully back onto the bench and another hand on his wrist. He looked to see George standing next to him, looking uncharacteristically grim. "Don't, mate," he said quietly, giving Cody a bit of a squeeze. "Not here. You don't want to get in trouble for that worthless little -" And here George inserted a word he'd never even heard the twins say before. Biting his lip, Cody put his wand away. 

"We're going to visit Hagrid," Ron whispered in his ear. "We're taking the invisibility cloak, do you want to go with us? You're little, I'm sure you'll fit." 

Cody thought only a moment before nodding his head. 

"Okay. After supper, then." 

Cody nodded again, wiping his eyes once more and looking down at his plate. He felt his stomach lurch sickeningly and shoved the food away. 

After the meal, the students hid in an empty, dark passageway until most of the students had gone to their common rooms, then slid the cloak on. It didn't feel any different than a normal cloak, although it might have been softer. But Cody was shocked to see that any part of him that was covered had disappeared. It was disconcerting, looking at your arm and knowing there should be one there, but you couldn't see it. 

But then he was huddled between Ron and Hermione, and they were ready to leave. He held onto Ron's waist, just because it was easier to stay close to him that way and walk at the same time. He looked at the ground, so as not to trip and reveal everyone. 

They knocked, and an upset-looking Hagrid opened the door; when Harry hissed that it was them, Hagrid let them in. "Yeh shouldn't have come!" Still, he shut the door, and Harry took off the cloak. If Hagrid was surprised to see Cody, he didn't show it. Cody looked up at his friend and felt the urge to cry again. He did not remember seeing anyone look like that before. "Wan' some tea?" Hagrid asked. 

"Where's Buckbeak, Hagrid?" Hermione asked. 

"I-I took him outside," Hagrid said. "He's tethered in the pumpkin patch." Cody bit his lip and peered out the window at the hippogriff. He wondered if Buckbeak knew what was going to happen. "Though he oughta see the trees, an' - an' smell fresh air before -" 

Cody did start to cry again then, wiping his eyes on his robes. He let out a screech of fright as something crashed to the ground behind him and he spun around to see that Hagrid had dropped the milk jug he'd been carrying. Panting from the scare, Cody closed his eyes for a moment. 

Hermione set to cleaning up the mess, and Cody went over to sit next to Harry, who was sitting next to Hagrid. The chair dwarfed Cody's small frame as he sat down. "Isn't there anything anyone can do?" Harry asked, his tone fierce. "Dumbledore-" 

"He's tried," said Hagrid. He told them he thought that Lucius had likely threatened the committee, and Cody rather thought that they were all a lot of cowards. "The executioner, Macnair, he's an old pal of Malfoy's. But it'll be quick and clean, an' I'll be beside him." 

Cody clenched his teeth together. How horrible could that be? Having to stand by a friend and comfort them because someone was going to kill them... He sniffled, and without a word, Hagrid handed him a clean handkerchief the size of a bath towel. Cody took it and blew his nose. 

"Dumbledore's gonna come down while it - while it happens. Wrote me this mornin'. Said he wants ter - ter be with me. Great man, Dumbledore." 

Cody suddenly felt very ashamed to be a Slytherin. 

"We'll stay with you too," said Hermione. She, too, was crying. 

But Hagrid would not let them. He told them to get back to the castle, he didn't want them to be caught. 

Before much else could be said, there was a cry of surprise from Hermione, making Cody's heart race with alarm for the second time in five minutes. "Ron! I-I don't believe it! It's Scabbers!" 

"What are you talking about?" Ron said. 

Hermione carried the jug she was holding to the table and dumped a small creature onto the table. The rat, unmistakably Scabbers, tried scrambling back into it. The poor little thing was emaciated, and looked like he had the mange. 

"It's okay, Scabbers!" said Ron. He looked shocked, himself. "No cats! There's nothing here to hurt you!" 

The foursome's attention was caught then by Hagrid's voice. "They're comin'." 

"Uh-oh, Cody whispered. 

Indeed, Cornelius Fudge, Dumbledore, Macnair, and the committee member (who looked older than the earth) were heading up the walk. 

"Yeh gotta go," said Hagrid. "They mustn't find yeh here...go now..." 

It was clear that none of them wanted to leave Hagrid, but they had no choice. Ron stuffed his rat into a pocket and Hermione picked up the invisibility cloak. 

Hagrid let them out the back way, and watched Hagrid going over to comfort the nervous hippogriff. The older students tried one more time to convince Hagrid that they should stay and try to help, to prevent it somehow...but he shooed them off. "Go quick," Hagrid whispered. "Don't listen." 

They began to leave, but Ron was having problems with Scabbers. The rat was trying frantically to wiggle from Ron's grasp, and he hissed angrily at him. "It's me, you idiot, it's Ron!" 

"Oh, Ron, please, let's move, they're going to do it!" Hermione whispered. 

"Okay - Scabbers, stay _put_!" 

The foursome shuffled off away from the cabin, Ron trying frantically to keep his crazed rat quiet, and still. It wasn't working too well. 

Behind him there were voices, and then silence, and then the swish and thud of an ax. Cody gasped, and tried not to sob aloud. Hermione nearly fainted. "They did it!" she whispered. "I d-don't believe it, they did it!" 

The four students stood still, shocked, that they had actually slaughtered an innocent creature. Cody jumped at a howl of misery from Hagrid, and buried his face in the handkerchief the gamekeeper had given him. Harry tried to go back, but the others stopped him. 

"How - could - they? How _could_ they?" Hermione's chest hitched, and her breathing was ragged. 

Ron's teeth chattered. "Come on." 

Subdued and upset, they headed back for the castle, where Cody fully intended to put the most horrible curse he could think of on Draco Malfoy as soon as he got back to the common room. But they had not even gotten to the castle steps before Ron had to stop once more, fighting with his rat. And then Crookshanks came outside and headed right towards them. Hermione tried to get him to go away, but he didn't. 

And then all heck broke loose. 

Scabbers broke free and ran, and the cat streaked after him. Ron threw off the cloak and ran after them both. The others ran after him, the cloak held in Hermione's hands, and caught up with Ron, who had managed to fight Scabbers into his pocket. He covered the pocket with both hands. Hermione tried to get them all hidden, but before anything else could happen, footsteps made them all spin around. But it wasn't a person, it was a Grim. Or rather it was a large, black dog, and it hurled itself at Harry, easily knocking him to the ground. Cody stared, shocked, at the creature, who whirled around for another attack. 

Ron shoved Harry aside, trying to get him out of the dog's path, but the dog didn't seem to care who it was attacking. It grabbed Ron's arm and ran, dragging the lanky boy with him as if he weighed no more than Scabbers. "Ron!" Cody cried. It was very lucky his cry had gone unheard by those at Hagrid's hut. Harry lunged for his friend, but missed. 

The other youths went after him of course, Cody dragging behind. The others were faster than him. He heard Harry, then Hermione yelp as something him them, and Cody thought the dog had perhaps attacked them too. But as he neared, something hit him too, right across the back. He yelped and sprawled on the ground. "Owww!" he groaned, getting to his feet. But them, as he stood, he was hit again, along the side of the head, and he was on the ground once more, holding the injury and crouching on the ground. 

Harry lit his wand and revealed that they had wandered too near the Whomping Willow, which was trying its best to pummel them into a pulp. Cody found that staying low let him avoid most of it. 

But the thing was, the dog was dragging Ron down under the tree's roots. "Ron!" Harry tried to follow, to catch them, but nearly got beheaded by a thick branch from the tree. Cody watched, horrified, as Ron was dragged underneath, trying to hook his leg around a root to stop from going underground. His leg cracked, broken, and he disappeared. Cody gasped. 

"Harry, we've got to go for help!" Hermione gasped. Her shoulder was bleeding, and Cody realized that his head was too. 

"No!" Harry said. "That thing's big enough to eat him! We haven't got time!" 

"Harry, we're never going to get through without help!" She dodged a branch that looked for all the world like it was clenching a fist of twigs. 

"If that dog can get in, we can." Dodging the evil tree, Harry searched frantically for a way in...but was surprised at a furry form darting past him to the tree trunk. Crookshanks placed his paw on a knot in the tree, and the branches suddenly stopped moving, as if the knot was an on/off switch. 

"How did he know?" Hermione asked, gaping. 

"He's friends with that dog," said Harry. "I've seen them together. Come on, and keep your wands out." 

Shaking, Cody grasped his wand and followed the other two into the gap beneath the roots of the tree. To his surprise, there was a tunnel there! He lit his wand, and continued, as Hermione asked where the tunnel went. Harry wasn't sure, but he thought it was heading towards Hogsmeade, according to the Marauder's Map. 

The trio nearly ran, the older students crouched in the small tunnel, and even Cody had to duck somewhat to be able to fit. Hermione's cat seemed to know where he was going, and so they only followed him. 

The tunnel twisted, and then rose, toward a patch of light at the end. Cody, lagging behind, watched Harry and Hermione ascend, and disappear. Cody paused, panting, holding his side for a moment before he followed. 

When he climbed up, Cody was very surprised to find himself in a room. And then he remembered; the Shrieking Shack. "Ghosts didn't do that," said Harry, looking around at the demolished room. It looked as though a rampaging bull had been let loose there. 

They looked up as a creak above them told them there was someone upstairs, and when they went into the hallway, a wide stripe had been cut in the dust, where something had been dragged. Ron, Cody assumed. "Nox," Harry and Hermione whispered, extinguishing the light on their wands. "Cody, put out your wand," Harry whispered. 

"Oh yeah. Nox." And now, they were in the dark. 

There was only one door open in the darkened hallway, open a crack, and they crept towards it. Harry and Hermione exchanged a glance, and Cody crept up behind him. Harry kicked the door wide open. 

It was a bedroom, it turned out. There was a large, dusty four poster bed, next to which Crookshanks lay. Ron sat next to him, clutching his leg, which looked oddly bent. They ran to him, and Hermione asked if he was okay, and Harry asked where the dog was. 

"Not a dog," Ron hissed through clenched teeth. Cody had to admire him. If Cody's leg had broken, he would be bawling like a baby!" Harry, it's a trap!" 

"What?" 

"He's the dog, he's an Animagus!" 

Cody spun around as the door closed behind him, and gasped at the sight of a tall, thin, ragged looking man standing there. His pale face looked like a grinning skull, framed by long mats of black, filthy hair. It was Sirius Black, and despite himself, Cody found he was quite intimidated. 

Black had Ron's wand. "Expelliarmus!" he growled, and all of a sudden, no one was holding a wand, except Black. Cody hissed and shook his hand, which always felt numb after being disarmed. The man told Harry he knew he would come down to help Ron, that it was brave not to run for a teacher and that Harry's father would have done the same. "I'm, grateful - it will make everything much easier." 


	20. Year 3, Chapter 9: A Dirty Rat

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 9: A Dirty Rat**

Black looked like a crazy man. And Cody supposed if he had spent twelve years in the constant company of dementors, he would have gone mad, too. The boy shuddered. 

Harry lunged at the man, but Hermione caught his arm; Cody grabbed the back of his robes and pulled back; if Harry went at Black without a wand, he'd probably die. 

"If you want to kill Harry, you'll have to kill us, too!" Ron growled. His face was white as he stood. 

"Lie down," said Black quietly. He seemed to be genuinely concerned! "You will damage that leg even more." 

"Did you hear me?" said Ron. "You'll have to kill all four of us!" 

Cody peered from behind Harry's robes (on which he was still pulling) and nodded. 

Black grinned, and it was a ghoulish sight. "There'll only be one murder here tonight." 

Harry glared. "Why's that? Didn't care last time, did you? Didn't mind slaughtering all those Muggles to get at Pettigrew! What's the matter, gone soft in Azkaban?" 

"Harry, be quiet!" Hermione whispered. 

"He killed my mum and dad!" Harry howled. He finally broke Hermione's grip and lunged at Black. Cody, not nearly strong enough to hold Harry by himself, sprawled ingloriously on the wooden floor of the dusty room. 

In about three seconds, the room was in chaos. Harry was pummeling Black, Ron and Hermione were yelling, and Black was trying to nail Harry with the wand in his hand. Hermione darted forward and kicked Black, who let go of Harry's throat. Harry lunged for his wand, but Crookshanks leapt on him, digging in his claws, and Harry yelled, throwing him off. 

Cody tackled the big cat, wrapping his arms around him as Harry grabbed his wand. Cody stood, lifting the cat with a great deal of effort, having to use all his concentration to keep from getting cut to ribbons. 

"Get out of the way!" Harry shouted. Cody lugged the fighting cat over to the other two and watched, his eyes wide. It was frightening, the look on Harry's face. 

Harry approached Black, who was sprawled against the wall. "Going to kill me, Harry?" Black whispered. 

"You killed my parents." 

"I don't deny it. But if you knew the whole story." 

"The whole story?" Harry hissed, his eyes narrowed so much that they looked like black, glittering slits. "You sold them to Voldemort. That's all I need to know." 

"You've got to listen to me," said Black urgently. "You'll regret it if you don't, you don't understand." 

Harry's voice was shaking. "I understand a lot better than you think. You never heard her, did you? My mum, trying to stop Voldemort killing me. And you did that...you did it..." 

Cody yelped suddenly as Crookshanks' back claws dug viciously into his arms, and he dropped the huge cat. The boy hissed in pain as blood welled from the claw marks, his robes' sleeves hanging in ragged strips. He growled, darting forward to give the cat a good kick in the tail end, but Crookshanks had settled on Black's chest, and Cody wasn't about to get that close to him. 

Black tried to shove the cat off, but Crookshanks wasn't about to move. 

Harry raised his wand, a look of determination on his face. Cody bit his lip; the others watched. 

And then, a new sound. Footsteps. 

"We're up here!" Hermione screamed at the top of her lungs, making Cody jump a foot in the air. His heart was getting a workout that day! "We're up here! Sirius Black! Hurry!" 

A moment later, the door burst open in red sparks, and Cody took a startled step backwards. Lupin! It was Professor Lupin! He took in the situation for a moment then stepped forward, crying "Expelliarmus!" And Harry's wand went flying once more. Hermione, who had gathered the other wands, also lost them. "Where is he, Sirius?" Lupin asked, his hoarse voice sounding even hoarser than usual. 

Black pointed at Ron, who looked as baffled as Cody felt. 

Lupin muttered to himself, as if trying to figure something out. Why he hadn't shown himself, or if someone had made a switch without telling anyone... "Professor?" Harry interrupted. "What's going on-" 

He stopped short as Lupin's face registered surprise, and then realization. He strode forward, pulled Crookshanks off of Black, and hugged the man, as if they were long lost friends. Harry, Cody, and Ron gaped. 

"I don't believe it!" Hermione screeched. Cody spun around. She was pointing at Lupin. "You - you -" 

"Hermione." 

"You and him!" 

"Hermione, calm down." 

"I didn't tell anyone! I've been covering up for you!" 

"Hermione listen to me, please!" Lupin shouted. "I can explain." 

But Harry spoke before Hermione could answer. "I trusted you, and all this time you've been his friend!" 

"You're wrong," said Lupin. "I haven't been Sirius' friend, but I am now. Let me explain." 

"No!" Hermione cried. "Harry don't trust him, he's been helping Black get into the castle, he wants you dead, too! He's a werewolf!" 

Cody blinked, then looked to Lupin, who looked fairly unruffled by this revelation. "Neat," the child said, despite himself. 

He yelped as Hermione smacked him in the arm. "It's not neat!" 

Lupin said that he had not been helping Sirius into the castle, nor did he want Harry dead. "But I won't deny that I am a werewolf." 

He turned to Ron, who was again on the floor, trying to get to his feet. But when he tried to help him, Ron hissed, "Get away from me, werewolf!" 

Lupin stopped short, and Cody thought he caught a glimpse of deep hurt in his eyes. He suddenly felt very bad. Lupin hadn't asked to be turned into a werewolf! And Cody seriously doubted he wanted anyone dead. 

After a moment, Lupin turned to Hermione and asked how long she'd known. She said since Snape's werewolf essay. "He'll be delighted," said Lupin. "He assigned that essay, hoping someone would realize what my symptoms meant." He asked Hermione what had made her realize, and she told him. Lupin laughed...sort of. "You're the cleverest witch of your age I've ever met, Hermione." 

"I'm not. If I'd been a bit cleverer, I'd have told everyone what you are." 

"But they already know. At least the staff do." 

Ron was aghast. "Dumbledore hired you when he knew you were a werewolf? Is he mad?" 

"Ron!" Cody's voice was reproachful. 

Lupin said Dumbledore had had to convince some of the teachers that he was trustworthy. It was then that Harry burst out saying that Dumbledore had been wrong, that he'd been helping Sirius Black the whole time. 

Exasperated, Lupin stepped forward and handed everyone their wands. Cody took his and slipped it in his robes. "There. You're armed; we're not. Now will you listen?" 

Suspicious, Harry asked how Lupin had known where they were. He said he had used the Marauder's Map. 

"You know how to work it?" 

"Of course I know how to work it. I helped write it. I'm Moony - that was my friends' nickname for me at school." 

"You _wrote_ -" 

Lupin interrupted him, going on to explain. Cody, feeling tired, leaned against the wall. Lupin explained how he had been watching the map, had seen them visit Hagrid...and then leave. _With someone else with them_. Lupin had thought the map was malfunctioning. And then he saw Sirius Black collide with them, saw him drag two people to the Whomping Willow... 

"One of us!" Ron said angrily. 

"No. Two of you. Do you think I could have a look at the rat?" 

This question seemed to have taken everyone by surprise. "What?" said Ron. "What's Scabbers got to do with it?" 

Everything. Could I see him, please?" 

Reluctantly, Ron took the struggling rat from his pocket and held him up by the tail. Crookshanks spit. "What? What's my rat got to do with anything?" 

"That's not a rat," growled Sirius. 

"What do you mean, of course he's a rat!" 

"No he's not," said Lupin quietly. "He's a wizard." 

"An Animagus," said Black. "By the name of Peter Pettigrew." 

There was a ringing silence for a few moments. And then Ron looked at the pair. "You're both mental." 

"Peter Pettigrew's dead!" said Harry. "He killed him twelve years ago!" 

"I meant to," Black growled. "But little Peter got the better of me. Not this time, though!" He lunged for the rat, making Ron yell in pain as he landed on his injured leg. 

Lupin yelled, and wrenched Sirius back, growling that they had to explain, that Harry and the others had to understand. 

"We can explain afterwards!" 

"They've got the right to know everything! And Harry- you owe Harry the truth, Sirius!" 

This seemed to make an impression on Black. He stopped fighting, and told Lupin to hurry, then. He wanted to commit the murder he was imprisoned for. 

Ron heaved himself to his feet, declaring that he was leaving, but Lupin pointed his wand at the rat. "You're going to hear me out, Ron. Just keep a tight hold on Peter while you listen." 

"He's not Peter, he's Scabbers!" 

This sparked a whole big debate, Harry and Hermione arguing about how Scabbers couldn't be Pettigrew, how people saw him die. Lupin kept saying that it was. Hermione said that Peter couldn't be an Animagus, that the Ministry kept tabs on them. 

And finally...the story began. Lupin told them of the Shrieking Shack, and how Dumbledore had smuggled him there when he went to Hogwarts, while he turned into a werewolf. Lupin had gotten bitten at a very young age. He told them the Whomping Willow had been planted because Lupin had come to Hogwarts. That the passage had been used to get him to the shack. 

He told them of how he had met his three best friends at Hogwarts, James Potter, Peter Pettigrew, and Sirius Black. He told them, that when they found out he was a werewolf, became Animagi so that they could keep him company when he transformed. He told how they'd made the Marauder's Map, and signed it with their names. James was Prongs, Peter was Wormtail. Lupin was Moony, and Black was Padfoot. 

He told them how Snape had hated them, especially after they'd played a trick that nearly got Snape killed. At the moment, Cody thought it would have been easier on everyone had it succeeded. They'd told Snape about the corridor, telling him he could go after Lupin that way. He did... But he had only glimpsed Lupin for a few moments. James pulled him out before he met a full grown werewolf. Dumblodore forbade him to tell anyone, but Snape had hated Sirius since. 

"So that's why Snape hates you," said Harry slowly. "Because he thought you were in on the joke?" 

And then the voice that was the last voice anyone wanted to hear sounded from the corner of the room. "That's right," it said. Everyone looked, and saw Professor Snape, pulling off the invisibility cloak. His wand was pointed at Lupin. Cody gaped. 

"I found this cloak at the base of the Whomping Willow," said Snape. "Very useful, Potter. I thank you." Harry glared. 

Snape told them he'd gone to Lupin's office and caught sight of the Marauder's Map...and had seen Lupin heading here. And so he had followed. Snape was convinced that Lupin had been helping Black get inside the castle. 

Lupin was quite alarmed. "Severus, you're making a mistake, I can explain, you haven't heard everything! Sirius is not here to kill Harry!" 

Snape did not seem to be listening. "Two more for Azkaban tonight," he said. Cody's eyes widened. "I shall be interested in how Dumbledore takes this. He was quite convinced you were harmless, you know, Lupin. A _tame_ werewolf." 

"You fool...is a schoolboy grudge worth putting an innocent man back in Azkaban?" 

Snape didn't much like that comment. A sharp bang from his wand, and thin, strong cords wrapped themselves quickly around Lupin's wrists and ankles, and his mouth, too. Unable to balance, Lupin fell to the ground. 

Cody was startled by an almost feral roar of anger from Sirius, who started towards Snape. But Snape had his wand, and he aimed it right at Siruis' head. "Give me a reason," Snape whispered. "Give me a reason to do it, and I swear I will." 

Sirius stopped, and they both glared hatred at each other. Cody found that he was very intimidated by his Potions teacher that night. He could easily believe Snape capable of murder. 

Hermione spoke up then, asking if it wouldn't hurt to hear them out. But Snape was not in the mood to listen to reason. He turned on the four students. "Ms. Granger, you are already facing expulsion from this school. And you, DeDannan, I never would have thought a Slytherin to act as you have, and with a group of Gryffindors, no less." Cody felt himself flush deep red at the words, and he clenched his fists. "Draco was right, I believe. You are a traitor to Slytherin." 

Cody growled and started forward, and it was Harry's turn to grab _his_ robes and pull him back, sliding in the dust. 

"You four are out of bounds," Snape continued. "In the company of a werewolf and a convicted killer. So for once in your life, Ms. Granger, _hold your tongue._" When Hermione tried again, Snape lost his temper. "Keep quiet, you stupid girl! Don't talk about what you don't understand!" 

At that point, Snape told Black how sweet vengeance was, how he'd longed to be the one to catch him. Black surprised everyone by saying he would go quietly, so long as Ron brought his rat back to the castle. 

"Up to the castle?" said Snape. "I don't think we need to go that far. All I have to do is call the dementors once we get out of the Willow. They'll be very pleased to see you, Black. Pleased enough to give you a little kiss, I daresay." 

Cody gasped, and Black's face went white. And Snape would not listen to Black's attempts at defense. He began to drag Lupin's bound form, saying that the dementors might just have a kiss for him, too. Cody knew what he was taking about; the Dementor's Kiss... The kiss that sucked the living soul out of a person's body. That left them a living, breathing, soulless creature, much like the dementors themselves. He couldn't bear the thought of Lupin being handed over to them. 

Neither, apparently, could Harry. He strode to stand between Snape and the door. Cody ran to stand beside him. Snape already thought him a traitor, after all. Snape growled at them to get out of the way. Harry tried once to explain to Snape that Lupin was innocent, but when Snape did not listen, Harry lost it. He screamed at Snape, telling him how pathetic he was, that just because he made a fool of Snape at school, he wouldn't even listen! 

Snape was less than pleased. "I will not be spoken to like that! Like father like son, Potter! I have just saved your neck, you should be thanking me on bended knee!" Cody wondered if Snape really believed that. "You would have been well served if he'd killed you! You would have died like your father, too arrogant to believe you might be mistaken in Black!" Cody gasped. "Now get out of the way, or I will _make_ you. Get out of the way, Potter!" 

But Snape didn't get the chance. There was a cry of "Expelliarmus!" from three people in the room, and Snape's wand went flying. So, it turned out, did Snape. He hit the wall and slumped down, out cold. Cody very nearly cheered them, but Hermione was freaking out about attacking a teacher. 

"He was gonna give Lupin to the dementors! He's a good guy, he helps people, and he was gonna give them to them dementors!" Cody wished fervently he could express how horrible that deed would have been. 

Black untied Lupin, who stood and looked at Harry. "Thank you." 

"I'm still not saying I believe you." 

"Then it's time we offered you some proof. You, boy - give me Peter, please. Now." 

But Ron refused...he asked how Black knew how he had known Scabbers was the one he was after. And Lupin nodded, looking to Sirius. 

Black took a piece of paper from his robes; Cody recognized it. It was a picture of the Weasleys in Egypt from the Daily Prophet, and told them that Fudge had come by to inspect the prison. He had given Black the newspaper, and Black had recognized Peter right away. 

Lupin stared. "My God. His front paw..." 

"What about it?" said Ron. 

"He's got a toe missing," Black said. He went on to explain that Peter had cut off his finger before he transformed. Had yelled to the entire street how Black had betrayed the Potters. He blasted the street with his wand, killing all those Muggles, then transformed, escaping into the sewers. 

"Didn't you ever hear, Ron?" said Lupin. "The most they found of him was his finger." Cody shuddered. 

Ron said he had probably gotten into a fight with another rat, that he'd been in the family for years. Lupin asked him if he hadn't ever wondered how a rat could live that long, without being magical. Ron said they'd taken good care of him. 

"Not looking too good at the moment though, is he? I'd guess he's been losing weight ever since he heard Sirius was on the loose again." 

"He's been scared of that mad cat!" cried Ron. 

"This cat isn't mad," said Black. "He's the most intelligent of his kind I've ever met." 

Cody muttered that he owed the cat a kick in the butt end. 

"He recognized Peter for what he was right away. And when he met me, he knew I was no dog. It was a while before he trusted me. Finally I managed to communicate to him what I was after and he's been helping me." It had been Crookshanks who stole Neville's list of passwords, and Cody's desire to kick him increased. He'd gotten Neville into a lot of trouble! 

And then came the revelation. That Peter had betrayed the Potters, that Sirius had tracked him down. Harry did not believe him. He knew that Sirius had been the Potters' Secret Keeper. 

Sirius, for the first time, showed sorrow in his face as he spoke. "Harry, I as good as killed them. I persuaded Lily and James to change to Peter at the last moment, persuaded them to use him as Secret Keeper instead. I'm to blame, I know it. The night they died, I'd arranged to check on Peter, make sure he was still safe. But when I arrived at his hiding place, he'd gone. Yet there was no sign of a struggle, it didn't feel right. I was scared. I set out for your parents' house right away. And when I saw their house destroyed, and their bodies...I realized what Peter must have done. What I had done." 

"Enough of this," said Lupin firmly. "There's only one certain way to prove what really happened. Ron, give me that rat." 

"What're you going to do with him if I give him to you?" 

"Force him to show himself. If he really is a rat, it won't hurt him." 

Ron was hesitant, but he finally did hand Scabbers over. Scabbers, it turned out, wasn't crazy about being handed over to Lupin and began to fight worse than ever. Black took up Snape's wand and Lupin raised his, and on the count of three, bluish white light erupted from their wands. 

It was bizarre. Scabbers hit the floor, writhing, and then he began to grow. Soon, a man stood where Scabbers had fallen. Cody's eyes popped open wide, and his eyebrows rose up to his hair. "Whoa." 

Peter Pettigrew was a short, balding man who looked a little _like_ a rat, now that Cody got a good look at him. And when he spoke, he sounded a bit like one too. "S-Sirius...Remus..." Cody wondered what it was like to live as a rat for twelve years. 

Cody listened as Lupin and Black asked him questions, and as Peter tried to "prove" his innocence. Hermione brought up several questions, which were answered... Exhausted, Cody sat down on the bed and was quiet as the interrogations went on. It was becoming clearer and clearer that Peter was the guilty party. And that Sirius Black, James Potter's best friend, had been thrown into the horrible pit of Azkaban for twelve years, an innocent man. 

And finally everyone was convinced. Black rolled up his sleeves. "Shall we kill him together?" 

"Yes, I think so," said Lupin. 

Cody bit his lip as Peter groveled, appealing to all in turn to spare his life. How he had been a good pet to Ron (who was highly revolted), pleading for Hermione to help him. And then he crawled to Harry...telling him how he looked just like his father. 

Black lost his temper, then. "How dare you speak to Harry?" he roared. "How dare you face him? How dare you speak about James in front of him!" 

When Black and Lupin threw Pettigrew to the floor, confronted him with his crimes, he broke down in tears. Cody stared, astonished. He had never seen an adult bawl. And then...Peter confessed. 

Lupin and Black would have killed him then...would have killed him as he cowered on the floor, but Harry stopped them. Not because he didn't want Peter dead, but because he did not want his father's dearest friends to be killers on account of the miserable worm. 

Finally, the wands were lowered. "You're the only one who has the right to decide, Harry," said Black. "But think. Think what he did." 

"He can go to Azkaban," said Harry. "If anyone deserves that place, he does." 

Lupin and Black agreed. 

Peter was tied up, and Ron's leg splinted, so that he could walk. Once the leg had been set and braced, Ron found it didn't hurt nearly as much. Lupin went over to take a look at Snape, and decided not to wake him up. Cody agreed wholeheartedly. And so, with Peter bound, chained to Ron and Lupin, and with Snape floating magically after them, they left the Shrieking Shack. 

Cody was silent as they shuffled awkwardly along the tunnel. Last, as usual, he heard Harry and Sirius talking up ahead. And then, they were finally out, out into the fresh summer air, and the warmth of the night. Cody followed the bizarre procession towards Hogwarts Castle, and for just a moment, he thought that things were going to turn out okay. 

But then the clouds that drifted high above parted, revealing the bright light of the full moon. For a moment, Cody only enjoyed its light. But Hermione's cry of alarm brought his gaze a little closer to earth. "He didn't take his potion tonight, he's not safe!" Cody wondered for a moment how she knew that. 

Black yelled at them to run, that he'd get Ron out of the chains that bound Peter to him. Lupin snarled, and Cody watched in morbid fascination as the teacher's snout grew, lengthening. His eyes turned yellowish and feral. He grew taller, his shoulders hunching over, and he backed away, no longer in control of himself. Quickly, Black transformed into the dog and jumped on Lupin, and they began to battle. 

Peter, freed from his bindings, lunged for Lupin's wand, but Harry disarmed him. Unfortunately, Peter transformed. Cody dove after the rat, but was not quick enough, and Peter disappeared into the forest. 

Lupin, too, had run there, sprinting into the trees. "Now what?" Cody asked. 

"Sirius, he's gone, Pettigrew transformed!" Harry yelled, pointing. The injured Sirius growled, and ran off into the woods, also, leaving the four students and Snape. 

And Ron had been either stunned, or injured somehow. He lay in the grass, alive, dazed, but seemingly unaware. Harry said they'd better get them to the castle and tell someone, but a sharp whimper of pain from among the trees cut him off. "Sirius," Harry said, looking into the forest. "Cody, keep watch over Ron!" He tore into the forest, Hermione right behind. 

"Okay." Cody sat on the grass and watched them leave. He tried a few simple spells to revive Ron, but none of them worked, and so he only sat, waiting. 

He heard shouts, deep in the forest, but could not make out what was happening. But a moment later, he had his own problems to deal with. 

Snape had woken up. 

Cody stood and turned around at an angry snarl from Snape, who had wakened to find himself floating in midair. He grasped his wand, muttered two words, and landed on the ground. To his credit, he didn't yell at Cody just yet. Instead, he asked what was going on. "I-I dunno," said Cody. "Everyone went into the forest." 

Without a word, Snape sprinted into the trees. Sighing, Cody waited. He was already in trouble, he might as well. 

Ten minutes later, Snape was back, and floating ahead of him were Harry and Hermione, both on stretchers, and out cold. Snape conjured a third stretcher for Ron, and magiced him onto it. And then he turned to Cody. "Get in front of me, boy," he said. "Up to the castle. Now!" 

Scowling, Cody did as he was told, walking beside Ron's stretcher. 

"You'll be lucky not to be expelled, I hope you realize that," said Snape. "And my own house. I'm ashamed." 

Cody turned to glare. "Why?" 

"Why? You've betrayed your house, boy. Not to mention siding with a murderer. A man who killed innocent people." 

"I didn't betray anything," Cody hissed. "If you wanna talk about betraying, talk to Malfoy. It doesn't matter what house you're in, if you don't go along with what he says, he tries to get in you in trouble, and lies about you, and..." 

"Silence! I don't see Malfoy out here, in the middle of the night, helping werewolves." 

"Professor Lupin's a good guy. It's not his fault he's a werewolf." 

"Perhaps not. But he's still dangerous. And, in the company of the most wanted man in England." 

Cody looked Snape right in the eye. "I think they're innocent." 

"Then you're a fool. Walk." 

Fuming, Cody did. 


	21. Year 3, Chapter 10: Farewells

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 10: Farewells**

They all trudged up to the hospital wing, where Snape set the stretchers down on beds, and called for Madam Pomfrey. "What happened?" she asked. 

"There will be time for explanations later," said Snape. "For now, just tend them. And make sure this one-" he nodded to Cody - "stays here. I must find Cornelius Fudge." And with that, he left. 

Baffled, Madame Pomfrey looked at Cody. "Cody, what's happened tonight?" 

The boy sighed, and shook his head, climbing up onto one of the beds. "Lots of stuff...I-I think Harry an' Hermione met some dementors. And...an' Ron mighta been Stunned. An' his leg got broke." 

"Oh, dear." The healer sighed and went about tending them. She healed the claw marks from Crookshanks, and the cut on Cody's head, too, and the one on his back from the Whomping Willow. He thanked her. "You should lie down and rest," she said. 

"I'm not tired, I'll rest later, I promise." No amount of convincing got him to lie down, and so they only waited. 

There was silence for several minutes, and then Cody heard voices outside the door. Cornelius Fudge and Snape had returned and were talking. Snape was telling Fudge what Cody considered a highly biased and inaccurate account of the night's events. He scowled darkly, as Snape told Fudge they'd been hit with a Confundus Charm, which Cody assumed made you act weird. "We did NOT get hit by a Cer...fun...dis...whatever!" he yelled at the door. 

Through the window he saw Snape's head turn in his direction, and his eyes narrow, but he said nothing. Cody seethed. 

Harry woke up not long after, and opened his eyes. Cody saw him look at Hermione, who was also awake. He wondered how long they'd been lying down, pretending still to be asleep. Hermione put a finger to her lips, and Cody did not rat on them. He contented himself with glaring all kinds of daggers at Snape. 

When Madame Pomfrey came back, she was carrying a huge slab of chocolate. When she saw Harry's eyes were open, she began breaking up the chocolate with a little hammer she had brought from her office. "How's Ron?" asked Harry and Hermione. 

"He'll live. And as for you two, you'll be staying here until I'm satisfied you're - Potter, what do you think you're doing?" 

He had sat up, grabbed his glasses, and his wand. "I need to see the headmaster." 

"Potter, it's all right, they've got Black. He's locked away upstairs. The dementors will be performing the kiss any moment now." 

"WHAT?" 

Harry and Hermione jumped out of bed and Cody stood up on his. "They can't do that, he's a good-guy!" 

Just then, the door opened, and Fudge and Snape came in. Worried, Fudge told him that Harry should be in bed, and asked Madame Pomfrey if he had had any chocolate. But Harry interrupted, trying desperately to tell Fudge that Black was innocent. Fudge maintained that he had everything under control, and Harry argued, telling him they had the wrong man! 

"He didn't kill anyone!" Cody said. "He got framed!" 

"You see, Minister?" Snape said, as they tried to explain the story. "Confunded. Black's done a very good job on them." 

"We're not confunded!" Harry yelled, at which point Madame Pomfrey started trying to force him back into his bed. Angrily, Harry swallowed the chocolate she shoved into his mouth, and got out of bed once more. 

The door opened then, and Dumbledore walked in, and Madame Pomfrey tried to shoo him out. But he apologized, saying he had to speak to Hermione and Harry about Sirius Black. 

Snape sneered. "I suppose he's told you the same fairy tale he's planted into Potter's mind? Something about a rat, and Pettigrew being alive?" 

"That, indeed, is Black's story." 

"And does my evidence count for nothing?" Snape growled. "Peter Pettigrew was not in the Shrieking Shack, nor did I see any sign of him on the grounds." 

Snape wouldn't listen to the explanations, but it seemed that Dumbledore would. He asked everyone to leave, over the protests of Madame Pomfrey. She was nice enough, Cody figured, but jeez, they weren't _that_ fragile! 

After some brief protests, Snape followed the others out of the room. Once they had all gone, Cody, Hermione, and Harry burst into explanations of what had _really_ happened. But he interrupted them, and asked them to listen, and not interrupt. They did, eventually. At first it seemed as though all hope was lost, especially when Dumbledore said that Siruis had not acted like an innocent man. But Dumbledore believed them. 

"What we need," said Dumbledore, looking right at Hermione. "Is more time." 

"But-" Apparently, Hermione knew no more about this than anyone else did. But then her eyes got huge, and Cody could almost hear the click in her brain as things fell into place. "OH!" 

"Now pay attention," said Dumbledore, his words low and distinct. "Sirius is locked in Professor Flitwick's office, on the seventh floor. Thirteenth window from the right of the West Tower. If all goes well you will be able to save more than one innocent life tonight. But remember this: you must not be seen. Miss Granger, you know the law - you know what's at stake. You...must...not...be...seen." Cody felt a chill at his words. 

Dumbledore strode to the door, and told him that he was going to lock them in. "It is...five minutes to midnight. Miss Granger, three turns should do it. Good luck." 

Harry looked utterly baffled. "Good luck? Three turns? What's he talking about? What're we supposed to do?" 

But Hermione wasn't listening, she was taking something out of the front of her robes. "Harry come here, quick. Cody? I'm not sure if I can fit you in here. If you can't, you'll have to stay behind." 

Cody frowned, and came over to stand next to her. She was holding a tiny hourglass, on a gold chain around her neck. Cody looked at it dubiously. He thought fast for a few moments, but decided, in the end, to stay. He didn't want to get in the way, and if he messed up now, here, he'd mess things up but good. "It's okay," he said. "I'll stay here, tell me everything after, okay?" 

Hermione smiled distractedly and ruffled his hair. "Absolutely. Okay," she said to Harry. "Ready?" 

"What are we doing?" came the reply. But Hermione didn't answer just then. She threw the chain over Harry's head, twisted the little hourglass over three times...and they disappeared. 

Cody grinned climbed into bed. He looked nervously at Madame Pomfrey's office, but she did not emerge. He sighed, and lay down on the bed, getting a few moments' worth of rest. He suddenly felt exhausted. And boy, did he want a shower! 

It wasn't three minutes later when he heard voices in the hallway, and the door opened to reveal Harry, Hermione, and Dumbledore. Dumbledore caught Cody's eye and smiled, before leaving them once more. Cody gave Harry and Hermione an expectant look and Harry grinned widely. Cody giggled, and gave an ecstatic thumbs-up. 

Madame Pomfrey was in a less-than-chipper mood. She stormed out of her office, asking if she was allowed to look after her patients, now. She gave them all chocolate, and Harry and Hermione ate theirs quietly. Cody frowned a bit. "But I didn't fight dementors," he said. 

"I don't care, eat it anyway!" 

Whoops, Cody thought. Definitely not a time to cross her! And anyway, wasn't it silly to refuse chocolate? He took a large piece and was still working on it when a faint cry of fury was heard above. Cody hid his grin behind his melting chocolate. A barrage of angry voices made its way toward the hospital wing, and Madame Pomfrey became quite agitated. Feeling completely happy, Cody simply sat, ate his chocolate, and listened. 

He heard Fudge say something about Disapparating, and then Snape screaming nearly at the top of his lungs that he did not Apparate, that people could not Apparate or Disapparate from Hogwarts. That it had something to do with Potter... 

Cody looked up in mild surprise as Snape, Dumbledore, and Fudge busted into the hospital wing. He finished his chocolate, and took the second piece that Madame Pomfrey shoved into his hands. 

"OUT WITH IT, POTTER!" Snape screamed. Cody noticed that Dumbledore looked highly amused, and he and Cody exchanged a knowing grin. "WHAT DID YOU DO?" 

Madame Pomfrey shrieked at him. "Professor Snape! Control yourself!" 

All in all, the hospital wing was not a very quiet place. 

Fudge was taken aback by Snape's fury. "See here Snape, be reasonable. This door's been locked, we just saw-" 

"They helped him escape, I know it!" Snarled Snape, looking quite crazed. 

Fudge was staring at the angry (or was it mad?) Professor in astonishment. "Calm down, man! You're talking nonsense!" 

"You don't know Potter!" shrieked Snape. "He did it, I know he did it!" 

Cody looked at Snape with a feigned look of worry, and looked at Cornelius Fudge. "Maybe he got hit with a Confuders...Charm...maybe Madame Pomfrey should look at him?" He looked innocently up as Snape turned an evil glare his way. Cody thought he might have seen some steam coming out of his ears. He heard a muffled snort of laughter from Hermione's direction. 

"That will do, Severus," Dumbledore said finally. "Think about what you are saying. This door has been locked since I left the wing. Madame Pomfrey, have these students left their beds?" 

"Of course not! I would have heard them!" 

"Well, there you have it, Severus," said Dumbledore calmly. "Unless you are suggesting that Harry and Hermione are able to be in two places at once, I'm afraid I don't see any point in troubling them further." 

Snape glared at the lot, seething, his gaze going from one person to the other. Cody pretended to be highly interested in his chocolate. Finally, the Slytherin teacher turned on his heel and stormed out. 

Fudge seemed concerned that Snape was mentally unbalanced. Dumbledore said Snape had simply suffered a severe disappointment. 

"He's not the only one!" said Fudge. "The Daily Prophet's going to have a field day! We had Black cornered and he slipped through our fingers yet again! All it needs now is for the story of that hippogriff''s escape to get out, and I'll be a laughingstock!" Cody snorted, and went, luckily, unheard. Too late, he thought. "Well, I'd better go notify the Ministry." 

"And the dementors?" Dumbledore asked. "They'll be removed from the school, I trust?" 

"Oh yes, they'll have to go. Never dreamed they'd attempt to administer the kiss on an innocent boy." Cody's eyes widened, realizing that he was talking about Harry. You shouldn't have Dark magic creatures around then, you big jerk! Cody thought. Fudge said he would pack them up and send them back to the prison. "Perhaps we should think about dragons at the school entrance." 

Cody giggled. "Hagrid would like that," said Dumbledore as the two men left. Boy, would he! 

Once they were gone, there was a groan from Ron's bed. He sat up, rubbing his head, and looking disconcerted. "What - what happened? Harry? Why are we in here? Where's Sirius? Where's Lupin? What's going on?" 

Harry and Hermione looked at each other. "You explain," said Harry. 

And so she did. She went through what had happened after Ron had been knocked out, and told the entire story about going back in time, saving Buckbeak without making Hagrid take the blame. She told about Harry's Patronus, and how they'd flown up to get Sirius out of the office. 

Cody told them what happened with Snape, and how convinced he was that Sirius and Lupin were guilty. Cody sighed. "I dunno if he _really_ thinks that or if he just hates him that much. I mean how could you hate someone that much that you'd do something so awful to them like that when they were innocent? I mean...I...definitely know how he coulda been a -" He broke off. He had been very close to saying "A Death Eater", but did not. Instead he finished with, "a Slytherin." He scowled down at his green and silver tie (still just tied in a knot), loosened it, and threw it on the floor. 

"Easy, mate," said Ron. "You said it yourself, it's not all Slytherins." 

"Yeah. Still. Snape's still a git." 

Ron had to grin, and nod. "Yeah, he sure is." 

--- 

Cody spent much of the next day visiting with Hagrid. Hagrid told him all about Buckbeak's escape, and Cody had cheered. "I bet ol' Malfoy's all mad, too!" said Cody gleefully. 

"I don't care if he is or not," said Hagrid. "I'm just glad 'e got out. An' I didn' get in trouble fer it." 

"I'm glad too!" said Cody. He stood, and then stretched. "I'm gonna go splash in the lake, okay?" 

It was a sure sign that Hagrid was feeling elated. He didn't even try to convince Cody that it wasn't such a hot idea. Or maybe the students were allowed to swim in the lake. Grinning, Cody exited the cabin, and went to do just that. It was a glorious, hot, summer day for once, and Cody fully intended to take advantage of it! 

He splashed into the water, dogpaddling around the lake until he was in deep enough that he could not reach the bottom. That was okay though, for now he was able to stay afloat. 

Cody was badly startled when something come up underneath him and pushed up against his stomach and chest, lifting him out of the water. He let out a yell of alarm as whatever it was hoisted him high in the air, and then let him drop into the water. He came up sputtering, looking wildly around for who or what had just tossed him. "Hey!" he said with a scowl. The problem was, no one was in the lake with him. 

When he felt it again, his eyes widened, and he held on tight, looking down to see what it was; he caught sight of a pinkish tentacle as it disappeared back into the lake, letting Cody fall once more. The squid! The giant squid, it had to be! When he came up once more, Cody stared down into the water in shock, wondering if he should be afraid or not. He knew there was a giant squid in the lake, but was he friendly to students? He had heard nothing about any attacks on the students, and hadn't he heard the Weasley twins talking about tickling its tentacles once? 

More curious now than alarmed, Cody looked into the waters, trying to catch a glimpse of the squid, and laughed as a tentacle came up once more to lift him up. Once he realized what was going on, it was fun! He yelled as he landed back in the water a third time, giggling as he came up. He would have to come out here more often. Surely squids did not get a whole lot of visitors! 

Cody might have gone on playing in the lake with the squid all day, if not for the fact that he caught sight of Professor Lupin heading towards the gate, carrying his suitcase. Cody blinked, scrambling out of the lake, and then sprinted over to him. "Professor! You're leaving?"   
Looking down in surprise, the professor looked down and smiled. "I was looking for you, child. Thought I'd have to leave without saying goodbye." 

"But-but...you're leaving!" 

"I'm afraid so." 

"Wh-why?" 

"Well, Professor Snape - weren't you there? He told the whole of Slytherin house about me being a werewolf." 

Cody's mouth dropped open. "N-no, I was in hospital." 

"Well, he did tell them. Parents won't want me teaching their kids, knowing I'm a werewolf, I'm afraid. And I'd just as soon avoid any unpleasantness. The way people think on werewolves, things could get bad." 

Cody bit his lip, fighting tears, and put his arms around Lupin's waist, as if to hold him there. "I don't want you to go, though!" His voice was muffled by Lupin's ragged robes. 

The man sighed, put down his luggage, and picked Cody up, soaking wet or not. "I have to, Cody. Even Dumbledore won't really be able to keep me here once word gets out." 

"But-but I won't see you again!" 

"Of course you will, it's not like I'm leaving the earth, you know." He chuckled, and gave Cody a quick hug, then set him down on the ground. "I'll keep in touch, I promise, and you do the same, okay? I want to hear that you've gotten straight passing grades in Defense Against the Dark Arts." 

Cody sniffed, and wiped his eyes, and only managed to nod. And then, after ruffling the boy's hair, Lupin was gone through the gates. Cody watched him for several moments, then turned around and headed inside. 

Cody commiserated with the rest of the Defense Against the Dark Arts class about Lupin. It wasn't just that he was an awesome teacher. He was, but it was more than that. Cody liked him, a great deal - and he missed him. He spent most of the end of term in a mild blue funk. Harry let him fly his Firebolt one morning, which cheered him up a bit. (He nearly crashed it twice, so fast was it, and he could barely control it in the air). He decided he liked his Nimbus far better! He also gave Crookshanks good kick in the hindquarters, something that got Hermione angry at him, but made Cody feel a whole lot better! After that, he could make peace with the blasted animal. Mostly. 

When the exam results came in, Cody found he had passed everything, though in Herbology and Potions, the marks were so low that had he done any worse, he would have failed them. He found Neville and thanked him for his help with Herbology, knowing that had it not been for his assistance Cody probably would have failed it. 

At the train station the next day, Cody stood with Harry, Hermione, and Ron. His neon green trunk and Merlin's cage sat next to him, his broom was clutched in his hand. He heard Hermione tell the others she was turning in the Time Turner. Ron got on her case for not having told him and Harry, and Hermione said she's promised not to. 

When Cody came out of his own thoughts, Ron was telling Harry that he would call him over the holidays. He stifled a snicker when he claimed to know how to use a "fellytone". 

"A _telephone_, Ron," said Hermione. "Honestly, _you_ should take Muggle Studies next year!" Cody wondered what it would be like to have been raised in such an atmosphere of magic that he didn't know about normal Muggle stuff. 

"It's the Quidditch World Cup this summer!" said Ron. "How about it, Harry? Come and stay, and we'll go and see it! Dad can usually get tickets from work!" 

A slow smile spread over Harry's face. "Yeah...I bet the Dursleys'd be pleased to let me come. Especially after what I did to Aunt Marge." 

Ron ruffled Cody's hair as the Hogwarts Express arrived in a cloud of steam and a din of noise. "I can ask Dad if you can come too, Cody, if you want." 

Cody's eyes got very big as he looked up at Ron. "No way!" he cried. "Really?" 

Ron grinned. "Really. I mean we're gonna have nine of us, plus Harry and Hermione, might as well. How old are you?" 

"Eight," said Cody. "Er, nine, I mean." It was easy to forget about birthdays when you were at Hogwarts! 

"Great! That means that you'd be half price, anyway. Dad should be able to get your ticket for free." 

Cody laughed delightedly and hugged Ron around the waist. "That'd be awesome! Thanks!" He was grinning as he boarded the train. 

He told the others he was gonna spent the trip with Kathy Skinner and Kyle Tiller, as it would likely be the last time he saw them. Ron said he'd write to Cody about the World Cup, and Cody promised he would write to everyone over the summer. 

And then he sought out his friends. 

Turned out that Kathy and Kyle were sharing the same compartment, and welcomed Cody to come in and sit down. They were alone, which got Cody thinking they might have been getting mushy. It was a lucky thing Cody had been there to stop them! "Hey, kid," said Kathy. "Interesting year, huh?" 

Cody nodded. "Yeah! It was fun." 

"You like Runes, then?" 

"Yeah! There's all kinds of creepy magic, and earth magic, and all that ancient stuff. It's cool, I like it." 

"I took that my third year," said Kyle. "I dropped it after fifth year though, after I made a mistake during exams." 

"What happened?" Kathy asked, interested. 

Kyle's dark face tinged a deep red, and he chuckled. "Well I was supposed to be conjuring a handful of flame. But I switched the number runes around a little, and ended up setting the whole room on fire." 

Cody gaped, as Kathy threw her head back and laughed. "Oh, wow," she said. "And I thought my mistakes during class were horrible." 

Kyle grinned sheepishly as Cody also giggled. "Yeah, tell me about it. I could never remember all the glyphs and stuff, so I quit." 

"Do me a favor, and don't take a job that involves runes." 

"Don't worry. I won't." 

"So, Cody," said Kathy. "What are you gonna do this summer?" 

"Well, Ron Weasley said he's gonna ask his dad if I can go to the Quidditch World Cup!" 

"Wow, that should be fun!" said Kyle. 

"Yeah! I never saw a real one before, you know, not at school." 

Kathy nodded. "I've been to a few professional games. We're gonna try and make the Cup also. I might see you there!" 

Cody grinned. "I hope so!" He looked at the older students and his smile faded. He remembered again about how sad it was when the year ended, and he had to say goodbye to people. Especially older students, because they left school earlier. "I'm gonna miss you guys..."he said gloomily. 

"Hey," said Kathy, pulling Cody up next to her and slinging an arm around his shoulders. "I'll miss you too, twerp. But we'll see each other again. The only goodbye that's forever is death." 

"And maybe not even that," said Kyle. 

"And besides, I'll expect owls from you." 

Cody smiled, cheered a bit. "I will, I promise, but you guys have to, too." 

"It's a deal." 

Cody spent the rest of the trip playing Gobstones and Exploding Snap with the two seventh-years. Three-fourths or so through the trip, Cody sought out Flint to say goodbye to him, as well, as he didn't think that even Flint would fail his N.E.W.T.s _twice_. 

And then, the train stopped at King's Cross. He caught a glimpse of Ron and Harry saying goodbye to each other, and of Harry's horrible uncle and aunt. And then he was off to catch the Knight Bus. He was happy to be going home. 

But he also could not wait until next year. 


	22. Year 4, Chapter 1: Visiting the Weasleys

**HIDDEN HERITAGE**

--- 

_Author's Note: This adventure is loosely based on a plotline that was run in a roleplaying game that I play; White Wolf Changeling. My character in that genre is a seven-year old boy named Cody DeDannan, who had an adventure in a realm that is based on what people dream. In this realm, he found Hogwarts Castle, and was able to go through the first two years of it, along with the students from the Harry Potter stories. (We haven't gotten to the other years, yet!) And so, that inspired me to write this._

_This story contains the HP stories seen through Cody's eyes. Please realize that as this takes place in the same time frame as Harry's years at Hogwarts, this fanfic involves a great deal of direct quoting in order to show things through the main character's eyes. Any descriptions, I have put into my own words, but a great deal of the dialogue is quoted._

_Furthermore, that which I have directly quoted, I lay no claim to whatsoever, and the same goes for any characters that are taken from the books. My original creations (that is, my character concepts, which I use in other capacities), however, I do claim. No one may use them without my permission._

**And so I come to my plea: Ms. Rowling (and those associated with her), please don't sue me! I claim nothing that came from you, whether it be a scene, a character, a place, or a story. I have written this fanfiction because, frankly, it's what I always wished would happen. (Yes, I am a 28 year old adult.) I have written this fanfiction because I love your world and want to be a part of it, and so I made my character in order to enjoy it. : ) I certainly make no money with this, only the enjoyment of sharing my imagination with others.**

**Oh, and to all you who might live in the U.K.: In trying to keep the whole setting accurate, I have done a lot of research online, as well as asking my dad (who is from England) and my friend (who lived in England for a year) about things like slang, terms, weather, and the like. So if I screw something up, please don't lynch me! :grin: Though if anyone does spot that kind of mistake, feel free to let me know!**

_Note: The first two years are not my best...but come third year I started getting a little more comfortable with my main character; I get to know him a little better and things start to flow a bit more. The first two years are still good; I just think the later ones are better! And don't worry, I don't make any ridiculous changes in the storyline!_

_And so, with that, I invite you to enjoy this story!_

**YEAR FOUR**

**Chapter 1: Visiting the Weasleys**

Mom had been alarmed at the events of the year, but since Cody had obviously gotten through it with little injury, she was not as alarmed as she could have been. Cody told the exciting parts to his sister, who said she wished she could go, too. He told them about Sirius Black and what a jerk Snape was. He told her about Professor Lupin and how cool he was. 

Cody got a lot of owls that summer from the friends he had made at Hogwarts. Professor Lupin wrote him first, which made him happy. He asked how Cody's summer was going, and if he was doing his holiday homework. "He would ask that!" Cody said indignantly, but he was smiling. He wrote back that he had not done his work yet, but intended to, and that his summer was going nice and _hot_, and that he was trying to find a way to bring the nice hot weather to England when he came next term. Lupin wrote back, highly amused, and said if he figured out how to do it, to tell him! 

He wrote Flint, asking how his tryouts had gone, and asked which team he had tried to get onto. Flint replied that he had tried for the Wasps and the Cannons both, but had not been accepted for either. "But I'm not finished trying," he wrote. "If a skinny runt like you can persevere until he makes it, then so can I." Cody felt highly insulted, but he still had not been able to keep from laughing. That was Flint, all right! And he did feel flattered that he had inspired the older boy to keep trying. He wrote back and said he hoped he made the team, whatever one it was. Then he went and looked up the word "persevere." 

Harry and Hermione both wrote, though Hermione's letter was all about what she had learned so far over vacation. Didn't that girl ever do anything fun? Harry wrote about what a lousy summer he was having, and that the Dursleys were on some strict diet because Dudley was too fat. Poor Harry, the Dursleys really were horrible! He had sent a reply of sympathy, and some beef jerky. Harry had been surprised, but sent back a letter of thanks. 

Kyle Tiller and Kathy Skinner both wrote and said that they were enjoying the summer holidays before they had to actually go out and find a job. Kyle's letter had been okay, but Kathy's was full of how she and Kyle were dating, and kissing, and being mushy, and Cody was sure she had done it on purpose! He sent back a letter full of indignation. 

He got a package from Neville, which he was very surprised at. When he opened it, he found that it was a child's book of plants. He read the letter, and found that Neville had found the book in his attic, and remembered reading it when he was a little boy. It was a book for a child perhaps a bit smaller than Cody, but it had a lot of neat pictures, and its information was presented in a way that kept the reader's attention. 

_This book got me interested in magical plants," said Neville. "And it's written in a way that's easy to remember. It's got loads of different plants in it, and I don't need it any more, so I figured I'd give it to you. It might help with Herbology next year._

_ -Neville_

Cody was very touched by this, and showed the book to his mother and Samantha. And then he wrote Neville and thanked him about a dozen times for the book and the thought. It was nice to be thought of. 

Ron's letter came three weeks before the start of term, by one of the smaller owls from the local post office. The owl sat on the windowsill, looking bored, while Cody sounded out the words. Ron's was not the easiest handwriting to read. 

_Cody - Dad got the tickets! And he said that I could invite you to come, and I was right, he got yours for free. Ask your mum if it's okay and send the answer back really soon, you can take the Knight Bus to our house. You can come Sunday afternoon. Oh, and Percy started work this summer at the Ministry, and he's more intolerable than ever._

_ -Ron_

Cody giggled, and went downstairs to ask his mom if he could go, and to ask her what "intolerable" meant. He had a suspicion, but he wanted to be sure. 

"It someone's intolerable, you can't stand him," she said, and Cody giggled even harder. "Why?" 

"Well, Ron says Percy's that." 

Mom smirked a bit, and nodded. "I see." 

"Okay, Ron's dad got tickets for the World Cup. The Quidditch one, and he said that I can come stay with them and see the World Cup! Can I go? Please?" 

Mom looked a bit surprised, but when Cody showed her the letter, she smiled. "I suppose so," she finally said softly. "Although that's just two more weeks I'll miss you for." 

Cody but his lip. "Do you really want me to stay home?" 

Mom laughed and hugged him. "No, Cody, I want you to go and have fun. It's not every day such an opportunity presents itself. Are you going to get your school things beforehand, then?" 

Cody nodded. "Yeah, I got the school letter today just before I got Ron's. I can get my stuff in Diagon Alley, maybe tomorrow." 

Mom nodded. "Okay, just be careful, all right?" 

Cody grinned. "I will; thanks, Mom!" He squeezed her middle hard enough to make her huff, then tore back upstairs with Ron's letter. 

The owl was still on his windowsill, giving him a look of annoyance for having taken so long. Cody ignored it, and took out some parchment and his quill and ink. "Ron," he wrote. "I can go! Mom said it's okay! I'm gonna get my stuff in Diagon Alley tomorrow then go there on Sunday. Thanks for inviting me and say thanks to your dad for me, will you?" He rolled up the paper and tied it to the owl's leg, then sent it on its way. Then he jumped up and down in excitement for a few moments. Merlin, his bat, was looking at him as if he were crazy. 

Cody looked over his list of books; nothing he wouldn't have expected. He needed some ink (he intended to get some nice green and blue inks instead of just boring black, this year,) and some potions ingredients. He had grown very little and so his school robes were only a bit short, but he saw that he needed dress robes! 

Feeling annoyed about this, Cody went to bed grumbling about stupid dress clothing. 

Cody really was allowed far more freedom and independence than most people his age, though Cody never really realized it then. What other children would be allowed to go alone to a different country, and be responsible for himself the entire time? Diagon Alley was fairly safe, but still - there was Knockturn Alley as well. 

The next day, after the exciting journey to Diagon Alley, Cody walked into Madame Malkin's robe shop and asked her where her dress robes were. 

"Oh, that's right, you'll need those this year, won't you?" she asked. "Well now, I'm sure I've got some absolutely darling ones for a boy your age. Come on, let's go take a look." 

Looking disgusted, Cody nonetheless followed her. There were several racks of robes, but most of them were for adults. Cody always had to get his things from the children's section, being the youngest boy in the school. And he was small for his size, to boot. At least he wasn't skinny, too! 

Madame Malkin picked out a small, black robe that had flowers embroidered on the hems, and held it out. "How about this one?" she asked. 

Cody made a horrid face. "That's a girl's robe!" 

"It certainly is not, this is for a little boy." 

Cody shook his head. "No thanks, I don't want one with flowers on it. I'm gonna be a fourth-year!" 

"Hmm. Well then, how about this one?" This time she held up a bright red robe with blue piping that looked like it was designed for a very young child. 

Needless to say, Cody wasn't thrilled about this, either. Madame Malkin went through three more, all either too feminine or young-looking for Cody's tastes. He spotted one that was a sort of light blue, but not the bright, pastel blue that you saw on baby's clothing. It was almost a cadet blue, with braiding along the hems and down the sides of a darker blue. It reminded him a bit of Lion-O's costume. "I like this one," he said, pointing it out. "Will it fit me?" 

"Well, let's see," said Madame Malkin, looking slightly disappointed. She took it off the rack and looked it over. "Not this one, but I believe I have one in your size. You sure you don't like this pale yellow one, eh? It's very cute." 

"I'm sure," said Cody. Didn't she know that "cute" was the last thing he wanted to be? She sighed, and went into the back for a moment. 

There was one, indeed, that fit him, and he grinned as he put it on. Perfect! It was kind of like a cross between Lion-O and Claudus' clothing. "I'll take this one!" he said happily. 

That being the last of his purchases, he took the Knight Bus home. 

Of course Mom made him show off his robe to her, and try it on, and she said it was very handsome. At least she hadn't said cute! And then, all Cody had to do was wait until Sunday...and that proved being one of the hardest things he had done all summer. 

Saturday, Cody played all day in the nice, hot sun, then that evening, came in to eat supper and pack his things. His books and other school supplies went into his trunk, as well as his toy Sword of Omens and the books he was bringing this year to read. His Lion-O action figure went in, as well as the book Neville had gotten him. A duffel held his clothing and his toiletries. He didn't think he would be able to sleep, but he finally did, having tired himself out with the day's activities. 

The next day, Cody's mother saw him outside where the Knight Bus arrived with a BANG. Mom looked sick just looking at it. He hugged his mom tightly, then put his arms around Samantha and lifted her off the ground to hug her also. Then he boarded, trying to shake off the nagging feeling of homesickness he always felt on leaving for the school. 

--- 

Cody dozed off during the trip, but became wide awake when Stan called out "The Burrow! All off for The Burrow! That's you, half-pint," he added, earning himself a dirty look from Cody. 

"I know that," said the boy, dragging his heavy trunk, Merlin's cage and his bag. "And I am not a half-pint." 

"Whatever y'say, kid." Stan smirked as Cody disembarked. Cody scowled at him as the Bus moved off. That Stan Shunpike was a pain. 

It was afternoon in England, and Mr. And Mrs. Weasley were outside, along with Ron and the twins. Cody grinned, feeling a little shy, and waved. "Good to see you, Cody," said Mr. Weasley warmly. He was always nice, Cody thought. He liked that best about him. 

"Thanks," he said, unable to wipe the grin off his face. 

"Need some help with your luggage?" 

The child nodded. "Yes, please, it's _really_ heavy!" 

Fred smirked, as he and George moved forward the take Cody's trunk. "Aw, that's only to someone who's got no muscle," he said. Cody snorted, and stuck out his tongue. 

"C'mon, Cody," said Ron, taking Cody's bag so all he had to carry was Merlin's cage. "Hermione's already here, and Harry's gonna be here tonight." 

"Cool!" Cody looked up at Ron's dad and smiled more shyly than was normal. "Thanks for inviting me, this is gonna be great!" 

"You're welcome, Cody. It really is a once in a lifetime experience. Ron tells me you've been playing on your house team." 

At this, Cody's eyes lit up. "Yeah! I finally got in, as Beater, I love it! Quidditch is great!" 

"At least we agree on something," George said as they reached the house. Cody giggled, and shook his head. 

"Well, I'm not sure where we're going to put you, Cody, we've got quite the full house. Charlie and Bill are in the twins' room, and the twins and Harry'll be sleeping in Ron's. I suppose we could maybe squeeze a camp bed in there, but it'd leave no floor space at all. You can sleep in the attic if you like, or on the couch in the living room." 

"Er, didn't Ron say a ghoul lives in the attic?" 

Mrs. Wesley chuckled. "We do have an old ghoul in the attic, but he's harmless. Noisy, but harmless. It's rather dusty up there, though, I'm not sure if that'd be good for you." 

Cody shrugged agreeably. "I can sleep on the couch," he said, staring in fascination at the Wesley's house. He spied a clock against one wall that showed the locations of the entire Wesley family, and smiled delightedly. "Wow, you've got a cool house!" 

"Thank you," said Mr. Weasley. "Okay then, couch it is. Fred, George, go ahead and put the trunk down between the couch and the chair. Well, I expect you'll be wanting to see the house; I'll let Ron give you the tour." He patted Cody's shoulder as he and his wife headed for the door. "We'll be having supper soon after Harry gets here." 

"Okay, thanks!" 

Ron set Cody's bag down for him, and Cody thanked him, too. He was glad the Weasley's were so nice; those bags were getting heavy! "Well, come on, kid," said Ron. "It's not much, really, but it's better than nothing." 

Cody shrugged, a grin on his face. "Looks good to me! I like it. It's non-boring." 

"'Non-boring'?" 

"Yes. Non-boring." 

Ron only shook his head as the two boys headed out of the room. 

There was not much to the first level, only the smallish kitchen, and the little living room where Cody would be staying. There was a tiny bathroom and a staircase at one end. The next floor held a couple of bedrooms and another staircase. The next floor had a den and another small bathroom, and yet another staircase. The house was extremely small in square area, but it had a whole lot of floors! Ron's room was on the fifth floor, underneath the attic, and Ron showed Cody those, as well. Ron's room did look very cramped with four beds crammed into it. The roof sloped as if it were falling, though it seemed quite sturdy. And he knew Harry would be staying in there as well. Cramped, indeed! He was glad he was sleeping on the couch. "Neat posters!" He made a face at the tiny owl who was hooting as he zoomed around the room. 

"Thanks. The Cannons are my favorite team...you know much about the National teams?" 

Cody shook his head. "Just a little bit. I've got a book that's got some pictures and some typing about all of them, but that's all I know. Is one of them going to be at the championship?" 

Ron made a face that almost made Cody giggle, as he flopped on his bed. "No," he said, as Cody also sat. "They got defeated pretty soundly. But Ireland's gonna be there, at least. At least Great Britain got in there in some form. They're playing Bulgaria." 

"How come it's here if England's not gonna play?" 

"Well, it doesn't really matter so much what teams are playing. They pick the pitches that can best accommodate the game and the spectators." At Cody's bewildered blink, he explained the long words. "And it's a really cool pitch we're going to. It's got loads and loads of seats for the crowds, but we'll be sitting in the best ones - the Top Box! That'll be the best view in the whole place!" 

Ron's excitement was contagious, and Cody grinned, too. "Awesome! I can't wait!" 

They spent a little while more talking Quidditch; Ron told Cody who was playing for the teams, especially the Beaters, in whom Cody was most interested. He told Cody of Victor Krum, and the Ireland players. He watched Ron get annoyed with the tiny owl and finally give him an Owl Treat almost as big as he was to shut him up for a while. "That's Pigwidgeon," he said, rolling his eyes. "Sirius Black gave him to me, sent a letter while we were on the train last summer." 

Cody stifled a giggle, trying not to make Ron look more annoyed than he already did. "Pigwidgeon?" 

Ron snorted. "Yeah. Ginny named him." 

"Why don't you just name him something else?" 

"'Cause the little git won't answer to anything else! So now I'm stuck with the name. I call him Pig." 

After taking a moment more to keep his face straight, Cody nodded. "Well at least he's cute." 

Again, Ron snorted, but said nothing. 

A bit later, Cody and Ron went back downstairs to see that Hermione was in the kitchen, helping Mrs. Weasley with some early food preparations. "Hi!" Cody said. 

Hermione turned. "Oh, hi, Cody. Did you have a good holiday?" 

Cody nodded his head. "Yep! I played in the nice hot weather, and went to Diagon Alley an' got my stuff, did you guys get dress robes?" He made a face. "I wonder what they're for." 

Ron shrugged. "I dunno, but none of us've gotten our stuff yet, we probably will after the game." 

"If there's time," said Mrs. Weasley. "Your father's getting ready to connect the fireplace if you want to go with him to get Harry. Cody, have you ever used Floo powder before?" 

Cody winced and shook his head. 

"Hmm. In that case, dear, you might want to just stand back and watch this time around. Floo powder can be rather confusing." 

Cody nodded. "Okay. I can try it later, maybe, or a different day." Cody looked up at Ron. "Where's your big brothers?" 

"Charlie and Bill went to get some food for today's supper," Mrs. Weasley answered. "They should be back very soo-" 

As the woman spoke, the door to the kitchen opened from outside, and two red-haired people walked in carrying bags of food. They weren't really boys, as they were old enough to be men. One was short and stocky, with a very tanned face; and the other was fairly tall and willowy, with very long red hair that was pulled back into a ponytail. An earring with a fang on it was in his ear. "Wow, neat fang!" Cody said with a grin. He heard a sort of sigh from Mrs. Weasley's direction, and a snicker from Ron. 

Charlie and Bill (Cody wasn't sure which was which yet) both looked at Cody, and the fang's owner grinned back. "Thanks, kid," he said. "And who're you?" 

"This is Cody," Ron said. "Remember? He's the kid I was telling you about. Cody, that's my brother Bill, and the short, runty one is Charlie." 

Charlie snorted, and shook his head, but it was true; Ron was nearly as tall as he, and Charlie was fully grown. He winked at Cody. "Hope you don't let Ron talk to _you_ like that." 

Cody shook his head. "Nah. Fred an' George sure do, though!" 

Both older brothers laughed at this, and Bill shook his head. "Yeah, well, that's our Fred and George," he said. He leaned confidentially towards Cody's ear and whispered loudly, "Just learn a few good hexes, that'll make 'em think." 

Cody giggled as Mrs. Weasley turned around with her hands on her hips. "Really, Bill, giving the child such ideas. Now come on and put this food away, your father's about to leave to get Harry." 

"I'll be in Ginny's room," said Hermione, smiling at Mrs. Weasley. 

Ron and Cody left the brothers to their food, and met Mr. Weasley and the twins in the living room, by the fireplace. "All right, then," said Mr. Weasley, rubbing his hands together. "Ron, are you coming along? Cody?" 

Ron nodded, but Cody shook his head. "I never did it before," he explained. "Mrs. Weasley said I should watch this time." 

"That's okay," came a voice from the table. Charlie and Bill had sat down. "We're not going, either." 

Mr. Weasley nodded. "A wise idea. All right then, Ron, I'll be going first, then Fred and George, then you last, all right? All right then." Mr. Weasley walked up to the fireplace and took a bit of the strange glittery powder out of the flowerpot next to the fireplace and tossed it into the fire. And as Cody watched, amazed, he walked right into the flames. "Four Privet Drive, Little Whingig!" he called aloud, and he whirled out of sight. 

"Wow!" exclaimed Cody. Now he knew how Harry had felt when he visited the Weasleys for the first time. Being in a regular magic household was actually quite different than being at Hogwarts. He watched Fred and then George go, and finally Ron. Now that had been interesting. They'd whirled, like the floor below them was spinning, and then just sort of vanished. 

Grinning, he sat on the couch and waited for them to return. 


	23. Year 4, Chapter 2: At the Crack of Dawn

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 2: At the Crack of Dawn**

The boy waited for ten minutes or so, changing position about six times, and standing up once to walk around in a circle. Waiting was not one of his strong points. But finally, one of the twins whooshed back into the fireplace with Harry's trunk, both of them covered in ash. Cody raised his eyebrows at the rather sinister grin that was plastered all over his face, and when the other twin emerged, his expression was exactly the same. "What'd you do?" he asked. 

"You'll see," said Fred, his grin widening; a feat Cody would have thought impossible a moment before. 

Cody was slightly alarmed at this, knowing the twins, and took three big steps backwards as Ron came whirling out of the fireplace. Cody caught Ron's eye, and Ron shrugged. He had obviously noted his brothers' expressions, but had no clue as to what it was all about. 

They found out a few minutes later, when Harry Potter came through the fireplace as well, sprawling on the floor. Fred bounded forward to help him up. "Did he eat it?" he asked eagerly. 

"Yeah," said Harry. "What _was_ it?" 

Fred looked pleased with himself. "Ton-Tongue Toffee! George and I invented them, and we've been looking for someone to test them on all summer." Everyone burst out laughing, including Cody, who could just imagine what had happened. "Who?" he asked, grinning. "Who'd you give 'em to?" 

George smirked. "Harry's massive cousin," he said. "The one that pushes him around all the time." 

Cody giggled and raised his fists. "Yeah! Good idea! Bullies deserve it!" 

"Right you are," George agreed. 

"So how're you doing, Harry?" asked Charlie from the table, as Harry approached. He shook Harry's hand. But before Harry could answer, Cody was startled by a popping sound right next to him, and he jumped aside, ready for anything. Still, he blinked as Mr. Weasley appeared, looking less than pleased. Cody covered his mouth to hide his urge to giggle. 

"That wasn't funny, Fred!" Mr. Weasley yelled. "What on earth did you give that Muggle boy?" 

Still looking inordinately pleased with himself, Fred answered, "I didn't give him anything, I just dropped it. It was his fault he went and ate it, I never told him to." 

You dropped it on purpose!" Mr. Weasley accused. "You knew he'd eat it, you knew he was on a diet!" 

"How big did his tongue get?" George asked. 

"It was four feet long before his parents would let me shrink it!" 

Cody could not prevent it this time; he fell back on the couch, holding his gut and giggling hard. But that was okay; so was everyone else. Everyone else but Mr. Weasley, that was. 

"It isn't funny!" Mr. Weasley repeated angrily, and Cody tried valiantly to stop laughing. He succeeded, but still had to clamp his hand over his mouth. "That sort of behavior seriously undermines wizard-Muggle relations! I spend half my life campaigning against the mistreatment of Muggles, and my own sons -" 

"We didn't give it to him because he's a Muggle!" said Fred indignantly. 

George added, "No, we gave it to him because he's a great, bullying git. Isn't he, Harry?" 

Harry nodded. "Yeah, he is, Mr. Weasley." 

Mr. Weasley was obviously not convinced. "That's not the point!" he said, speaking to the twins, rather than Harry. "You wait 'til I tell your mother -" 

"Tell me what?" said a voice behind them. Cody winced; it was Mrs. Weasley. For a short, plump, sweet woman, she sure could look scary when she was mad! "Oh, hello, Harry, dear," she said, before turning back to her husband. "Tell me what, Arthur?" 

There was a ringing silence for a few moments, as Mr. Weasley hesitated. Cody watched apprehensively, until his attention was caught by yet more movement near Mrs. Weasley. Hermione had come back down, and Ron's little sister was with her. Cody had seen Ginny before, but not spoken to her much. He did notice that when she saw Harry, her face began to match her hair. 

"Tell me _what_, Arthur?" repeated Mrs. Weasley, in a tone that would have intimidated a Death Eater. 

"It's nothing, Molly," said Mr. Weasley finally. "Fred and George just...but I've had words with them." 

Mrs. Weasley was not amused. "What have they done this time? It it's got anything to do with Weasley's Wizard Wheezes..." 

Hermione spoke up then. "Why don't you show Harry where he's sleeping, Ron?" she suggested. 

"He knows where he's sleeping," Ron said. "In my room, he slept there last -" 

"We can _all_ go," Hermione interrupted. 

Ron got the point. "Oh. Right." 

As they started to head upstairs, the twins made as if to follow them. "Yeah, we'll come too," said George. 

But their mother was having none of it. "You stay where you are!" she growled. 

Cody decided that he did not want to stick around, and slipped outside. He spotted Crookshanks, Hermione's big, orange cat, scowled a bit. He and the cat did not get along very well, but at least they were no longer at open war. He stuck his tongue out at it and wandered around to the side of the house, where he heard voices. Charlie and Bill were out there with two big, battered tables. "Hi!" he said, as he heard the faint sound of yelling voices back in the kitchen. He felt sorry for the twins! 

"Hello," said Charlie with a grin. "Want to help?" 

"Okay! What're you doing?" 

"We're setting the tables up for supper. We're eating out here since there's so many of us." 

"Sure, you can bring the legs down and make sure they're locked, and all," said Bill. He showed Cody how the legs extended, and locked, and Cody agreeably went to work extending them. "So, Ron tells me you're a Slytherin," said Bill curiously. "I'm kinda surprised." 

Cody looked up from the leg that he was trying to persuade to extend. It was rusty, and being highly stubborn. He kicked it with a scowl before asking, "Why?" 

"Well, you seem like a decent kid. I'd have figured you for a Gryffindor, or maybe a Hufflepuff." 

Cody shrugged, and went back to his adversary. "We're not all jerks like Malfoy," he said. "Kathy was nice, an' Flint was nice, kinda. Kyle was nice." He sighed, feeling suddenly melancholy. All of his friends from his own house were gone. There were a couple that were in the upper years now that he got along with, as well as a few of the younger ones, but for the most part those he liked would not be at Hogwarts that year. And his other friends were in different houses. 

He jumped, startled, when Bill clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Didn't mean to offend you, kid," he said. "It's just that there's not many like you in that house." 

"Yeah...I know," Cody said darkly. He growled and yanked on the leg with all his strength, and nodded in satisfaction when it finally cooperated. 

Once the tables were assembled, the three stood back to admire their work. "Those'll work just fine," said Charlie, then grinned impishly at his brother. "Hey Bill, how about a round of table jousting?" 

As Cody looked curiously on, Bill grinned, and nodded his head, drawing his wand. "Challenge accepted. Better stand a bit back, Cody, Charlie's wand's not as steady as it used to be." 

Charlie snorted, and also drew his wand. "We'll see who laughs at the end," he growled with mock anger. "Wingardium Leviosa!" He aimed his wand at the table, which rose obediently into the air. Cody caught sight of the twins, and then Ginny coming out of the house, then turned his attention back to the tables, both of which now hovered in the air. Bill's table suddenly lurched with the movement of his wand, and smashed into Charlie's, which retaliated by sideswiping it in midair. Cody laughed as the tables began to battle, trying to knock each other out of the air. Charlie and Bill darted about the garden, their wands controlling the tables' movements. 

"Move in, Bill!" Fred cried, as Charlie's table paused for a moment in midair. He and Fred began egging their brothers on as Ginny and Cody watched, laughing. Cody wished he could do magic outside of school. 

"Charlie, watch it, he's getting under your guard!" George called. 

A few moments later, Ron, Harry and Hermione, had joined them. Percy stuck his head out the window to gripe at the two older brothers for making too much noise, then retreated back into his bedroom. Cody stuck his tongue out at the window while the tables floated back down to the ground. One's leg had been broken off, and Bill repaired it with a flick of his wand. 

Soon, the food began coming outside, and the tables were laden with dishes and glasses. The smell of the food made Cody's stomach growl, and when he sat down, he thanked Mrs. Weasley for cooking all this food. Percy's pompous voice blabbered on and on about his cauldron bottom reports to his father, until the subject of the ministry, and Ludo Bagman, and Bertha Jorkins came up. Ludo Bagman was the head of the Department of Games and Sports in the ministry, and Jorkins was a witch who worked at the ministry who apparently had gone missing. Cody wasn't too interested in any of it at the moment, though he couldn't help but hear the conversation; it was dominating his end of the table. 

He instead turned his attention to Mrs. Weasley, Bill, whose conversation involved Bill's earring and his hair. She wasn't entirely impressed by either one. The twins and Charlie were talking about the upcoming World Cup, though, and to this, Cody listened eagerly. Charlie was of the opinion that Ireland would win the Cup, and was highly annoyed that England hadn't gotten through. Transylvania defeated them rather soundly. Wales (Cody wasn't even sure where Wales was!) and Scotland had gotten defeated as well, leaving Ireland the closest representative for the area in the Cup. 

Eventually, candles were lit to illuminate the garden, and dessert was brought out. It ended up being his favorite; strawberry ice cream. And boy, was it good. Cody sat back with his belly full, and watched Crookshanks chase a cackling gnome across the yard. And it wasn't even that cool out, either. At least not yet. 

But finally, Mrs. Weasley stood. "Look at the time. You really should be in bed, the whole lot of you. You'll be up at the crack of dawn to get to the Cup. Harry, Cody, if you leave your school lists out, I'll get your things for you in Diagon Alley. I'm getting everyone else's. There might not be time after the World Cup, the match went on for five days last time." 

Harry seemed to think it was a good idea. "Wow, I hope it does this time!" 

"Well I certainly don't," said Percy. "I shudder to think what the state of my in-tray would be if I was away from work for five days." 

"Yeah, someone might slip dragon dung in it again, eh, Perce?" said Fred. Cody snickered. 

"That was a sample of fertilizer from Norway, it was nothing personal!" Percy retorted, looking embarrassed 

"It was," said Fred quietly enough that Percy would not hear. "We sent it." 

Cody grinned their way and sprinted up to Mrs. Weasley, who was carrying a load of dishes into the house. He told her he had already gotten his things in Diagon Alley, and she said that was all right, and that he had better get some sleep. 

Cody didn't argue; he was excited, but he was tired. After he changed into his PJs, he curled up on the couch and closed his eyes, and listened to everyone else filing in. And soon, he was asleep. 

--- 

The next morning, Cody was wakened by Mrs. Weasley's gentle hand. "Ermimeh?" Cody said, cracking his eyes open. 

Mrs. Weasley chuckled. "Time to get up, dear, everyone else is already having breakfast. And then it's off to the World Cup!" 

Despite the fact that it was still dark outside, Cody was suddenly wide awake, as often happened. Taken aback by his sudden alertness, Mrs. Weasley took a step backward as Cody sprang to his feet. "Oh, wow, I can't wait!" He grinned at Mrs. Weasley. "Thanks!" he said, before sprinting into the kitchen. 

The other fourth year boys, as well as the twins and Mr. Weasley were already at the table with steaming bowls of porridge in front of them. Mr. Weasley was dressed strangely. It was weird enough not seeing him in wizard's robes, but he wasn't that great at Muggle dress, either. Cody grinned at him and sat down at the only empty chair. The table's current inhabitants seemed to be talking about Apparating. 

As Mrs. Weasley went upstairs to gather the two girls, Harry asked, "You have to pass a test to Apparate?" 

"Oh yes," said Mr. Weasley. Cody looked down at his porridge. It looked gross, but he didn't mind porridge, especially with lots of syrup on it. "The Department of Magical Transportation had to fine a couple of people the other day for Apparating without a license. It's not easy, Apparition, and when it's not done properly, it can lead to nasty complications. The pair I'm talking about went and splinched themselves." 

Cody wasn't the only one who had no idea what that meant. Harry also seemed puzzled. "Er, splinched?" he asked. 

Mr. Weasley explained. "They left half of themselves behind. So of course they were stuck. Couldn't move either way. Had to wait for the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad to sort them out. Meant a fair old bit a paperwork, I can tell you, what with the Muggles who spotted the body parts they'd left behind." 

Cody watched Mr. Weasley for a moment, uncertain as to whether to laugh, or be disgusted. The idea was amusing in theory, but when he thought about the reality of someone leaving part of themselves behind when they tried to teleport... "Gross." 

Mr. Weasley went on to explain that they were unharmed, but got heavily fined. Fred told them all that Charlie had failed his test the first time, having Apparated on some poor old lady who was shopping. At this, Cody _did_ giggle. 

"What's this?" Cody asked during a lull in the conversation. He held up the bottle containing the super-sweet syrup he'd just put all over his porridge. It didn't taste like the kind they used at home on their Eggos! 

"Treacle," said Ron through a mouthful of breakfast. 

"Oh!" So that's what treacle was! Cody had seen it in the books and heard it, but never known what it was! "I like it!" 

Breakfast was a pleasant enough affair, until Mrs. Weasley caught the twins trying to smuggle out their Ton-Tongue toffees. There was a loud argument about it and the toffees were thrown away. Cody scowled, but did not say anything. He thought it highly unfair for her to throw away something that was theirs and that they'd spent so much time making. Why'd she want her kids to get a job that they'd hate, anyway? 

The atmosphere was less than friendly when the group left the house. Cody trotted along behind the group (easily the shortest one there he had to work to keep up) he listened to Mr. Weasley explaining about how they hid the World Cup from all the Muggles, and talking about how different wizards got there. He explained what a Portkey was, and that they would be using one. Cody was a bit nervous about this one. What if it made him vomit? What if he got left behind? Or worse, lost in between here and there? 

Stoatshead Hill was not a fun climb. Had it been nice and hot, Cody would not have minded, but as it was, he was wearing his winter cloak, and it was cold. It should be against the law for it to be this cold in the summertime! He was shivering a bit by the time they got anywhere near the hill on which their portkey lay. 

The child went sort of on all fours up the hill, the way he sometimes climbed stairs, which made the climb a little easier. He was both shivering and panting by the time they all reached the top, and looked quite cranky. He scowled as they spread out to look for the portkey, as Mr. Weasley was not sure what it looked like. Finally, though, a voice called to them that they had found the thing, and the large group went over to meet the owner of the voice. 

It turned out to be Cedric Diggory's father. Cody had met him once or twice and liked him. Cedric, that was. Cedric's father, it turned out, was rather a creep. Mr. Weasley introduced them, and Cody waved. Mr. Diggory told them they'd had to get up at two (Cody made a face at this idea) but said that the World Cup was worth it. He peered at the group and asked if they were all Mr. Weasley's. 

"Oh, no, only the redheads," said Mr. Weasley, pointing them out. "These are Hermione, Cody, and Harry, friends of Ron." 

"Merlin's beard," said Mr. Diggory, an expression that made Cody giggle. "Harry? Harry _Potter?"_

"Er, yeah," said Harry. Cody wondered what it felt like to be famous. 

"Ced's talked about you, of course. Told us all about playing against you last year. I said to him, I said, Ced, that'll be something to tell your grandchildren, that will - you beat Harry Potter!" 

The twins scowled, and Cody rolled his eyes. Boy, what a big creep! At least Cedric was nice. "Harry fell off his broom, Dad," the older boy muttered. "I told you, it was an accident." 

"Yes, but _you_ didn't fall off your broom! Always modest, our Ced, always the gentleman. But the best man won, I'm sure Harry'd say the same, wouldn't you, eh? One falls off his broom, one stays on, you don't need to be a genius to tell which one's the better flier!" 

So low that only Cody and George could hear, Fred muttered, "And you're no genius." Cody stifled a snicker. If a hundred dementors were making Cedric relive the deaths of his parents in full stereo, he would have fallen off his broom, too! 

"Must be nearly time," Mr. Weasley said quickly, apparently wanting to stem any unpleasantness before it started. He asked if they were waiting for any more, and Mr. Diggory said that no, they were the only ones in the area that were to use this portkey. Mr. Weasley told the others that all they needed was to touch the boot, even with just a finger. Afraid that he might lose his contact with the boot, Cody grabbed a bootlace and wrapped it around his wrist. 

He yawned as Mr. Weasley began to count down, and when he got to one, Cody felt a sensation that nearly made him drop the bootlace in alarm. It felt like some invisible hand was grabbing him by the gut and yanking him forward. Not too pleasant a feeling! Fred banged into him, and he fell against who he thought might be Harry, and had to fight not to panic. If Floo powder was anything like this, he would never, ever use it! 

Finally, everyone landed on solid ground, and only the three biggest people (the two parents and Cedric) managed to keep their feet. Everyone else was in a big pile on the ground. Cody looked up to see a strangely dressed man say, "Seven past five from Stoatshead Hill." 

Luckily on the top of the wizard-pile, Cody climbed off of George's back and adjusted his cloak. It was still cold out. Cody covered his mouth and tried not to giggle at the men's clothing; one wore a suit with long rainboots, and the other one had a kilt and a cape thing like the cowboys in the old Westerns wore. 

"Morning, Basil," said Mr. Weasley. He threw their portkey into a pile of old junk that Cody assumed were other portkeys. He guessed that this was a sort of prearranged spot for the portkey-users to teleport to. 

The man named Basil looked less than thrilled with his job, said he'd been there all night. Cody felt sorry for him. Basil told Weasley and Diggory where their respective campsites were, and Cody was glad that they were separate campsites. Cody was afraid he would kick ol' Mr. Diggory in the shins before too long, and if he didn't, he thought Fred or George might! 

"Cody," said Mr. Weasley, a little disapprovingly, looking at Cody's cloak. "We were supposed to dress like Muggles, surely you know how, right? Your mother's a Muggle, isn't she?" 

"Yeah, but it's cold out," said Cody. 

"Well...here. hold on a moment." Mr. Weasley stopped and took Cody's cloak off and arranged it so that it looked sort of like a blanket, and wrapped it around Cody's body. "There. That's much better. Don't worry, Cody, it will warm up once the sun's out. It _is_ summer, after all." 

Cody nodded agreeably, and the group set off once more. 

They met one Mr. Roberts, who seemed to be the caretaker of the campgrounds, and he and Mr. Weasley introduced themselves. Mr. Weasley told him that they had booked two tents two nights previous. 

"Aye," said the Muggle, for Mr. Roberts certainly was a Muggle. He was dressed quite normally. "You've got a space up by the wood there. Just the one night?" 

"That's it," said Mr. Weasley. 

"You'll be paying now, then?" 

"Ah, right, certainly..." said Mr. Weasley. He pulled Harry aside, and Cody could see that he had a handful of Muggle currency, and assumed he was asking Harry how it worked. 

Mr. Roberts saw it, too, it seemed, and asked Mr. Weasley if he was foreign, and explained that there had been others who had a problem with the money, and said someone had tried to pay him with two huge gold coins. Cody giggled, and suppressed the urge to say "No, they're not foreign, just weird." But he didn't think that would help the situation any. 

Mr. Weasley was less amused; apparently Mr. Roberts was more observant than Weasley was used to Muggles being. Roberts mentioned the man with the kilt, wandering around, and Mr. Weasley asked if he wasn't supposed to be. 

But before he could say much more, a man with weird knicker-looking pants popped into existence and pointed his wand at Mr. Roberts. "Obliviate!" he cried. 

Cody blinked, as Mr. Roberts suddenly looked very spacey. Cody was not entirely sure what had happened. The Muggle gave Mr. Weasley a map of the campsite and his change. Once they had arrived at their campsite, the man in the knickers accompanying them, Cody got his answers. "Been having a lot of trouble with him. Needs a Memory Charm ten times a day to keep him happy. And Ludo Bagman's not helping. Trotting around talking about Bludgers and Quaffles at the top of his voice, and not a worry about anti-Muggle security. Blimey, I'll be glad when this is over. See you later, Arthur." And he popped out of existence again. 

"I thought Ludo Bagman was the Head of Magical Games and Sports," said Ginny. "He should know better than to talk about Bludgers around Muggles, shouldn't he?" 

Mr. Weasley smiled fondly. "He should, but Ludo's always been a bit lax about security. You couldn't wish for a more enthusiastic head of the sports department, though. He played Quidditch for England himself, you know. And he was the best Beater the Wimbourne Wasps ever had." 

"Awesome! He was a Beater?" Cody said. 

"Yep! One of the best." 

"Cool, but Mr. Weasley, what was that thing that wizard did to Mr. Roberts?" 

"Well, he put a Memory Charm on him. That changes a person's memory so that they don't remember a certain thing." 

Cody frowned, and lagged behind for a moment before running to catch up. "That doesn't seem right." 

Mr. Weasley looked curiously down at him. "What doesn't?" 

"Well, messing with someone's mind like that. I mean a person's mind is _his_ mind. It seems really wrong - and unfair, too! - to go changing it around without his permission." 

Mr. Weasley sighed. "It may seem that way, Cody, but Mr. Roberts was not harmed. And what would happen if he remembered everything about us? Muggles have hurt wizards fairly badly in the past. We keep ourselves hidden for our safety." 

Cody scowled. "Yeah, well I think that if people just explained to Muggles about wizards, most of 'em'd be cool about it. It's not like they're stupid." 

George snorted. "What are you on about? They'd probably get up a big mob, just like they have in the past, and we'd have the Spanish Inquisition all over again." 

"Yeah," Fred said. "Muggles _are_ pretty ignorant. It's better they be kept in the dark." 

This Cody took as a personal offense, especially seeing as how his mother and sister were Muggles, and scowled thunderously at the twin. "They are _not_ ignorant! Maybe if all these wizards learned about Muggles an' how to act like them an' didn't talk about Quidditch stuff all the time, the Muggles wouldn't know and you wouldn't have to mess with their minds!" George seemed about to shoot back an angry retort when Cody continued. "And besides, the person that all the wizards are afraid of killing them isn't a Muggle, it's a wizard: Voldemort!" 

Perhaps Cody should not have said the name so loud, or indeed at all, but as they walked towards their campsite, this exclamation brought several startled looks from nearby wizards, and made a quite alarmed George Weasley clamp his hand over Cody's mouth. "Are you mad?" he hissed in Cody's ear as he steered the boy away from those who had overheard him. "Just say his name aloud in the middle of a dozen wizards, why don't you?" 

Cody scowled and pried George's hand off of his mouth. "Sorry, jeez, I forgot everyone's scared of his name," he grouched back, but in a much quieter voice. 

"All right," said Mr. Weasley, who also looked a bit taken aback. "That's enough, boys." 

Cody sighed, but nodded, and muttered an apology. George frowned, but at least did not seem too awfully angry. 


	24. Year 4, Chapter 3: Let the Game Begin!

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 3: Let the Game Begin!**

There was silence as they trudged towards their little area. Cody saw some mostly normal tents, but there were a few that were obviously quite magical. Mr. Weasley, sounding perfectly amiable again, smiled and shook his head. "Always the same. We can't resist showing off when we get together. Ah, here we are, this is us. Couldn't have a better spot! The field is just on the other side of the wood there, as close as we could be." He set his pack down on the ground, a pack that Cody assumed had the tents in it. He seemed excited. "Right, no magic allowed, strictly speaking, not when we're out in these numbers on Muggle land. We'll be putting these tents up by hand! Shouldn't be too difficult, Muggles do it all the time. Here, Harry, where do you reckon we start?" 

The putting up of the tents was an adventure in itself. Even Cody lost a small bit of his bad mood as he helped Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys get the tents up. He took a mallet and took out his frustrations on a poor, defenseless tent peg, looking satisfied when he pounded it deep into the ground. 

"We'll be a bit cramped," said Mr. Weasley. "But I think we'll all squeeze in. Come have a look." 

Cody peered in and blinked. He looked up at Harry, who looked as surprised as Cody did; it did not look remotely like a tent. It looked more like an old apartment, and it even had a kitchen and bathroom! "Wow." It didn't have any bedrooms, it was something like what Cody's mom called a studio apartment. Four bunk beds lined the walls of the main room. 

"Well, it's not for long," said Mr. Weasley. "Cody, you can either kip on the floor or share a bunk with someone." He told them he had borrowed the tent from a man at his office named Perkins, who had lumbago, and couldn't camp a lot anymore. At Cody's bewildered look, he explained that lumbago was something that happened to people sometimes where their bones hurt low in their back, and being outside in the damp and cold made it worse. Mr. Weasley asked Harry, Hermione, and Ron to go and fetch a bucket of water from the faucet that was marked on the map, while the others got wood for a fire. Ron asked why they couldn't use the stove, and Mr. Weasley answered that they weren't supposed to be acting like wizards. Cody suspected that it was as much Mr. Weasley's eagerness to pretend to be a Muggle, as the fear of breaking the security measures. 

As the trio left, Mr. Weasley looked down at Cody and the twins. "All right, Fred and George, why don't you scour that way for some wood. I'll help Cody here, and we'll go that way." 

The twins departed, and Mr. Weasley led Cody into the woods a bit. Cody must still have looked disgruntled, because Mr. Weasley sighed softly and said, "Cody, I know that some ways we deal with Muggles aren't - well perhaps they're not quite morally 'right' per se - but for now, that's how the laws are. Unfortunately there are a lot of wizards who consider themselves above Muggles -" 

"Yeah, like Draco," Cody grumbled. 

Mr. Weasley nodded as he picked up a medium-sized branch and put it in the crook of his other arm. "Yes, like the Malfoys. But there are some who are lobbying for different ways of interacting with Muggles. We _have_ had a lot of nasty experiences with them in the past. Give it a bit of time, Cody. Peace between Muggles and wizards will happen someday." 

Cody sighed. "Yeah, I guess. Still. If I ever found out someone'd messed my brain up and took a memory, boy would I be mad!" Seeing the barely restrained smile of amusement on Mr. Weasley's face, Cody corrected in exasperation, "Angry! Whatever!" But even he had to laugh a little, and his dark mood lifted. 

Mr. Weasley chuckled and patted Cody's shoulder. "We've not met many Americans," he said as Cody also began picking up wood. "But our expressions and language are more different than one would think." 

"I know it! Fred and George spent a whole afternoon teaching me what all the words meant that I'd heard." 

"I'll bet," said Mr. Weasley dryly. 

"I like 'git'," Cody went on. "That's my favorite." 

At this, Mr. Weasley actually laughed. "I had forgotten what it was like to have a young boy around. I miss it. Ron's my youngest boy, and he's fourteen now." 

"Yeah," Cody grouched. "All the people in my year are all older than me. And in all the other years, too!" 

"I wondered about that," said Mr. Weasley. "Do you know why you were allowed in at such a young age? It's not unheard of, but it is _highly_ uncommon for such a young child to attend one of the magic schools. And for that matter, why you didn't get a letter from one of the American ones." 

"I dunno!" said Cody. "It was weird! An' I dunno know even what the American schools are. I just got my letter, an' I was on the student list and everything." 

"Strange," said Mr. Weasley. "Do you like it at Hogwarts?" 

Cody nodded. "Yeah, it's really cool. I miss my mom an' sister a lot, but it's still really cool, an' learning magic, and everything." 

"Well then, I'm glad to hear that." There was a sort of companionable silence as the two continued picking up wood (Cody was getting more than he could easily hold, trying to prove that he was strong enough to do it) when Mr. Weasley said that they had enough to be getting on with. As they headed back for the magical tents, he said quietly, "Oh, and about, er, You-Know-Who..." 

At this, Cody blushed a little bit, feeling embarrassed he'd shouted his arguments for the whole world to hear. "I know, I know," he said, giving Mr. Weasley a sheepish look. "I was just m - angry." 

Mr. Weasley nodded. "I understand. Just try to control the urge next time." He smiled, and Cody finally smiled back, and nodded. 

The twins had a pile of wood sitting by the tent when Mr. Weasley and Cody returned, adding theirs to the pile. "There!' said Mr. Weasley triumphantly. "Now...to start this fire." Looking pleased with himself, Mr. Weasley fought with the pocket of his jeans for a moment and produced from it a box of matches. "I've even brought these..." he read the word on the box, "matches to get it started. Cody, do you know how to use these?" 

"Well, I only did it before a couple times," said Cody doubtfully. "But I could try." Mr. Weasley handed him the box, and Cody fumbled a match out of it. Feeling flattered that he had been asked about it, he took the match and scraped it against the rough strip on the side. The match flared to life, and startled, Cody dropped it. "I don't like them," he explained. "I'm always afraid my fingers'd get burned." 

"Well," said Mr. Weasley. "Even if they did, you could always drop it and you wouldn't get hurt, really." 

"I guess that makes sense." He handed the box back to Mr. Weasley, who entertained himself trying to get the match lit. He seemed to be having fun, so Cody did not offer to do it for him. Instead, he went over and stood in front of the twins, looking at them for a moment. They peered down at him, eyebrows raised. "Okay, okay," Cody finally said. "I'm sorry I got mad." 

Fred snorted. "You were mad, all right," he said. "Saying You-Know-Who's name all over England." 

Cody put his hands on his hips. "I did _not_ say it all over England!" 

"Close enough," said George. Cody stuck his tongue out at him. "All right, we forgive you, you forgive us, everything's all happy and bright again." 

Knowing that was as close to a serious apology as the twins ever got, Cody laughed and shook his head. "Sheesh," he said. 

George looked up then, at someone behind Cody, and said, "You've been ages." 

Cody looked around to see that the water and its gatherers had returned. Met a few people," said Ron, setting down his bucket. "You not got that fire started, yet?" 

"Dad's having fun with the matches," said Fred. 

And it was true. Mr. Weasley had spent a good deal of time (and matches) trying to light the wood, but had little success. There was a cry of "Oops!" as he managed to light one, and like Cody had, dropped it on the ground, where it met its death. 

Hermione took pity on him and went over to help. "Come here, Mr. Weasley," she said, taking the box and showing him how to strike the match properly. It took a bit, but they did finally get the fire started. Cody cheered. 

For a while, everyone listened to Mr. Weasley telling everyone who passed, as their tent was right by an often-used pathway. Cuthbert Mockridge, head of the Goblin Liaison Office; Gilbert Wimple who worked in Experimental Charms - "He's had those horns for a while, now." Cody's eyes widened. Arnold Peasegood, who was an Obliviator, passed, as did two Unspeakables, Bode and Croaker. Cody rather thought that if_ his _name was Croaker, he would have it changed. 

Cody had dozed off underneath his cloak by the time the fire was hot enough to cook anything on it, and was startled out of his nap by Percy announcing loudly that he had just Apparated in. Cody gave him an aggravated look and closed his eyes again. 

But now that things were more active, and the world in general seemed to be waking up, there was to be no nap for a sleepy boy. He sat up, looking surly. 

At least it had warmed up some since the sun rose, and he could even take off his cloak. He was dressed in his normal Muggle clothing; a ThunderCats T-Shirt and jeans with a hole in one knee. Sneakers resided on his feet. 

Breakfast woke him up a bit, and as he ate, he became less cranky. He ate the eggs and all the sausages on his plate, and when Hermione said that she was full, Cody snagged her two remaining sausages. 

Just as he did, Mr. Weasley leapt to his feet, waving to someone. "Aha! The man of the moment! Ludo!" 

Ludo was impossible to miss. He was dressed in Quidditch robes, for one, without them being black and yellow striped. Cody could not help liking the guy. He also stood and waved enthusiastically. 

"Ahoy there!" Bagman called jovially. He strode over to the campsite, looking as if he were having the time of his life. "Arthur, old man!" Old man? Cody thought. "What a day, eh? What a day! Could we have asked for more perfect weather? A cloudless night coming, and hardly a hiccough in the arrangements. Not much for me to do!" 

Cody was about to say hello to him, but was pushed aside by Percy, who seemed eager to suck up. Cody crossed his arms and gave the older boy a disgruntled look. Percy's hand was outstretched, and Ludo shook it. 

Mr. Weasley introduced them all, and told them that this was Ludo Bagman, who was responsible for getting them their seats. 

"Do you really play Beater for a _real_ Quidditch team?" Cody asked eagerly, looking up at the colorful wizard. 

Percy gave Cody an extremely peevish look. "You shouldn't be pestering him like that." 

Indignant (and a bit hurt, truth to tell,) Cody scowled up at him. "Don't be so bossy, Percy," he retorted. "You're not my dad." Leaving Percy looking quite taken aback, Cody looked back up at Ludo. 

Far from looking offended, Ludo seemed amused. "Are you sure you two aren't brothers?" he asked with a wink. 

Cody made a face. "I'm sure!" 

Ludo chuckled. "I did play Beater for the Wimbourne Wasps, young man. But that was in my youth. Now, I work at the ministry. Miss it sometimes, though!" 

Cody grinned. "I bet! I'm a Beater too, but not for a real team. Just my House team." 

This seemed to afford Ludo some great amusement, and he patted Cody on the back hard enough to make his stagger a bit. "Quite an imagination he's got, eh, Arthur? I bet you _will_ play on the team when you get old enough!" 

Embarrassed that Ludo thought he was imagining it, Cody was relieved when Mr. Weasley spoke up for him. "Actually, Ludo, Cody will be in fourth year, along with Ron. It was one of those rare circumstances where a younger child was admitted to the school. And he made the team...was it last year, Cody?" 

Cody nodded. "Yep! I got reserve Beater my second year, but I didn't get to play any games." 

Ludo looked quite surprised. "Well done then, young Cody! You look a bit small for Beater, but I daresay you find ways around that. You couldn't have gotten a better position!" 

"We can vouch for that!" called George Weasley from behind Cody. 

Ludo chuckled, and turned to Mr. Weasley. "Well, then! Fancy a flutter on the match, then?" 

Cody could not keep the grin off his face as Ludo and Mr. Weasley made their bet (a Galleon on Ireland to win), and went to sit down in the grass. He watched the twins bet (under Mr. Weasley's protest) and listened to them showing Bagman their trick wand. Percy tried to tell them off, but Bagman was delighted with it. 

The adults' talk grew rather boring for Cody, and so he turned his attention to what was happening around him. There were witch families from what looked like every corner of the globe, and Cody watched them with fascination. He heard what sounded like a family from America, New York, from the sound of it. Now _that_ was really strange, hearing a Brooklyn accent in the middle of nowhere in England. There were some black guys speaking a language that Cody had never heard before, and a family that he thought might be Irish. 

Then Bartemius Crouch apparated, startling Cody, as he popped out of nowhere with a sharp cracking sound. He was dressed in a boring suit, with a no-nonsense part in his hair. Cody took an immediate dislike to him. He watched him warily as he went about his business with Ludo Bagman, telling him that the Bulgarians wanted more seats in the Top Box. He watched Percy fawn over Crouch (who called him Weatherby), and could not stop a disgusted face. Fortunately, no one saw it. 

"Ali Bashir is on the warpath," Crouch was saying to Mr. Weasley. "He wants a word with you on your embargo on flying carpets." 

This interested Cody somewhat; a real flying carpet, like on Aladdin! Now _that_ would be awesome! He wondered why brooms were okay, but carpets weren't. 

But finally they left, and Cody was left to watch the goings on. 

He ended up curling up on the grass at one point and falling asleep; he had not slept a lot the night before, and they had gotten up early, and after a bit even the noise around him could not keep him awake. But as dusk approached, the excitement and thus the noise level was sufficient that Cody was wakened, energized, and suddenly shaking with anticipation. It was difficult not to be excited. The Ministry could not keep back the waves of magic breaking out everywhere, which was great, in Cody's opinion. He was at first startled by the salesmen that were Apparating all over the place, but after a while, he came to anticipate it. They had all sorts of neat things. 

Ron bought a green rosette and a shamrock hat, as well as a figure of the Bulgarian Seeker, Victor Krum. Cody bought a little miniature Firebolt model that really flew, and a pair of brass Omnioculars, which turned out to be magical binoculars. Harry also got some for himself and Ron and Hermione. Cody did buy a little token from each team as well; a pin with a lion on it from Bulgaria (the lion really roared) and a shamrock pin from Ireland that flashed a real-looking rainbow across it every few minutes. He couldn't wait to tell his mom about this! 

He actually caught sight of Kyle Tiller and Kathy Skinner near their campsite, and had to run over to talk to them for a while and show off his souvenirs. "Kathy! Kyle!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, waving his arms. "Hi!" 

The two teenagers turned around, and Kathy laughed. "Hey, kid! How long've you been here?" 

Cody collided with her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She chuckled and hugged him back. "Ages! What about you?" 

"Well, we had to get here a couple of days ago. You know, the better the seats, the least time you have to camp out before the game. But we got seats near the Top Box." 

Kyle grinned. "Yeah, the best seats I ever had. So who're you here with?" 

"I'm here with the Weasleys an' Harry Potter, an' Hermione Granger. Ron asked if I wanted to come, and I said yes! I'm glad I saw you guys! I'm gonna miss you guys in school. All that's gonna be there this year is a bunch of grumpy older kids, an' Draco's dumb friends." 

Kyle snorted, and Kathy laughed aloud. "I'm sorry for you," she said. 

"Yeah...I'm sorry for me too!" 

Kyle and Kathy's families seemed to have gone together, as they had three tents on one campsite not too far from the Weasleys'. Kathy introduced Cody to her mother and father, who received him warmly enough. Kyle's father was there, but he said that his mother didn't like Quidditch. Mr. Tiller was nice enough, but seemed more interested in reading the paper than socializing. 

It remained warm as dusk began to fade into night, and the three Slytherins happily talked about the teams that were to play, and who everyone thought would win. Cody was rather inclined to think that Ireland would win, just because from what he had heard, they had the best overall team. Kyle was a firm fan of Bulgaria, and opined that Krum would get the Snitch within a half hour of the game. Kathy tended to agree with Cody. "Their Seeker's not so bad, either," she said. "And Cody's right, Ireland's Chasers are the best. They work like they're one person." 

Kyle smirked. "Well if that's the case, Bulgaria'll have 'em licked. They're got _three_ Chasers." 

Kathy gave him a look. "Smartarse," she muttered. 

"Hey now," said Kyle in mock horror, lightly covering Cody's ears. Cody giggled. "Where's your manners? Not in front of the child!" 

It was Kathy's turn to snort. "He hears ten times that in the Slytherin common room alone, you git," she said. "And besides, he's been hanging around the Weasley twins...he could probably teach _you_ a think or three about cussing." 

Kyle let go of Cody's ears. "You're probably right," he finally conceded, going over to put his arm around Kathy's shoulders. He added in a gently teasing voice, "But it's not very ladylike." 

"Well isn't that a coincidence? I'm no lady!" 

Kyle laughed, and they kissed briefly, making Cody pretend to throw up on the grass. "Gross," he informed them. 

"Aw, you're just not old enough," said Kathy, mussing up his hair so that it stood on end. 

"Yeah, well..." At that point, the sound of a gong made Cody look up. Did that mean the game was about to start? 

Apparently it did. "Cody!" Mr. Weasley called from the campsite. "Let's go, the game's gonna start soon!" 

Cody's eyes widened. "I gotta go!" he said excitedly to his friends. 

"See you later, kid," said Kathy fondly. 

Cody waved enthusiastically to the two older youths, and sprinted towards the Weasley family. Red lanterns blazed along the path to the pitch, and they followed these into the woods. 


	25. Year 4, Chapter 4: Professional Quidditc...

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 4: Professional Quidditch**

There was activity all around the boy as he walked along, trotting here and there to keep up with the strides of his companions. People were talking, singing, yelling everywhere. Everyone seemed to have a big grin plastered on their face. Cody happily listened to all of this as they made their way through the woods, emerging on the other side to the sight of an immense stadium, golden walls towering over the entire crowd. Mr. Weasley told them all that it seated one hundred thousand people. Cody couldn't even fathom what one hundred thousand people looked like! "I can't wait!" he said excitedly to Hermione, next to whom he walked. "Have you ever seen a real Quidditch game?" 

"If you mean a professional one, no," said Hermione. "But I've read up on them. Ireland's team seems to be quite good. I suppose we'll see what happens." 

"Yeah! I can't wait to see how they fly! Do you know who the Beaters are?" 

Hermione shook her head. "Not sure." 

"I sure wish Merlin coulda come. He'd love all this!" 

"Yeah, but he'd get lost pretty easily in all these people," said Hermione. "You can tell him about it once we get back to the Burrow." 

Their conversation was interrupted as they arrived at the gates, and Mr. Weasley showed the woman there their tickets. "Prime seats!" she said. "Top Box! Straight upstairs, Arthur, and as high as you can go." 

Cody actually ended up nearly in the lead by the time they all got onto the stairs, so eager was he to get up there and look down from such a height. Even the extensive length of the staircase didn't deter him, so that by the time they got to the top, he was even in front of Mr. Weasley. 

The Top Box had twenty or so royal looking seats, and was mostly open. Cody looked over the edge and peered down, his eyes widening in astonishment at the scene below. Thousands of witches and wizards were filing into the stadium, some looking very small indeed from the Top Box. The Top Box was the highest seating in the stadium, and was directly between the goalposts. They would have the best view in the whole place! Three hoops on high poles sat at either side, now a familiar sight to Cody. Opposite the Top Box, right at eye level, was what looked like a giant chalkboard. Chalky words kept writing themselves across it; advertisements for now, for everything from family brooms to Bertie Botts' Every Flavor Beans. 

Cody's attention was torn from the intriguing sights by Harry's interaction with what turned out to be a house elf. It wasn't Dobby, as Harry thought at first, but one whose voice was even higher. Winky, her name was. She and Harry talked about Dobby, and how he was asking for payment for his work, apparently something that house elves considered inappropriate behavior. Cody personally didn't see the big deal. Maybe most house elves liked enslavement, but for those who did not, he thought it perfectly fine for them to act as they saw fit! 

Cody went back to watching the crowd, trying out his new Omnioculars to look at everything. The magnification was awesome! He could see just about anything he wanted, and clearly. He could replay anything he caught in the lenses, and slow down the action. 

Soon, the Top Box began filling up with people, many of them very important from the looks of things. Percy certainly seemed to think so, as he kept rising every few seconds. Cody, who was too excited to sit, stood in his chair and simply watched. Being the smallest person there, he was scarcely noticed. Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic came in, and said hello to Harry. Percy bowed to the Minister and broke his glasses when they fell onto the floor, and he turned very red, deciding to stay seated after that. And serve him right! 

Fudge introduced Harry to some of the other wizards, including the Bulgarian minister of Magic. Not knowing the language, it took a while for Fudge to convey to the Bulgarians who Harry was. "Ah!" he said finally, looking towards the entrance to the house. "And here's Lucius!" 

Cody's eyes widened as he followed the Minister's gaze. Oh, just great, Cody thought. That was all he needed: the Malfoys. Lucius Malfoy entered the box, heading for three seats behind the Weasleys. He was followed closely by a cold-looking woman that Cody disliked upon first sight, and Draco Malfoy, who seemed to have grown a couple of inches over the holiday. He looked at Cody and frowned to see him among whom he considered the enemy. Cody scowled back. 

Fudge introduced the Malfoys the to the Bulgarians, and Lucius in turn introduced Draco and his wife (Narcissa) to the Minister. Mr. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy glared at each other for a moment before Malfoy sneered quietly, "Good Lord, Arthur. What did you have to sell to get seats in the Top Box? Surely your house wouldn't have fetched this much?" 

Oblivious to this, Fudge went on to tell them that Malfoy had made a generous contribution to St. Mungo's Hospital and was there as Fudge's guest. 

"How...how nice," said Mr. Weasley, who plainly thought it was anything but. Lucius turned his gaze to Hermione, whom he thought beneath him because of her Muggle parentage. He then looked at Cody and slowly narrowed his eyes. Cody turned back around and sat down, slumping down into his seat. Lucius Malfoy was an intimidating sort, after all, and Cody didn't much like the look Malfoy had given him. 

"Slimy gits," said Ron. 

Cody glanced back once to see that all three Malfoys had turned their attention back to the pitch. At least the Weasleys and their guests had managed to snag the seats in the front row. 

"Doesn't help your relationship with the rest of your house, does it?" Hermione whispered. 

Cody scowled. "No, but I don't care. I don't like them. An' if they don't like my friends, they can kiss a dead dog's -" 

Hermione put a hand over his mouth, he assumed just in case he was going to say something that might not be wise to say in front of the Minister of Magic. "I get the idea," she said, looking mildly amused. 

Ludo Bagman arrived then, looking almost as excited as Cody had. "Everyone ready?" he asked. Cody found he was already forgetting the Malfoys in the excitement of being at the Quidditch World Cup. "Minister, ready to go?" 

"Ready when you are, Ludo." 

Cody watched interestedly as Ludo touched his wand to his throat, called, "Sonorus!" and suddenly, his voice boomed out over the pitch for all to hear. That explained why there was no megaphone in the box! "Ladies and gentlemen...welcome! Welcome to the final of the four hundred and twenty-second Quidditch World Cup!" 

Cody bounced up and down in his seat, waving his hands and cheering. A roar echoed across the stadium as one hundred thousand others did the same. Anthems blared from enchanted flags as they were waved, and there were voices of all ages yelling their approval. Cody noticed the blackboard had been wiped clean and replaced with: BULGARIA: 0, IRELAND 0. Bagman continued. "And now, without further ado, allow me to introduce the Bulgarian Team Mascots!" 

"I wonder what they've brought," said Mr. Weasley. He leaned forward in his seat to see, and Cody stood to lean out of the box to see better as well. He was suddenly glad his Omnioculars were attached to a cord that he had around his neck; that was a long way to drop them. "Ah!" said Mr. Weasley, taking off his glasses and looking down as he polished them. "Veela!" 

Cody looked with interest. Harry began to ask what those were, when the veela themselves entered the pitch, and he didn't need to finish his query. At first, Cody simply thought they were women, but as he watched, he realized they looked fairly alienesque. They were pretty women, and all looked similar. Their skin seemed to glow, which Cody found kind of creepy, but their hair blew around as if in a wind, which looked pretty cool. Still, Cody lost interest fairly quickly as music began, and the women started to dance. 

But all over the stadium, every male old enough to like the opposite sex was acting very strangely. Most didn't seem to be quite in their right minds as they stared, some seemingly about to take a dive into the stadium, others preening themselves. All in all, they were acting very weird... 

Cody was startled to look beside him and see that Harry looked like he was about the climb out of the Top Box, and Ron looked like he was about to jump. Then the music stopped, and both seemed to come back to their senses. 

The crowd, however, did not want the veela to stop; an angry roar came from the masses. 

Hermione, exasperated, pulled Harry back into his seat. "Honestly!" And Mr. Weasley was stopping Ron from shredding the shamrocks on his hat. 

Cody barely had time to wonder before Ludo Bagman announced Ireland's team mascots, and Cody looked back out into the stadium. 

He wasn't sure what they were at first; it looked like a glowing, green/gold comet soaring over the stadium. It split into two, each going to opposite sides of the stadium, and a rain arced between them. It looked as real as could be, and Cody gasped delightedly, watching it until it dissipated. The glowing balls came back together to form a four-leaf clover, which soared over the crowd, raining down gold coins. Cody yelped as several landed on his head, and he scooped a few up. 

"Leprechauns!" Mr. Weasley called over the sounds of the crowd. 

"Neat!" said Cody, looking back out at the field. The veela and leprechauns now settled on either side of the field, it was time for the game to begin. 

Bagman's voice boomed once more. "And now, ladies and gentlemen, kindly welcome the Bulgarian National Quidditch Team! I give you...Dimitrov!" As Bagman began shouting their names, the players zoomed out onto the field, almost too quick for the eye to properly catch. "Ivanova! Zograf! Levski! Vulvhanov! Aaaaaand...Krum!" 

"That's him, that's him!" called Ron excitedly. Cody pointed his Omnioculars at the players and twirled the dial to slow things down a little bit so that he could get a better view of them. They all looked Russian to him, and he wondered if Bulgaria was somewhere near Russia. 

The Irish players were then introduced as well, each coming out as his or her name was called. "Connolly!" Bagman cried. "Ryan! Troy! Mullet! Moran! Quigley! Aaaaaand...Lynch!" 

The Irish Team wore kelly green robes as they soared around the pitch, and Cody saw through his Omnioculars that their brooms were all real-life versions of the little Firebolt he had earlier bought. 

The referee was announced then, as having come all the way from Egypt, and Chairwizard of the International Association of Quidditch. His name was Hassan Mostafa. 

Cody giggled as the little man flew out on his broom; he looked like an African version of the Monopoly man to him. But he applauded with everyone else. The little wizard kicked open a crate on the ground, and the four balls rocketed into the air. The Snitch, Cody could not even see, which made him glad he wasn't a Seeker. He watched the Irish Chasers grab possession of the Quaffle, and watched with interest, the Bludgers trying to unseat everyone. "Yeah!" he yelled, shaking his fist excitedly as play began. 

Cody had thought that Hogwarts Quidditch was fast. Hogwarts had nothing on the professional players the boy now saw before him. At times, the players were nothing but scarlet or green blurs in the air, and Cody even had a difficult time catching sight of the damaging Bludgers as they went after the players. As Cody pressed his Omnioculars against his eyes, he was delighted to see that the name of whatever play was in use at the moment flashed across his vision. Watching the Chasers was like watching a machine whose parts worked flawlessly with each other. One threw the Quaffle, and another caught it. One avoided a Bludger and dropped the Quaffle towards his teammate, who flew underneath. Ireland scored first, more than once. 

The crack of the bat against Bludgers drew Cody's attention to the Bulgarian Beaters, who were every bit as fierce as a Beater should be. They allowed Bulgaria to score. He noticed that when one team scored, the mascots of that team reacted; the veela danced, and the leprechauns formed whatever shape they felt appropriate. 

It seemed like the game never slowed down; it was one ongoing rush of adrenaline for those watching. Cody lost track of the number of times he had jumped up and down, or cheered, or laughed, or yelled. He wasn't really rooting for anyone in particular, he just cheered at all of the cool plays and scoring. 

A little bit into the match, Lynch and Krum suddenly dove towards the ground, as fast as their brooms would go. As they were both Seekers, Cody figured one of them had seen the Snitch, and looked around for it. "They're going to crash!" Hermione cried. Cody's eyes widened as both players approached the ground, sure that they would be killed when they crashed into it, but at the last second, Krum pulled up. Lynch, however, did not. Not able to move quite as quickly, he crashed to the ground and sprawled on the ground. Cody winced. 

Mr. Weasley groaned. "Fool! Krum was feinting!" 

"It's a time out!" called Bagman. "As trained mediwizards hurry onto the field to examine Aidan Lynch!" 

Cody saw that Harry had spun the replay on his Omnioculars, and did the same himself. In a speed slow enough that he could actually see what was happening, the whole situation played out in front of his eyes. The words "Wronski Defensive Feint" were displayed. "Dangerous Seeker Diversion." Cody frowned, and asked Hermione what the words meant. 

"A feint is a fake-out,' she explained. "Pretending to do one thing when you really intended something else. And a diversion is something that distracts someone else." 

"Oh...so...Krum was trying to distract Lynch?" 

"Yes, he hadn't really seen the Snitch, he was hoping that Lynch crashed. Obviously that would make it easier for him to get the Snitch if Lynch were taken out of the game, even for a short while. See, look, Krum's looking for the Snitch." 

"Ohhh, wow! He sure flies good." 

Hermione nodded, frowning a bit. "Still, Lynch could have been seriously hurt." 

Cody shrugged. "They've got para..medicals...out there. Besides, being dangerous makes it more fun!" 

Hermione did not look convinced. 

But Lynch was tended, and recovered enough to continue play, and when he rose into the air, game resumed. 

The game was getting fierce, and not necessarily honorable. As Ireland scored ten goals in the space of fifteen minutes, the Bulgarians had to think of other ways to score. Cody wasn't sure what happened next, but there was a cry of indignation from the fans, and a whistle blown. Apparently as one of the Irish Chasers flew at the goal, the Bulgarian Keeper had struck him with the elbow, what they called cobbing. Ireland was awarded a penalty shot, and the leprechauns formed the words "HA HA HA" in the air, which didn't endear them to the veela. They tossed their hair back and began to dance. 

Many people closed their eyes, not wishing to be distracted by the veelas' dancing, but the referee had been caught in their spell. Cody snickered as the little wizard flew over to them, showing off his muscles and smoothing his moustache. 

Ludo Bagman's amused voice echoed through the stadium. "Now, we can't have that! Somebody slap that referee!" 

Cody laughed when one of the mediwizards ran over and kicked Mostafa in the shins. Angry now, the referee shouted at the veela, who looked fairly defiant. And Bagman cried in surprise that Mostafa was trying to send the veela off the field! "Now _there's_ something we haven't seen before. Oh, this could turn nasty." 

And he was right. The Bulgarian Beaters landed and began arguing with Mostafa, and even Cody could see that tempers were rising. The leprechauns weren't helping matters. A big, green "HEE HEE HEE" rose into the sky. 

When the Beaters refused Mostafa's order that they get back into the air, he awarded two more penalties, which finally got them flying. And the game finally resumed once more. 

Needless to say, the Bulgarians were out for blood, and all four Beaters were smashing Bludgers left and right. The Bulgarians fouled the Irish once more, and Ireland got yet another penalty shot. The leprechauns rose once more, forming a giant hand, which made a gesture that Cody was unfamiliar with (a hand with its back to the crowd and the first two fingers raised together). But when he asked Fred what it meant, he told him, and Cody's eyes went wide. He clapped his hand to his mouth, giggling into his hand; the gesture was equivalent to America's middle finger. The veela took a good amount of offense at this, and streaked across the field, throwing handfuls of fire at the leprechauns. Before Cody's amazed eyes, they seemed to be losing their beautiful facades, and began looking very much like harpies. 

The game was going on, but there was now a full-fledged battle going on below, and Cody's attention was divided between the two. Ministry officials labored to separate those who fought for blood below, while the players fought for the championship above. 

One of the Irish Beaters cracked a Bludger at Krum, catching him full in the face, and Cody's eyes widened. Blood spurted from his nose, and Cody thought that the referee would call a time out, but it did not happen. As he searched for the little wizard, he saw that one of the veela's fireballs had set the tail of his broom alight. 

Even this spectacle could not keep Cody's attention when the Irish Seeker suddenly dove, and Harry called, "Look at Lynch!" Cody looked. 

Lynch had suddenly dove, and Cody caught the briefest flash of gold in the air. His eyes widened and he took in a sharp breath, feeling adrenaline pumping in his veins. Lynch had seen the Snitch. Cody clenched his fists as Krum dove after him, blood spattering behind him as he flew. Cody winced again, and hoped that he never took that kind of shot from a Bludger. 

"They're going to crash!" Hermione cried. 

"They're not!" yelled Ron. 

"Lynch is!" Harry said. 

And crash he did. For the second time that day, Lynch crunched into the ground, and Cody watched the veela stampeding over him. Lynch was going to be hurting in the morning! 

"The Snitch!" Charlie roared. "Where's the Snitch?" 

Harry spotted it. "He's got it, Krum's got it! It's all over!" 

And he did. Krum rose gently into the air, clutching the struggling Snitch in his hand, blood still streaming from his nose. The scoreboard read: BULGARIA: 160, IRELAND: 170. The "chalk" was flashing. 

At first no one realized what happened, and then slowly, a great cheer began to rise from the supporters of Ireland. Soon, as Bagman cried out the results, the crowd screamed and cheered. 

"Ireland wins!" bellowed Bagman, looking as astonished as everyone else. "Krum gets the Snitch, but Ireland wins! Good Lord, I don't any of us were expecting that!" 

Cody laughed delightedly, jumping up and down, and waving his fists in the air. Though Ron also cheered, he asked why Krum had caught the Snitch when they were so far behind. 

"He knew they were never going to catch up!" Harry called back. "The Irish Chasers were too good, he wanted to end it on his terms, that's all!" 

A group of mediwizards was trying to wade and blast its way through the fiercely battling mascots, as many of the leprechauns zoomed triumphantly around the pitch. Krum refused to let himself be tended, he and his teammates looking disappointed. 

"Vell, ve fought bravely," said a baritone voice from behind Cody. He turned around to see that it had been the Bulgarian Minister of Magic that had spoken. Fudge, looking very surprised, asked indignantly that if he knew English, why he had let him mime everything all day. Cody had to hide a giggle when the Bulgarian said "Vell, it vos very funny." 

Bagman was commentating the Irish's lap of honor, and announced the arrival of the Quidditch World Cup's arrival in the Top Box. 

Cody winced and squeezed his eyes shut for a moment as the Top Box was suddenly lit by a blaze of light, but once his eyes adjusted, he opened them again. He didn't want to miss anything. Cody's eyes widened as the gigantic golden trophy was carried into the Top Box, and he stood up onto his seat so that he could see better. Cornelius Fudge was handed the Cup, and Bagman cried, "Let's have a really loud hand for the gallant losers – Bulgaria!" 

Cody grinned and clapped vigorously as the Bulgarian team filtered into the Top Box. He gave the Beaters the thumbs-up, and was elated when one of them smiled a bit and returned the gesture. The Irish team came in then, and the Cup was passed to them. Cody grinned and clapped yet more, bouncing a bit on the seat from sheer excitement. He watched the Ireland team leave to perform a victory lap on their brooms, and watched them for a moment, before turning his attention back to the happenings in the box. 

Bagman pointed his wand at his own throat and said "Quietus." His voice was hoarse from all the yelling and commentating, but he still looked quite happy with the outcome. "They'll be talking about that one for years. A really unexpected twist, that – shame it couldn't have lasted longer." He raised his brow as the Weasley twins approached, looking ecstatic, their hands outstretched. "Ah yes, I owe you...how much?" 

--- 

Cody ducked behind the twins as they all left, to avoid being seen by the Malfoys. He did ask the twins how the gambling thing worked, and as Fred talked to his father about not telling their mother they'd gambled, George explained to Cody about bets and odds. Cody thought it all a very risky way to earn money, not to mention highly confusing. He was glad the twins had gotten money, but he still thought it had been a silly way to do it. 

Crowds upon crowds of wizards and witches were flooding out of the stadium then, and the Weasley's group was caught up in the flow. Leprechauns zoomed overhead, and people were chattering, and singing, and talking about the exciting match. When they reached the tents, Cody was very tired, but still too hyped to want to sleep. It was also getting very chilly, and Cody wanted to warm up some. Mr. Weasley agreed that they could all have a cup of hot chocolate before going to bed. 

Cody yawned several times during the friendly arguments and excited talk of the match they'd just seen. But when Ginny fell asleep at the table and spilled her hot chocolate all over the place, Mr. Weasley deemed it bedtime. Hermione and Ginny left for the girls' tent, while the rest of the group stayed in the larger one. Still, there were seven Weasleys, plus Harry and Cody, and that made nine people for four bunk beds. Cody didn't want to sleep on the floor and so he asked Fred if he could share his top bunk. The twin readily agreed. 


	26. Year 4, Chapter 5: Dark Reunion

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 5: Dark Reunion**

Cody had not slept long, less than a half hour, before Fred was shaking him awake. "Cody, get up...something's happening. Come on, quick!" 

The child grumbled something not-quite-coherent, and sat up, scowling. He had just been about to hit a Bludger right at Wood's ugly face, and then Fred had to wake him up! "'S goin' on?" 

"I dunno, but Dad says it's on, kid." Fred and George actually looked worried, which made Cody worry, too. A little more awake, clad in his ThunderCats pajamas, he followed the others outside. There were screams and shouts out there now, instead of the singing and carrying on from the Irish, and the other various celebrations that Cody had fallen asleep to. 

Outside was rather a chaotic scene. He heard yells and shouts, as well as some rather obnoxious jeers and yells. There was a burst of green light, which got rid of some of the eerie shadows flickering across the campgrounds, and let Cody see what was happening. 

There was a crowd of wizards who seemed to be hiding their faced behind cloaks and hoods, and had their wands pointed upwards. Cody's eyes widened in shock as he saw what drifted several feet in the air; people. Four people, who was struggling against the manipulations of those carrying wands. They were being twisted and spun around, and Cody saw with horror that two of the figures were children. "Hey!" he cried, outraged, and started to run at the figures. "Leave them alone!" 

Cody's small voice was lost among the general din, and he didn't get far before Mr. Weasley snagged the collar of his pajama top and yanked him unceremoniously back. "Cody, no!" came his worried voice, as a hand grasped his arm firmly. 

"Those're kids, they've got kids, we gotta stop them!" Cody cried. He was near tears, fearing for the poor children that were being manipulated by the wizards on the ground. As they neared, he could see that it was Mr. Roberts, and likely his family. The children looked terrified. 

"I know, I , listen," said Mr. Weasley as the smallest of the children began spinning so fast that Cody was sure he would break his neck. "Listen to me, child." The man's voice was gentle, but Cody could hear the urgency behind it. "It will be all right, the Ministry is coming in to help. I admire your desire to help, but these are highly skilled wizards, and it would be wise to let those trained for this kind of thing deal with it. We _will _save those Muggles, okay?" 

Calmed somewhat, Cody bit his lip and nodded. He glanced up at the Roberts family and hoped fervently that they would get them down soon. 

Mr. Weasley smiled a little and put his hand on Cody's head. "Good boy." They both looked up as the three eldest Weasley brothers emerged from the tent clothed, and with their wands out. "Okay," said Mr. Weasley, drawing his own wand. "Okay, we're going to help the Ministry!" he said to the others. "You lot, get into the woods, and stick together! I'll come fetch you when we've sorted this out!" 

Cody was quite inclined to stay and watch, wanting to make sure, to be assured that the Roberts would be unharmed, but George picked the boy up off the ground and slung him over his shoulder. Cody made a yell of surprise as they followed the other youths into the trees, and only then was he set down. 

"Those jerks!" Cody spat furiously, clenching his fists and making a violent gesture in midair. "I wish...I wish I could...punch them all out!" 

"You and me both, mate," said George. He sounded as helplessly furious as Cody felt. 

Even in the woods, there was a fair bit of chaos. Children were crying aloud (and Cody had to wipe his own eyes) and it was as dark as pitch in the woods. "Look, there's a light over there, I think someone's got a lantern," said one of the twins. "We should head over there." 

"Yeah," said George. Or maybe it was Fred. In the dark, Cody couldn't tell. "I see a couple of lit wands, too. Hold onto me, kid, you don't want to get separated in all of this." 

"Okay." Cody reached out and felt for a hand, but encountered one of the twins' pajama shirttails. He seized this, and the trio made their way toward the lights. 

"You've got Ginny?" asked a twin. 

"I'm right here." Ginny sounded scared, but seemed to be holding up all right. 

"Hey, where'd the others go?" George asked. 

As they moved into the light they looked around, only to see that Harry, Ron, and Hermione had gotten separated from them. "I hope they're all right," said Fred anxiously. 

"Oh, I'm sure they will be. After all, they're not thick enough to stick around where all the trouble's coming from," George said. "Besides, most the Ministry is out here, trying to deal with all this." 

Ginny spoke up. "I wonder if we've been away long enough for the trouble to have died down, 'cause this is getting silly." 

Cody and the twins had joined a large group of people milling about, looking nervously back at the faint commotion from the campsite. Discussions in at least three different languages were going on, people were crying or yelling in various parts of the area, and the faint ruckus from the campsite only added to the din. 

The twins and Ginny began a conversation on who the masked wizards were, and how the Ministry would get the Roberts down without harming them. Exhausted by this point, Cody only staggered along, pulled forward every now and then as the owner of the pajamas he was holding onto made a particularly long stride. George, as it turned out to be, finally picked Cody up and carried him. Cody was a little surprised - and touched - by this gesture. Yawning, he leaned his head on the older boy's shoulder. 

It was strange, seeing the twins act seriously for so long, and even stranger to see them looking worried. It seemed like a very little thing, but it brought home to Cody just how grim this situation was. 

For a few moments, Cody felt himself drifting off, and at one point he felt George passing Cody off to his brother. Cody was small for his age, but he was still a nine year old boy, and got fairly heavy for a teenager to carry after a while. 

Cody didn't hear much until a frightened shout nearby made him start, and sit straight up. Fred nearly dropped him from the sudden movement. Several people around them screamed, looking up into the dark sky. Cody followed their gazes, and his eyes widened at what he saw. A huge mass made of glowing, green dots was forming in the sky. "Lookit, what is it?" he cried, pointing. "_What is it?"_

As the twins looked, the dots formed a colossal skull, from which a snake protruded. The unnatural formation made Cody shiver, so malign was it. 

"Blimey!" George said, his own eyes widening. "That's not...that's not You-Know-Who's mark, is it?" 

"I-I dunno," said Fred. He looked about as happy to see it as anyone else. In fact many people seemed almost on the verge of panic, simply from the sight of it. "I think it is!" 

"Come on, Fred," said George worriedly. "Let's get back, make sure Dad and the others are okay." 

Fred nodded, and still carrying Cody, he began to run after his brother. Ginny followed close behind, her eyes wide. 

Cody was worried, too. That **was** Voldemort's mark, he remembered that, but where were Ron and the others? Where was the person that had sent up that threatening mark? From his vantage point, not having to concentrate on keeping up with the twins, he was able to watch what was going on. The Dark Mark still blazed a brilliant green in the sky, casting a sort of sickly light on the entire scene. Most of the adults were the ones who looked the most terrified, and Cody's wasn't entirely sure why. 

The foursome got back to the Weasley's campsite unharmed, to the scene of many smoldering tents, and a lot of damage. There were not very many people back yet. "Bill?" Fred called, setting Cody down on the ground. "Charlie? Percy?" By good fortune, the Weasley's borrowed tents had taken very little damage. 

"We're here," came an exhausted-sounding voice. 

They looked to see the three wizards making their way towards the tent, looking somewhat the worse for wear. Cody felt a chill of alarm as he looked them over; Charlie had come out of it the best, he only had a ripped shirt. Percy's nose was leaking blood almost as badly as Victor Krum's had, and Bill clutched at his upper arm, blood seeping between his fingers. "A-are you okay?" Cody asked. 

"Yeah, we're all right," said Bill wearily. "Nothing that can't be fixed." 

"What happened?" Fred asked, looking a good deal younger than sixteen years for the concern on his face. 

"Come on inside," said Charlie, heading for the tent. "We can mop up Percy and Bill, and tell you what hap..." Charlie broke off, looking startled, as he realized they were alone. "Where's Ron and the others?" 

"We dunno," said George grimly. "It was pitch black in the woods at first, and we got separated." 

Charlie let a big breath, and nodded. "I hope they're all right. Maybe Dad's run into them. Let's get inside." 

Cody was so weary he was shaking, but still shook his head when Percy suggested that he should lie down and get some sleep. "Aw, he's all right," said Fred, sitting at the table and letting Cody sit on his lap. Cody yawned and lay back against him, wanting to hear Charlie's tale. The lamps cast a rather comforting light on the room as everyone settled down. 

Bill and Percy sat down while Charlie hunted up a bedsheet to use as a makeshift bandage for Bill's arm. Percy had dug out a handkerchief from his pocket and was holding it to his nose. "Well, for a while it was just chaos," said Charlie. "Those masked..." He seemed about to say something less than polite, but he caught Cody's eye and settled for knew we couldn't do anything much without endangering the Muggles' lives. We were trying at first to separate the crowd that was supporting the masked blokes, and egging them on." 

"I still can't believe that they were condoning that. I never knew there were that many wizards with no sense of morality." Bill scowled as he took the sheet Charlie had found and held it to his arm. 

Charlie nodded, and went on. "Dad was doing his best to help get the Muggles down, but the masked blokes were attacking the Ministry members, and we were limited in what we could do back. We couldn't put everyone else in danger. Percy caught a fist from one of them, and I only barely ducked the same kind of curse that caught Bill on the arm. And then – hold on, I think I hear Dad! Stay here, I'm gonna take a look." Charlie darted to the entrance of the tent and peered out. Apparently he had heard correctly, for he called, "Dad, what's going on? Fred, George, Ginny, and Cody got back okay, but the others..." 

"I've got them here," said Mr. Weasley's voice from outside. There was a collective sigh of relief from inside. He crouched down to enter the tent, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione followed after. They all looked fairly unharmed. 

"Did you get them Dad?" Bill asked eagerly. "The person who conjured the Mark?" 

"No," said Mr. Weasley. He went on to tell them that Mr. Crouch's house elf had been found holding Harry's wand, but they didn't know who had actually conjured the Mark. Percy, Charlie, and Bill all seemed astonished at this. 

"Harry's wand?" asked Fred. 

"Mr. Crouch's _elf?_" This was Percy, who seemed more shocked than anyone else. 

Mr. Weasley and the others began to tell what happened, that they had seen Winky the house elf running into the forest and into the trees. How they had heard someone shout an incantation, and how a group of Ministry officials had sent Stunning beams into the forest. How they had found Winky, with Harry's wand, and how Mr. Diggory and Mr. Crouch had interrogated her. How Mr. Crouch had fired the elf (there was a lot of indignation from Hermione during the telling of this) and that they could not find who had actually done the spell. 

Percy, of course, who thought that his boss could do no wrong, said that he was quite right to sack and "elf like that". How she'd been wrong to run away when she'd been told not to, and how she had embarrassed him. Cody blinked and looked at him, shocked at how callous Percy was being! 

This sparked an argument between Percy and an enraged Hermione, who defended Winky's actions. Cody personally thought she was right. 

Ron interrupted the verbal row. "Look, can someone just explain what that skull thing was? It wasn't hurting anyone, why's it such a big deal?" 

"Yeah, but it was creepy," said Cody, his words slurred in the slightest from fatigue. 

Hermione's answer was impatient. "I told you, it's You-Know-Who's symbol, Ron. I read about it in _The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts._" 

"And it hasn't been seen in thirteen years," added Mr. Weasley. "Of course people panicked. It was almost like seeing You-Know-Who back again." 

Ron frowned. "I don't get it. I mean it's still only a shape in the sky." 

"A _creepy_ shape in the sky," Cody corrected. 

Ron rolled his eyes. "Okay, a _creepy_ shape in the sky." 

Mr. Weasley looked grimly at them. "Ron, You-Know-Who and his followers sent the Dark Mark into the air whenever they killed." Cody's eyes widened. "The terror it inspired – you have no idea, you're too young. Just picture coming home and finding the Dark Mark hovering over your house, and knowing what you're about to find inside. Everyone's worst fear, the very worst..." Mr. Weasley winced, and Cody shuddered at the vision that suddenly ran through his mind. Of him coming home, perhaps from a term at Hogwarts, and seeing the awful thing casting its sick green light on his house, of running inside and seeing his mom and Samantha lying on the floor... 

Swallowing hard, Cody closed his eyes tightly to banish the image, and wrapped his arms around himself. Fred surprised him by giving him a brief, reassuring squeeze. 

After a few minutes of silence, Bill spoke. "Well, it didn't help us tonight, whoever conjured it. It scared the Death Eaters away the moment they saw it. They all disapparated before we'd got near enough to unmask any of them. We caught the Robertses before they hit the ground, though. They're having their memories modified right now." 

This, Cody did not protest, especially the kids. Them having to remember such a horrible thing would be worse than the magic spell that would take the memory from their minds. In this case, Cody felt the Obliviate charm was justified. 

Harry asked what Death Eaters were, and Bill told him that's what You-Know-Who's supporters called themselves. A really gross name, in Cody's opinion. "They didn't really...you know...eat...eat dead people or anything did they?" he asked, his voice a little faint from the sheer disgustingness of the idea. 

Bill shook his head. "I don't think so, Cody. They just picked a name that would be intimidating. Anyway, I think we saw what was left of them tonight. The ones who managed to keep themselves out of Azkaban, anyway." 

"We can't prove it was them, Bill," said Mr. Weasley with a sigh. "Though it probably was." 

"Yeah, I bet it was!" Ron said, his eyes widening. "Dad, we met Draco Malfoy in the woods, an he as good as told us his dad was one of those nutters in masks! And we all know the Malfoys were right in with You-Know-Who!" 

"But what were Voldemort's – " Harry broke off as everyone but Cody flinched. "Sorry...What were You-Know-Who's supporters up to, levitating Muggles? I mean what was the point?" 

"The point?" Mr. Weasley laughed, though there was little humor in the sound. He told them that it was simply their idea of fun, that half the Muggle-killings when You-Know-Who was in power had been for fun. Cody thought that was horrible. He was going to send a letter to his mom as soon as he could and make sure she and Samantha were okay. 

Ron asked why the Death Eaters were afraid, rather than pleased, at seeing the Dark Mark. And Bill said that when Voldemort had been defeated, a lot of the Death Eaters lied, saying Voldemort had forced them to torture and kill people. That they would be more scared of seeing him back than the general public, as they denied ever being involved with him and gone back to their normal lives. "I don't expect he'd be overly pleased with them, do you?" 

After thinking on this for a moment, Hermione asked if he who had conjured the Mark had been showing support for the Death Eaters, or trying to scare them away. 

Mr. Weasley did not know. "But I'll tell you this. It was only the Death Eaters who knew how to conjure it. I'd be very surprised if the person who did it hadn't been a Death Eater once, even if they're not now." 

Cody tried in vain to stifle a yawn. "But couldn't anyone learn the right word?" 

Mr. Weasley shook his head. "You know that there's a lot more than just a word to getting a spell right, Cody. You have to concentrate, and channel your energy. You have to have the right mindset, and the desire to see the spell work. And there were few that had such a dark desire." He sighed, and addressed his children. "Look, it's very late, and if your mother hears what's happened, she'll be worried sick. We'll get a few more hours' sleep and get an early Portkey out of here." 

As this point, Cody did not protest in the slightest, as he was so tired that his head was beginning to pound. He slid off of Fred's lap and stumbled towards the bunk he was sharing with the twins. He crawled into bed and listened to Fred and George settle in as well. 

While Cody was never afraid of the dark, tonight it seemed oppressive and threatening. The faint sounds of people returning to their tents, cries of anger or anguish at seeing the destruction of their properties, and the other assorted sounds in the aftermath of the incident unnerved him a great deal. He was very glad that he was not sleeping alone that night. Finally, he slept. 

--- 

The group had slept only three and a half hours before being wakened. Cody was too tired even to be grouchy as he was shaken awake. "Come on, Cody," said Mr. Weasley's voice. "Time to get up." The boy sat up and yawned, stretching. Everyone else was up already, and had their overnight bags packed and ready to go. Cody climbed down from the bunk and dressed in his clothing, putting his souvenirs into his own little bag, ready to head for the Burrow. He rather wished he was home at the moment. 

Magic was used to pack up the tents, and the group began walking towards the portkey site, in the damp, chilly England morning. Mr. Roberts stood at the door of his home, looking a little dazed. He wished them a Merry Christmas as they passed. 

"He'll be all right," said Mr. Weasley quietly to the worried group. "Sometimes when a person's memory's modified, it makes him a bit disoriented for a while...and that was a big thing they had to make him forget." 

There were a lot of wizards in the moor, wanting portkeys back home. Mr. Weasley spoke quietly to the keeper of the portkeys, and he and his group were able to take one back to Stoatshead Hill while the eastern horizon was still gray. 

Cody was asleep on his feet, and Charlie ended up carrying him back to the Burrow. Having worked with dragons so long, he was quite strong, and so it was not a huge effort to carry the boy. Cody slept with his thumb in his mouth until they arrived back at the Burrow, where Mrs. Weasley's relieved cry echoed across the foggy morning air. "Oh, thank goodness, thank goodness!" 

Blinking, Cody sat slowly up and peered at the woman through half-closed lids. 

"Arthur, I've been so worried...so worried!" She threw her arms around her husband's neck, the newspaper she clutched falling to the ground. Cody peered at it and asked Charlie what it said. 

"It says..." Charlie looked down at it and rolled his eyes. "Oh for... It says 'Scenes of Terror at the Quidditch World Cup.' Why reporters have to over dramatize things is beyond me." 

"'Cuz they're a big pain in everyone's butt-end," said Cody, looking down at the twinkling picture of the eerie Dark Mark. "Can I keep this picture when you guys're done with it?" He almost added "It's kinda cool", but decided that it wouldn't be a wise thing to say. 

"I don't see why not," said Chralie. 

Mrs. Weasley looked everyone over. "You're all right...you're alive. Oh, boys..." And with that, she grabbed the twins around the neck and squeezed them tightly to her. Their heads banged together. 

"Ouch! Mum, you're strangling us!" one of the twins sputtered in shock. 

Mrs. Weasley began to cry. "I shouted at you before you left! It's all I've been thinking of! What if You-Know-Who had got you, and the last thing I ever said to you was that you didn't get enough O.W.L.s? Oh Fred, George..." Cody rather thought that she wouldn't have to worry about You-Know-Who if she didn't let go of them soon. She was going to strangle them herself. 

Mr. Weasley stepped in them, gently separating her from the twins' necks. "Come on now, Molly, we're all perfectly okay." As he led her towards the Burrow, he asked Bill to snag the paper so he could read it. 

"I've got it, Dad," said Charlie. 

They crammed into the little kitchen, where Mr. Weasley made his wife a cup of tea. He poured some firewhiskey into it, which Cody assumed was to help her calm down. Interested, he peered into the bottle. "Could I try a sip?" he asked. 

"Yes," said Mr. Weasley distractedly, picking up the Daily Prophet and paging through it. "Go ahead." 

Surprised, Cody picked up the bottle and sniffed it. It smelled very weird to him. Most of those in the kitchen paid him no mind, but he noticed Bill and the twins glancing his way to see what would happen. 

Cody carefully tipped the bottle so that he caught a little sip of the booze, and swallowed it down. At first he almost panicked, as his breath was taken away, a fierce burning sliding down his throat. He coughed and set the bottle down, retreating from it as if it was a poisonous reptile. "Yuck!" he gasped in shock, staring at the bottle. That had been the most horrible thing he had ever tasted! 

This drew a few others' attention to him as the twins shook with restrained, silent laughter. His cheeks turning a little red, Cody slunk to the opposite side of the table and poured himself a glass of apple juice. He glared at the bottle of whiskey every now and then as if it had assaulted him of its own free will. 

Charlie chuckled and leaned over to give Cody's shoulders a brief squeeze. "Don't worry too much, kid. That's pretty stiff, there's adults who don't even like it." He winked, and sat back in his chair, pouring himself a cup of tea. 

Mr. Weasley scowled at the paper and its contents, muttering about the uncomplimentary things that had been written about the whole affair and wondering who had written them. His eyes cut upwards, where the reporter's name was typed, and he nodded. "Ah, of course. Rita Skeeter." 

"That woman's got it in for the Ministry of Magic!" spat Percy. "Last week she was saying we're wasting our time quibbling about cauldron thickness, when we should be stamping out vampires! As if it wasn't specifically stated in paragraph twelve of the Guidelines for the Treatment of Non-Wizard Part-Humans - " 

Bill yawned, less than impressed. "Do us a favor, Perce, and shut up." 

"I'm mentioned," said Mr. Weasley. 

"Where?" Mrs. Weasley demanded. "If I'd seen that, I would have known you were alive!" 

"Not by name," said Mr. Weasley. He went on to quote the paper's having said that a Ministry official had come from the woods after the Dark Mark appeared, saying that no one had been hurt, but saying nothing else. And speculated on whether that statement would have been enough to quash the rumors that several bodies were removed from the woods an hour later. "Oh really," said Mr. Weasley in exasperation. "Nobody _was_ hurt, what was I supposed to say? ' Rumors that several bodies were removed from the woods'... Well, there certainly will be rumors now that she's printed that!" 

"Boy, she sure is a git," said Cody from his glass of apple juice. 

"You said it," said Bill. 

Mr. Weasley sighed. "Molly, I'm going to have to go into the office; this is going to take some smoothing over." 

Looking all important, Percy said that he would come as well, as they would need all hands on deck. "And I can give him my cauldron report in person." 

Mrs. Weasley did not want her husband to leave, to go into work on a vacation. But Mr. Weasley insisted, saying he had made things worse. 

Harry asked if Hedwig had come with a message, and upon finding she had not, nodded to Ron and Hermione to speak privately. They headed out of the kitchen and curious, Cody followed. Ron frowned, and glanced at Harry. "Okay if Cody comes along?" 

Harry looked for a moment, distracted, and then said, "Oh, yeah, he's fine, he already knows about him." 

Ron nodded, and the foursome made their way upstairs. "What's up?" Ron asked once they were in the room with the door closed. 

"There's something I haven't told you," said Harry, mostly to Ron and Hermione. Cody felt a bit like someone's little brother. He didn't know if he liked that feeling or if he resented it. "On Saturday morning, I woke up with my scar hurting again." 

Cody wasn't sure why this was a huge deal, but the other two seemed shocked. Hermione began suggesting about a million people (and books) to reference to see what he should do about it, and Ron asked if You-Know-Who had been near Harry's house. 

"I'm sure he wasn't on Privet Drive," said Harry. Cody listened over his glass of juice. "But I was dreaming about him, him and Peter. You know, Wormtail. I can't remember all of it now, but they were planning to kill...someone." 

"It was only a dream," said Ron. "Just a nightmare." 

"What did he look like?" asked Cody interestedly. 

"What, You-Know-Who?" Ron asked, looking like he wasn't sure he wanted to know. Cody nodded. 

"I didn't see him," Harry said. "Only heard him. He's got this strange, high voice. Not like a woman's or anything, just...kinda eerie. It's weird, though. My scar hurts, and three days later, the Death Eaters are on the march, and Voldemort's sign's up in the sky again." 

Ron grimaced, his face pale. "Don't say his name!" he hissed. 

Cody looked at Ron for a moment, and just to see what would happen, said, "Voldemort." 

Ron turned to him, his eyes wide, as if he couldn't believe what he just heard. "Cody!" Cody looked innocently back. 

"And remember what Professor Trelawney said?" Harry went on. "And the end of last year?" 

Hermione was less than impressed by this, asked Harry if he was going to listen to the old fraud. 

"You weren't there," Harry said, shaking his head. "You didn't hear her. This time was different, I told you, she went into a trance. A real one. And she said the Dark Lord would rise again, 'greater and more terrible than ever before.'" Cody shivered, but he grinned. This was all very scary, but he liked scary stuff. A little more awake now, he leaned forward and listened. "And he'd manage it because his servant was going to go back to him. And that night Wormtail escaped." There was silence for a moment as everyone digested this information, then Hermione asked what Harry was expecting Hedwig to bring. Harry said he had written to Sirius about all of this. 

"Good thinking!' said Ron. "I bet Sirius'll know what to do!" 

When the conversation ended, Ron suggested a game of Quidditch in the orchard, said the twins and Bill and Charlie would likely play. Cody asked if he could come along, too. He wondered how they could play, though, without the right balls. "Bill or Charlie can enchant a stone, or something..." said Ron. "Cody, maybe you can try out Seeker against Harry!" 

Cody snorted. "Yeah, right! I'm not that good!" 

Harry looked flattered. "Come on, I'll even let you ride the Firebolt for a bit." 

Cody's expression lit up. "Okay, awesome!" The boys left the room, leaving a disapproving Hermione behind, muttering about boys. 

The game was fun. There were seven people, and so with two teams of three, there was one that would be left. The odd man out played the part of referee, and the others sort of switched positions every once in a while. It was fun, trying out the other positions; Cody did try Seeker against Harry, and even with Cody on the Firebolt once he learned to control it a bit, and Harry on Cody's old Nimbus 1700, Harry easily won that game! "How do you keep your eye on the stupid thing?" he demanded, glaring at the small rock that Charlie had enchanted, and Harry had just chuckled. Cody tried Chaser and Keeper, and decided that he definitely liked Beater best! Still, being referee was fun. (The twins tended to cob a lot!) Needless to say, that night he went to bed on the couch very early and slept until late the next morning. 


	27. Year 4, Chapter 6: Weasley Brothers

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 6: Weasley Brothers**

The following week was very interesting. There was a lot of Quidditch played, and the usual magic happenings exploded around the Burrow. Ron's oldest brothers were having fun with a young child about, and there were a lot of wrestling matches between Cody and Bill and Charlie. Cody liked to roughhouse, and with only a mother and smaller sister, he didn't get to do it often. He liked Bill and Charlie a lot, even if they did pin him down and tickle him sometimes! 

Cody snagged the Daily Prophet about the World Cup before it got thrown away, and cut out the animated picture of the Dark Mark. He stuck this into his trunk. 

Mr. Weasley and Percy often came home with news about what was happening at the Ministry. Percy's desk had been scorched by all the Howlers people were sending, and his quill had been a casualty of these exploding letters. When Ginny asked why people were sending Howlers, Percy said that people were angry about the lax security, and wanted compensation for ruined belongings. 

Mrs. Weasley was less than happy. "You father hasn't had to go into the office on weekends since the days of You-Know-Who. They're working him far too hard. His dinner's going to be ruined if he doesn't come home soon." This was the Sunday before the return to Hogwarts, and Cody found he was not looking forward to leaving. He liked it at the Burrow. 

Percy was less than supportive. "Well, Father feels he's got to make up for his mistake at the match, doesn't he? If truth be told, he was a tad unwise to make a public statement without clearing it with his head of department first." 

Mrs. Weasley was angry. "Don't you dare blame your father for what that wretched Skeeter woman wrote!" 

Bill, who was playing some wizard chess with Ron, spoke up. "If Dad hadn't said anything, old Rita would just have said it was disgraceful that nobody from the Ministry had commented. Rita Skeeter never makes anyone look good. Remember, she interviewed all the Gringotts' Charm breakers once, and called me a long-haired pillock." 

Cody giggled at this phrase. "What's a pillock, anyway?" he asked seeing Mrs. Weasley's eyes look disapprovingly at Bill's ponytail. 

"It means idiot, basically," said Bill, rolling his eyes. "I swear, that woman is not very professional for a reporter. She'd do better reporting for the Quibbler." 

It was raining and chilly outside, and everyone was cooped up in the house. Normally this would be very annoying to Cody, but as the inside of the house was quite interesting, his attention was usually well occupied. Fred and George had even shown him some of the things that they had been working on inventing of late, after making him promise he wouldn't tell anyone. Cody promised, and after seeing some of their creations, vowed to be quite cautious about what he accepted, foodwise, from either of the twins. They had some dangerous stuff! 

Feeling particularly energetic, Cody looked round the room to find a good candidate for a pouncing target. Harry was polishing his broomstick, and Ron and Bill were playing chess. Hermione was reading a book, and Ginny was repairing one of hers. The twins were concentrating on a piece of paper. Charlie was sewing what looked like a weird ski mask to him. 

Charlie it was! 

Cody waited until Charlie had set down his needle, before sneaking up him and jumping! Charlie let a short yell of startlement, then laughed, and began to gently tackle Cody to the floor. 

"Boys!" said Mrs. Weasley chidingly, hands on her hips. "You're going to hurt yourselves, doing that inside!" 

Charlie, who was effortlessly pinning Cody and looking highly amused as he watched Cody trying to struggle out, grinned up at his mother. "Not to worry, Mum. I wouldn't let the little anklebiter get hurt." 

"Anklebiter!" At this supreme insult, Cody renewed his struggles. 

Mrs. Weasley seemed about to say something else, but the grandfather clock nearby caught her eye, for Mr. Weasley's hand on it was pointing to "traveling". "Oh, you're father's coming!" As Mr. Weasley called from the kitchen, Mrs. Weasley went to get his supper. 

Charlie stood, and hoisted Cody almost to the low ceiling, making him laugh aloud. "All right, runt," he said, eliciting an indignant huff from Cody. "We'll finish this conversation later." 

Cody laughed at the description of their wrestling as a "conversation". He was set down, and a moment later, Mr. Weasley came in with a tray of food. Cody thought he looked very tired. "Well, the fat's really in the fire now," he said. Cody went and sat on the floor nearby, to listen. It struck again him how much he liked it here. If you befriended the Weasleys, they treated you like family, and Cody thought that was the greatest thing. And the cozy house seemed to echo this sentiment. "Rita Skeeter's been ferreting around all week, looking for more Ministry mess-ups to report. And now she's found out about poor old Bertha going missing, so that'll be the headline in the Prophet tomorrow. I _told_ Bagman he should have sent someone to look for her ages ago." 

"Mr. Crouch has been saying it for ages and ages," Percy said. 

"Crouch is very lucky Rita hasn't found out about Winky," said Mr. Weasley, annoyed. Cody was glad to see him telling Percy off. "There'd be a week's worth of headlines in his house elf being caught holding the wand that conjured the Dark Mark." 

Percy's face got all red, as it tended to do when angry or embarrassed. "I thought we were all agreed that the elf, while irresponsible, did not conjure the mark!" 

"If you ask me," said Hermione from her book. "Mr. Crouch is very lucky no one at the Daily Prophet knows how mean he is to elves!" 

"Now look here, Hermione!" said Percy pompously. "A high-ranking Ministry official like Mr. Crouch deserves unswerving obedience from his servants -" 

"His slave, you mean! Because he didn't pay Winky, did he!" 

"Besides," Cody said, scowling at Percy, "No one should be allowed to treat other people like that, human or not! Even if elves like being enslaved, there should be laws that say you're not allowed to be mean to them!" 

Before Percy could tell Cody off, Mrs. Weasley intervened by telling everyone to go on up and make sure they'd packed everything for the trip to Hogwarts the next day. Cody scowled, but shrugged mostly agreeably. While the others trooped upstairs and a sulky looking Percy left the room, Cody went over to his trunk by the couch. He opened it and made sure all his school supplies were there, and panicked a moment when he saw that none of his school robes were there. "Mr. Weasley...do you know where my school robes are?" Had he even brought them? He'd never get them here in time from America, if he had forgotten them! 

"Oh, yes, Molly took them to wash them up, along with the others," Mr. Weasley said. 

Cody let out a breath of relief. "Oh good, thanks. I thought I forgot them." He went back to his search. Potions ingredients, ink, quills, parchment, cauldron, his money bag, schoolbooks, and his trinkets and toys. His broomstick lay on the floor beside the trunk, and Merlin's cage was there. Merlin had just brought a reply from his mother that morning after his morning bug-hunt, and Cody was happy to see it. She and Samantha were just fine, and there was a very stern-looking note in there for Cody to be careful. And to have fun. 

He had his Muggle clothing in there as well; many students wore only the robes, as many wizards who grew up with magic wore the old-fashioned kinds of clothing, but Cody usually just wore his robes over his normal clothes. Especially when it was cold. 

He was startled a moment later by a stack of his school robes being dropped on his head from behind. "Hey!" he cried indignantly, looking up. Charlie grinned at him, and walked back towards the stairs. 

Cody dumped his robes on the floor, aware of Mr. Weasley's chuckling, and jumped onto Charlie's back. They had a conversation to finish, after all! 

After a spectacular loss on Cody's part, it was announced that it was time for bed. Cody sighed; he hated goodbyes with a passion, and he didn't know when he would see the Weasleys again. Especially Bill and Charlie, who worked in different countries. He supposed that with magical means of travel, it would be easier to visit people. 

Still, goodbyes sucked. 

Once everyone was gone, and the living room was dark, Cody curled up on the armchair near the still-warm hearth, and closed his eyes. 

--- 

The next morning, Cody was wakened by Mrs. Weasley's calling upstairs for her husband. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, not feeling in the least like getting up and riding on the Hogwarts Express all day long. He watched blearily as Mr. Weasley came down and went to the fireplace. Baffled, Cody kept watching as Mr. Weasley bent down to talk to... 

Cody let out a yell of shock as a head suddenly appeared in the fire! His eyes wide, he stared, as what he realized was Mr. Diggory's head appeared in the middle of the fire - without its body! - and began talking to Mr. Weasley. Was Cody still dreaming? 

Mr. Weasley turned at Cody's outcry, and looked like his was stifling a grin. "Easy, easy, Cody," he said, his tone soothing. "It's all right. You know how we used Floo powder to travel to go and get Harry?" Cody nodded slowly. "Well, you can communicate the same way, by only sticking your head in the fire. And this is what you see." 

"Oh,"said Cody, his voice not quite as strong as it normally was. That had indeed been quite a shock, and he still wasn't sure if he was dreaming or not. 

"Hello, Cody," said Mr. Diggory's head from the fireplace, and Cody smiled weakly and waved back. 

Harry came down a moment later, when Diggory and Mr. Weasley were in the middle of their conversation. Seemed he had never seen such a sight before, either. "Floo powder," Cody said matter-of-factly. 

"I... see." 

Mr. Weasley and Mr. Diggory talked about someone named Mad-Eye for a while while Cody watched, fascinated. When the two men finished talking, Mrs. Weasley convinced Mr. Diggory to accept a piece of toast, and used tongs to get it in his mouth. Cody assumed that wherever Diggory was, he had gotten the toast. 

"So, so his head really _is_ here! It's not just a...picture or something!" 

Mr. Weasley chuckled. "Yes, but still attached to his neck. Magic works in strange ways sometimes." 

Cody shuddered. "It sure does!" 

After the conversation, Mr. Weasley had to leave once more. He said his goodbyes to everyone, and told them to have a good term. Feeling melancholy, Cody said goodbye to him and watched him go. 

"Did someone say Mad-Eye?" Bill asked, coming down the stairs and heading towards the kitchen. The smells of a cooking breakfast lured Cody in that direction. "What's he been up to now?" 

Cody sat next to Fred at the breakfast table, and Mrs. Weasley told Bill that Moody thought someone tried to break into his house the night before. Cody thanked her as she slipped a generous breakfast onto his plate, and gave him a glass of juice. He slipped some treacle syrup onto his toast. 

"Mad-Eye Moody?" said George. "Isn't he that nutter -" 

"Your father thinks very highly of Mad-Eye Moody," said Mrs. Weasley. 

"Yeah, well, Dad collects plugs, doesn't he?" said Fred quietly, making Cody nearly choke on his breakfast. "Birds of a feather..." 

Cody swallowed his toast and giggled softly. 

"Moody was a great wizard in his time," said Bill. 

"He's an old friend of Dumbledore's, isn't he?" Charlie added. 

"Dumbledore's not what you call normal though, is he?" Fred pointed out. "I mean I know he's a genius and everything." 

"Who _is_ Mad Eye?" asked Harry. 

Charlie explained that he was a retired Ministry worker, an ex-Auror. Aurors were Dark-Wizard catchers. "Half the cells in Azkaban are full because of him. He made himself loads of enemies, though...the families of people he caught, mainly. And I heard he's getting really paranoid in his old age. Doesn't trust anyone anymore. Sees Dark wizards everywhere." 

Bill and Charlie were going to see them off at the station, and Cody was glad. But Percy decided that he was too invaluable at the Ministry to come along, and again Cody was glad. So was most everyone else. 

The ride to King's Cross Station was going to be interesting. They were taking taxis. Regular, old Muggle taxis. And the drivers looked less than fantastically happy about the whole thing. They did make a rather strange package, what with owls and bats and cats...as well as broomsticks, trunks, and lots of kids. 

Not to mention that one of the twins' trunks sprang open and set off magical fireworks, sending Crookshanks up one of the poor cab driver's leg. Cody was glad he was riding with the twins, because those who were in with Crookshanks looked like scratching posts when they got out of the cab. 

--- 

At the station, Cody slipped quickly through the magical barrier and found himself among loads of billowing smoke from the engine of the Express. Feeling surly, he climbed aboard and stowed his gear (with difficulty), then went out to say goodbye to the Weasleys. He hugged Bill around the waist. "It's no fair," he said. 

"What's no fair, scamp?" Bill asked. 

Cody clenched his teeth for a moment, to stave off an unwelcome bout of tears. "I hate goodbyes, they suck," he finally said. 

"Aw, hey, look at me." Bill knelt to look Cody in the eye. "It's not really a goodbye, I mean we'll see each other again. Charlie's taken a positive shine to you." He grinned, and Cody smiled back, feeling a little flattered. He also felt happy that he was liked; that was always nice to hear. "So don't you even think about saying goodbye, because we're gonna see you again." 

"Okay. Thanks." 

"Besides," Charlie said from where he was hugging Ginny goodbye. "I might be seeing you all sooner than you think." 

"Why?" asked Fred. 

"You'll see," said Charlie. He smirked. "Just don't tell Percy I mentioned it. 'It's classified information until such time as the Ministry sees fit to release it,' after all." Cody snorted. 

"Yeah, I sort of wish I was back at Hogwarts this year," said Bill wistfully. 

"Why?" said George. 

Bill seemed to be enjoying teasing his brother. "You're going to have an interesting year. I might even get time off to come and watch a bit of it." 

"A bit of _what?_" Ron asked. 

Charlie came over and grabbed Cody under the arms, swinging him up as high as he could. Cody laughed and held onto Charlie's hands while he was spun around a few times. Upon regaining the ground, he stumbled dizzily. Charlie gave him a hug that knocked the wind out of him just as the whistle on the train blew, making a few people on the platform jump in startlement. "Go on, kid, I'll see you later this year, I think!" 

Hermione and Harry thanked Mrs. Weasley for having them stay, and Cody added his thanks as well. He went over to hug her, then ran for the train. Mrs. Weasley said that she'd invite them over for Christmas, but figured that they might want to stay this year, what with "one thing and another" 

Needless to say, her boys were getting quite frustrated with her! "Mum!" said Ron. "What d'you know that we don't? 

"You'll find out this evening, I expect. It's going to be very exciting. Mind you, I'm very glad they're changing the rules." 

And now Cody was very curious, as well, and he suspected the adults were doing this on purpose for that very reason! 

But the train left, and no one offered any more information. Cody stuck his head out the window to wave at the diminishing Weasleys. 

Ron grouched as they settled into a compartment. "Bagman wanted to tell us what was happening at Hogwarts, but my own mother won't say. Wonder what..." 

"Shh!" whispered Hermione. 

Malfoy's sneering voice drifted down the corridors. Apparently, Lucius had considered sending his son to some school called Durmstrang, where the students learned the Dark Arts, instead of simply learning to defend against them. But his mother had not wanted him to attend school so far away. 

"If Malfoy hates Hogwarts so bad, why doesn't he leave?" Cody said. 

"I wish he would," Hermione agreed. 

"Durmstrang's another wizarding school?" Harry asked. 

"Yes," said Hermione. "And it's got a horrible reputation. According to An Appraisal of Magical Education in Europe, it puts a lot of emphasis on the Dark Arts." 

Ron asked what country that school was in, which sparked a fairly boring conversation about how the wizards schools were hidden from Muggles, and sometimes other wizards. 

Cody simply watched the rain, still brooding a bit about goodbyes. If he had his way, no one would ever have to say goodbye to anyone. He yawned, still a little tired, and settled back into his seat. It was strange, that even though it was daylight, it was so dark out that it was hard to tell. And Cody's internal clock was fooled into thinking it should be asleep. He dozed a bit, as his friends talked about schools and the World Cup. 

At midday, the lunch trolley came around, and Cody bought himself a sandwich, a Chocolate Frog, and a bag of potato chips. He was surprised to see chips in the wizarding world, even though in England they called them "crisps". He did find out, a moment later, that they were all blue. And as he watched, they slowly changed to red, and then green. "Colour Crisps," the package read. "Sheesh." They tasted like potato chips though, so it was all good. 

Harry had bought a lot of Cauldron Cakes for everyone to share, and so Cody snagged one of those as well, thanking Harry for the cake. 

Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas stopped to look in on them. Cody had gotten along fairly well with them, but never exactly hung out with them. He simply waved when they came in and listened to everyone else talk. Still, the talk was of Quidditch, and so Cody could not resist eventually joining in. 

Neville came in a few moments later, and Cody grinned, standing up. "Hi!" 

Neville grinned back. "Hi, Cody." 

"We're talking about Quidditch." 

"For hours on end," came Hermione's grumbled addition. Cody stuck out his tongue at her. 

Neville sat down, and listened to them talking about their experiences at the World Cup match. For now talk was only about the game and not the things that happened afterward. Neville looked disappointed. "Gran didn't want to go, wouldn't buy tickets. It sounded amazing, though." 

"Awww, man, I wish you coulda gone!" Cody sympathized. "How come your grandma...well... she seems like she's really mean. How come? Doesn't she like you to be happy or have fun?" 

Neville shrugged. "I dunno. She just...she just does what she does, and she doesn't care what anyone else says." He shrugged again, and Cody dropped the subject. He couldn't imagine being raised by that kind of parent. 

Ron showed Neville the little figure of Krum, which Neville thought very cool. "We saw him right up close as well," said Ron. "We were in the Top Box." 

"For the first and last time in your life, Weasley." Draco, of course, sticking his scrawny face in the doorway of the compartment. Crabbe and Goyle stood behind him, as always. 

"Don't remember asking you to join us, Malfoy," said Harry calmly. 

Malfoy ignored him, staring instead at Pigwidgeon's cage. Ron's dress robes were draped over it to keep the tiny owl quiet. "Weasley...what is that?" He grabbed the robes before Ron could hide them, and laughed uproariously. "Weasley, you weren't thinking of wearing these, were you? I mean - they were very fashionable in about eighteen ninety." 

Ron, whose face was redder than the robes, jerked them back. "Eat dung, Malfoy!" 

Malfoy only laughed, and Cody was beginning to get mad. "So," Draco continued. "Going to enter, Weasley? Going to try and bring a bit of glory to the family name? There's money involved as well, you know...you'd be able to afford some decent robes if you won." 

"What are you talking about?" 

"_Are you going to enter?_ I suppose you will, Potter. You never miss a chance to show off, do you?" 

Annoyed, Hermione peered over her book. "Either explain what you're on about, or go away, Malfoy." 

Slowly, Malfoy smiled. "Don't tell me you don't know! You've got a father and a brother in the Ministry, and you don't even know? My God, _my_ father told me about it ages ago. Heard it from Cornelius Fudge. But then Father's always associated with the top people at the Ministry. Maybe your father's too junior to know about it, Weasley...yes...they probably don't talk about important stuff in front of him." Snickering, he and his thugs moved on down the hallway, leaving the Gryffindors (and Cody) highly aggravated. 

Ron stood and slammed the door shut, shattering the glass. "Ron!" Hermione pointed her wand at the door and repaired it. 

"Well...making it look like he knows everything and we don't," Ron snarled. "'Father's always associated with the top people at the ministry'... Dad could've gotten a promotion anytime, he just likes it where he is!" 

"_We_ know that," said Cody. "Draco's just too dumb to know." 

"Don't let Malfoy get to you," Hermione agreed. 

"Him! Get to me! As if!" Scowling, Ron grabbed a Cauldron Cakes and started squishing it. 

There was quiet in the compartment for the rest of the trip. Cody asked Harry to help him get his trunk down so he could get out his robes (and a book to read), and he did. Cody dressed in his robes and spent the rest of the journey reading one of his favorite Hardy Boys books. 


	28. Year 4, Chapter 7: Graham Pritchard

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 7: Graham Pritchard**

The storm brewed the entire time, and was raging full force by the time the train stopped at Hogsmeade. Less than pleased with the icy winds and rains, Cody sprinted for the carriages that would bear everyone to the castle. He ended up sharing one with Neville Longbottom and some weird third-year Ravenclaw with a wand behind her ear. 

Cody was shivering by the time the carriages halted in front of the Castle doors. He heard Ron somewhere saying that he was soaked, and then yelling. Curious, Cody looked over to see what was wrong, when he found out for himself. He screeched as something hit him on the head, bursting and sending yet more icy water over his head. He looked furiously upward and saw - who else - Peeves. "You git!" 

"I know you are, but what am I?" Peeves taunted back. Cackling, he zoomed above the students' heads, pelting them with water balloons. 

"PEEVES!" Professor McGonagall was not happy. "Peeves, come down here at once!" 

"Not doing nothing!" Yet another water bomb made its way to splash among the students. "Already wet, aren't they? Little squirts! Wheeeeeeee!" 

It was only when McGonagall threatened to fetch Dumbledore did Peeves stick out his tongue and zoom away cackling. Now in a less than pleasant mood, Professor McGonagall ushered everyone inside. 

The Sorting Hat was brought out, as usual, and the new first-years lined up to be Sorted. It was strange, sometimes, watching kids older than him just beginning their term at Hogwarts. At nine, Cody was still the youngest child in the school. 

He learned something new from the Sorting Hat's song, though. He that it had once belonged to Godric Gryffindor, and that the four founders had put some "brains" into the hat (Cody hoped this was not literal) so that the hat could continue to Sort students. 

And then came the Sorting. The first Slytherin to be sorted was a boy called Malcolm Baddock, and Cody clapped as he headed for the table. He caught Fred and George hissing him and scowled, wishing he had something to throw at them. 

The Sorting continued, and soon everyone was sitting at their house tables. And very soon, Dumbledore stood and invited everyone to "tuck in". And, everyone did. 

Cody happily watched the food appear onto the tables, and his stomach growled. Lunch had been hours ago! He snagged himself a bit of everything he liked, as well as some things he didn't recognize. He usually made it a point to try new things, just because it was fun. 

There was treacle tart (and now that Cody knew what it was, he ate two helpings) and chicken, and peas, and all sorts of delicious foods. As always. He was content to eat in silence while the other Slytherins talked of various things. 

He was a fast eater, and eventually he stood up to stretch his legs. As usual, he was having problems sitting still. But finally, dessert was over with, and the plates were disappearing from the tables. Cody looked up to the front of the Hall for the start of term announcements. He realized he really was happy to be back at Hogwarts. 

"So!" said Dumbledore, once everyone had finished their puddings. "Now that you are all fed and watered, I must once more ask for your attention, while I give out a few notices. Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to tell you that the list of object forbidden inside the castle this year has been extended to include Screaming Yo-yos, Fanged Frisbees, and Ever-Bashing-Boomerangs." Cody giggled. "The full list comprises some four-hundred and thirty seven items, I believe, and can be viewed in Mr. Filch's office if anybody would like to check it." 

Curious, Cody decided that tomorrow after class he would have to go and see. 

Dumbledore continued, as Cody stood up on the bench to see better. He noticed a few small first-years doing the same. "As ever, I would like to remind you all that the forest on the grounds is out of bounds to students, as is the village of Hogsmeade to all below third year. It is also my painful duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year." 

Cody eyes widened in dismay. "_No Quidditch!_" he cried loudly. That wasn't fair, he'd only gotten to play one year! He heard similar cries of dismay from other Quidditch players throughout the Hall. Fred and George looked utterly appalled. 

"Afraid not, Mr. DeDannan," said Professor Dumbledore, and Cody felt his face warming up a bit as several heads turned to look at him. "This is due to an event that will be starting in October and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teachers' time and energy...but I am sure you will all enjoy it immensely." Cody scowled, looking rather surly. "I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts -" 

Dumbledore did not get the chance to finish just then, as the doors of the Great Hall banged open, and a man stood there in the doorway, peering into the chamber. The storm raged on, up on the enchanted ceiling, creating a very cool effect, in Cody's opinion. 

The man looked fairly old, with long, stringy hair. His face was heavily scarred, and a chunk of his nose was missing. Every other step, he made a clunking sound on the floor. But that wasn't the most intimidating thing about this person; Cody blinked as he looked at the man's eyes. One was normal enough, but the other was huge and wide, and neon blue. It swiveled in his head, as if it were not attached. "Whoa," Cody whispered. "Awesome!" 

The man strode up to the teacher's table and shook Dumbledore's hand, then sat down in the spot that had, last year, been occupied by Remus Lupin. So...this must be Moody, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. And when Dumbledore introduced him as such, Cody grinned, and clapped enthusiastically. 

He was one of the few who did, most were still staring at him in shock. Cody just thought that he was really cool, but then he was not an easy child to shock. 

Once Moody was settled, Dumbledore continued once more. "As I was saying, we are to have the honor of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event that has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year." 

From over at the Gryffindor table, one of the Weasley twins' voices carried across the entire Hall, making most of the students laugh. "You're JOKING!" 

Even Dumbledore chuckled. "I am not joking, Mr. Weasley...though now that you mention it, I did hear an excellent one this summer about a troll, a hag, and a leprechaun who all go into a bar..." But as Professor McGonagall cleared her throat, he broke off, saying that perhaps now was not the time. "Well then, the Triwizard Tournament. Well, some of you will not know what this tournament involves, so I hope those who do know will forgive me for giving a short explanation, and allow their attention to wander freely." 

Cody listened with some interest to the description of the contest. It had been started 700 years before, as a friendly competition between three of Europe's biggest magic schools, and Cody recognized one other besides Hogwarts. They were Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. A champion for each school competed, and performed various tasks of magic. The contest was held at each school in turn, and was designed in part to establish relations between wizards and witches of different countries. But many students died during the dangerous and difficult tasks, and eventually the tournament was cancelled. 

And now, the contest was finally being given another go, with a few alterations to the workings of the contest to ensure that (hopefully) no one would die this time. 

"The heads of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving with their short-listed contenders in October, and the selection of the three champions will take place at Halloween. An impartial judge will decide which students are most worthy to compete for the Triwizard Cup, the glory of their school, and a thousand Galleons personal prize money." 

Cody frowned a little bit. It did sound fairly interesting, but there was no way that he could possibly get chosen as champion, and it was because of this that there would be no Quidditch this year! He crossed his arms and looked sulky as Dumbledore continued. He told them that there would be an age restriction on the contest, and that no one under seventeen would be allowed in. Cody's scowl deepened; he would not even be able to try! And there were several other students who were less than thrilled at this news; he caught a glimpse of George Weasley, and if Fred looked anything like his brother, they were both absolutely wrathful. Looking right at the twins, Dumbledore said further that he would be ensuring that no one under that age would be able to submit their names. 

"The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving in October and remaining with us for the greater part of this year. I know that you will all extend every courtesy to our foreign guests while they are with us, and will give your whole-hearted support to the Hogwarts champion when he or she is selected. And now, it is late, and I know how important it is to you all to be alert and rested as you enter your lessons tomorrow morning. Bedtime! Chop chop!" 

Grumbling, Cody hopped down off the bench he was standing on, and headed towards the common room. One of the new first-years, a boy named Graham Pritchard, walked alongside him. He was a small boy, about Cody's size, with curly, sandy blond hair and big, blue eyes. "Wow...I sure wish that first-years could enter the Tournament. Don't you?" 

Cody sighed, and then nodded. "Yeah...I wish they could, since we won't have Quidditch." 

"What's your name? I didn't see you with the other first-years...or are you a second-year?" 

"I'm Cody DeDannan," said Cody. "And I'm a fourth-year." At Graham's skeptical look, Cody shrugged. "I am, you can ask anyone." 

"You're really small, though," said Graham. "Are you really fourteen?" 

At this, the boy grinned. "Nope. I'm nine." At Graham's astonished look, Cody explained what had happened, that he had been very young during his first year. Graham was looking at him with admiration, an expression that Cody was not accustomed being thrown his way. He blushed a little. "I'm not super smart, or anything," he added. "Especially in Herbology and History of Magic." 

The two boys had arrived at the door of the common room, and looked at each other. "Er, do _you_ know the password?" Cody asked Graham. 

The other boy shook his head. "No, do you?" 

Cody was about to turn around and look for a prefect, but was saved the trouble. One of the girls in sixth year bustled up and announced the new year's password: Dark arts. 'Of course,' Cody thought, and rolled his eyes. He caught Graham's eye and they both grinned at the same time, and Cody felt he might have found another student with whom he could make friends. If Malfoy didn't influence him, that was. 

Cody yawned, and rubbed his eyes. "Well...I hope you like Hogwarts," said Cody. 

"Oh, I will! My older sister told me all about it. She's not here now, she's way older than me, and doesn't live with us anymore. I can't wait for lessons, either!" 

Cody could not help but grin at the older boy's enthusiasm. "You'll love it. Anyways, I gotta to go my dorm. See you at breakfast!" 

Graham waved, and headed to the first-year dorm with the others first-years, and Cody slipped into his own. He looked at his four-poster bed, with its dark green, heavy curtains, and his trunk, which had been brought up. Merlin's cage, with the bat resting peacefully inside, sat on Cody's nightstand. 

It really was good to be back, he thought, as he undressed and pulled on his pajamas. (The other boys in the dorm were used to him disrobing out in front of everyone by now) and slipped into bed. 

--- 

Care of Magical Creatures was the next morning, and the weather was nice enough. Cody wore shorts under his school robes. As he approached Hagrid's hut with the rest of the fourth-year Slytherins, he saw several open crates ready for the class' inspection. They were rattling. Hagrid was talking to the Gryffindors, telling them that they had just hatched, and that the class would be able to raise them themselves. "Though we'd make a bit of a project out of it!" 

Cody stood on his toes to investigate the nearest crate, and recoiled at a horrid stench coming from it. Big, slimy, bug-like things squirmed around inside. Malfoy spoke, contempt in his voice. "And why would we want to raise them? I mean, what do they do? What is the point of them?" 

"Tha's next lesson, Malfoy. Yer jus' feedin' 'em today." Apparently these were new to Hagrid as well, so he didn't know what they ate yet, and so they'd have to experiment. Cody peered into a bin filled with frog livers and shrugged. Gross, but fun, he supposed. He grabbed a handful and squished it a bit in front of Neville, who gave him a revolted look. Giggling, Cody lowered his handful into the nearest crate and watched the creatures swarm over it. 

"First pus, and now this," Seamus grumbled. Cody knew the Gryffindors had had Herbology first, which did not exactly make him look forward to it. 

He was about to ask Neville what they'd done in Herbology, when there was a minor blasting sound, and a cry of pain from Dean Thomas. "It got me!" he said accusingly to Hagrid. "Its end exploded!" Dean's hand was a bit burnt. 

"Ah, yeah, that can happen when they blast off," said Hagrid. 

Lavender Brown gave a cry of revulsion. "Hagrid, what's that pointy thing on it?" 

"Ah, some of 'em have got stings," said Hagrid. "I reckon they're the males. The females've got sucker things on their bellies. I think they might be ter suck blood." 

Yuck, Cody thought. He peered into the crate for a moment, and then his hand darted in to grab one of the things with a sting. It was big enough that Cody's hand wrapped around its middle and left room on either end of the creature free for him to examine. It squirmed around as Cody looked at it. Pansy Parkinson, who was nearby, drew back several steps. 

"Well, I can certainly see why we're trying to keep them alive," Malfoy said. "Who wouldn't want pets that can burn, sting, and bite, all at once?" 

"Just because they're not very pretty, doesn't mean they're not useful," Hermione retorted. "Dragon blood's amazingly magical, but you wouldn't want a dragon for a pet, would you?" 

Cody snorted laughter. The rest of the class went smoothly enough, and Cody was in a good mood. 

--- 

Cody's hands were slimy from the frog livers, and dirty from the creatures themselves, and so he definitely wanted to wash his hands before lunch. 

The Study of Ancient Runes was next, and Cody managed to sit still, for the most part. The class wasn't anything too exciting, as it involved a lot of reading, but it was interesting enough that Cody got through it. At least he didn't get homework. 

As the Slytherins headed for supper, Cody heard Draco and his little gang laughing over something in the newspaper. Cody gave Malfoy a suspicious look. "What's so funny?" 

Malfoy smirked. "You'll find out at supper," he said, which Cody didn't find all too reassuring. 

As they headed towards the Great Hall, Cody heard Malfoy calling out to Weasley, that his father had been in the paper. Cody groaned; what now? He did not have long to wait for the answer to that question, as Malfoy was delighted to read the article aloud for the entire student body. Rita Skeeter again, of course. And she had even misspelled Ron's dad's name, a fact that Malfoy thought highly amusing. 

"And there's a picture, Weasley!" Malfoy crowed, showing it to whoever was close enough to look. "A picture of your parents outside their house...if you can call it a house! Your mother could do with losing a bit of weight, couldn't she?" 

Cody could not see Ron and the others, as he was too short, but he himself growled angrily. He liked Mrs. Weasley very much and thought it rather a cheap shot at her. "Malfoy's kind of a git, isn't he?" said a young voice to his right. 

Graham Pritchard stood there in his Slytherin tie and Hogwarts robes, both of which looked a little big for him. Cody nodded. "Yeah, he sure is." 

"A lot of the other Slytherins seem to be," he went on in a hushed voice as Harry and Malfoy traded insults. "I...I kinda wonder why I got sorted in here." 

"Well, we're not all jerks,' said Cody. "There's some okay ones, and a couple of really nice ones. You missed two of them, last year was their last. They're really nice; Kyle Tiller and Kathy Skinner." 

Graham nodded his head. "It's just kinda weird I guess. I wish I'd got put in Gryffindor." 

Cody could not help but grin at this; he knew exactly how Graham felt. "Yeah," he said. "Me too." 

The two boys were startled out of their conversations by a loud bang, and yells from some of the people around them. Alarmed, Cody looked up, trying to see what had happened, and just caught sight of Harry ducking a curse of some sort that Malfoy had sent at his back. There was a second bang, and then an angry voice that made several people (including Cody and his new friend), flinch. "Oh, no you don't, laddie!" it roared. 

Cody looked up at Professor Moody, who was stalking down the corridor, a frightening expression on his face. Cody felt quite intimidated by it, and took a step backwards. He didn't even noticed what he had done to Malfoy until Graham tugged his sleeve and pointed. There was a pretty white ferret on the ground, and Malfoy seemed to have disappeared. Cody's jaw dropped as the entire entrance hall went silent. 

"Did he get you?" asked Moody, his voice low and guttural. 

"No," Harry said. "Missed." He seemed as shocked as anyone. 

"Leave it!" Moody shouted, making Cody and Graham jump again. 

"Leave...what?" said Harry, looking confused. 

"Not you, him." Not having even turned around, Moody pointed back at Crabbe, who had been about to pick up the ferret. Cody looked up at Moody's wide, blue eye and shivered. That thing was creepy. Moody limped on what looked like a clawed wooden leg towards the ferret, who tried to run for it; but Moody didn't give him the change. "I don't think so!" he growled, and levitated the ferret in the air, so that it could go nowhere. As much as Cody liked seeing Malfoy get what for, the whole thing was kind of scary. 

A squeak of pain from Malfoy drew Cody's eye, and as he watched, Ferret-Malfoy bounced off the stone floor, and rose back into the air. Up and down, and up and down, all the while Moody berating him. "I don't like people who attack when their opponent's back's turned. Stinking, cowardly, scummy thing to do! Never - do - that - again!" Each word was punctuated by Malfoy's hitting the floor. 

"Professor Moody!" Cody flinched at a sudden shocked voice right behind him, and looked up to see Professor McGonagall there, looking mortified. She was coming down the stairs with an armful of books. 

"Hello, Professor McGonagall," said Moody, still bouncing Malfoy around the hall. 

"What...what are you doing?" 

"Teaching." Moody seemed highly unconcerned about McGonagall's astonishment. 

McGonagall was not so calm. "Teach - Moody, is that a _student?_" she shrieked, dropping her armload of books. Cody yelped and fell on his rear end as most of the books landed on his head. He blinked, and rubbed his head, trying to decide if he wanted to cry about it or not. In the end, he gave the books a dirty look and left it at that, as McGonagall brushed past him and into the hall proper. She pulled out her wand, and restored Malfoy to his normal self. He was lying on the floor, his hair disheveled, his face red. He stood, looking like he was quite sore. "Moody, we never use Transfiguration as a punishment!" McGonagall said, her own face somewhat pale. "Surely Professor Dumbledore told you that?" 

"He might've mentioned it, yeah," said Moody. "But I thought a good, sharp shock -" 

"We give detentions, Moody! Or speak to the offender's Head of House!" 

"I'll do that then," said Moody. It was plain that he didn't like Malfoy a whole lot. He and Malfoy exchanged a few words that Cody could not catch from where he was, and then Moody marched Malfoy off towards the dungeons, presumably to talk to Snape. 

Professor McGonagall came back and saw that Cody had nearly been knocked cold by her books. "Oh, my apologies, Mr., DeDannan," she said, waving her wand at the books, which leapt neatly back into her arms. "Are you all right?" 

Realizing he was still sitting on the floor, Cody stood, as the rest of the students headed into the Great Hall for supper. "Yeah, I'm okay," he said, rubbing his head. Then he grinned. "I have a hard head!" 

McGonagall chuckled a bit and nodded in agreement. "I can't argue with that," she said as she headed into the Great Hall as well. 

Cody looked at Graham, who was waiting for him. "Wow," said Graham as they followed the crowd. "Now _that_ was cool. Scary, but cool." 

Cody nodded. "It sure was! Man, I bet Malfoy never messes with anyone in front of him again!" 

"I can't wait until I learn how to turn people into things," Graham went on. "There's a lot of people I'd love to turn into a warty toad." 

Now there was an idea! Cody imagined the fun he would have if he could turn people into animals like that. There were several Slytherins he would love to turn into a warty toad, or worse. Not to mention a certain Gryffindor ex-Quidditch captain. 

The Slytherins were all talking quietly about Moody when the two boys reached the table, and none of it was favorable. Seemed he had made quite a negative impression on the Slytherins, and it was no wonder why! Smirking, Cody simply listened to the talk as he grabbed himself some chicken for his supper. 

Over the next few days, Cody and Graham became friends. Graham was one of those decent ones that did not really seem to belong in Slytherin, if one were to go by the rest of the students in the house. True, he was impish, but then so were the Weasley twins. Still, having a friend in the Slytherin dorm made things a lot easier on Cody, especially since he didn't get to see his friends in Gryffindor as often as he would have liked to. They spent a lot of their time in their common room. 

The day after Malfoy got bounced around the entrance hall, poor Neville melted his entire cauldron, making Cody abandon the table for ten minutes or so while it was cleaned up. And Snape was horrible to Neville about it too. Angry at the look of fear and embarrassment on Neville's face, Cody told Snape off and got himself a detention. He ended up spending his evening scrubbing out the barrels that Snape usually kept things like toad livers and newt tails in. He was not allowed to use magic, either, and it was very disgusting. Graham giggled about it for a while in the dorm room later that night, making Cody pour a glass of water over his head. Graham laughed even harder, though, and even Cody had to join in after a while. 


	29. Year 4, Chapter 8: CONSTANT VIGILANCE!

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 8: CONSTANT VIGILANCE!**

Thursday was Cody's first Defense Against the Dark Arts class with Moody. Like most of the class, he was there early, wanting to get a good seat, for everyone said that he was a really cool teacher. Cody snagged a seat in the front row, near the wall, and slid into it. Harry, Hermione, and Ron were a couple of seats to his left. 

He looked up as Moody came into the room, his wooden leg clunking dismally on the floor. He wondered what it was like to have to use a fake leg, and what it felt like when he lost it in the first place. He shivered at the thought. 

"You can put those away, those books," said Moody. "You won't be needing them." 

Those in the class who had their books out put them back in their bags, and looked at the teacher expectantly. 

Moody called roll, getting a "here" or "present" from those whose name he called. He favored each with an appraising look before moving onto the next student. He was definitely creepy. He went on to list the things they had learned from Lupin, and mentioned that they were very behind on curses. "So I'm here to bring you up to scratch on what wizards can do to each other. I've got one year to teach you how to deal with Dark -" 

"What, you're not staying?" Ron burst out. Cody giggled. 

Moody turned his eerie gaze on Ron, and smiled a bit. It actually made him look scarier than he already did. "You'll be Arthur Weasley's son, eh? Your father got me out of a very tight corner a few days ago. Yeah, I'm staying just the one year. Special favor to Dumbledore. One year, and then back to my quiet retirement." 

Merlin, who was hanging off of Cody's robes, gave a squeak, as if to agree with Moody, and a few people in the class chuckled. "Shh," Cody said to the bat. "You're not supposed to talk in class." 

Merlin gave him a look, then crawled up to sprawl on Cody's shoulder. 

"So," Moody continued. "Straight into it. Curses." He went on to tell the class that the Ministry of Magic had said that he was supposed to teach the class counter curses, and leave it at that. That he wasn't supposed to show the class the illegal curses until sixth year. But he also told them that Dumbledore had a higher opinion of their nerves, and that the sooner they knew of the curses, the better. "How are you supposed to defend yourself against something you've never seen? A wizard who's about to put an illegal curse on you isn't going to tell you what he's about to do. He's not going to do it nice and polite to your face. You need to be prepared. You need to be alert and watchful. You need to put that away, Miss Brown, when I'm talking." 

Cody snickered as Lavender started, and hastily put away whatever she was showing to Parvati. Lavender shot Cody a very dirty look, and he stuck his tongue out in reply. It was weird, he thought. He didn't know very many of the Gryffindors, though he had more than one class with them. And in this one, there were no other Slytherins around to deal with. He wondered why he had never made friends with any of the other Gryffindors in his year. He was friendly with a few; but others, not so much. 

His reverie was broken by Moody's voice, asking if anyone knew which were the most heavily punished curses. Cody raised his hand, along with a few others. "Yes, DeDannan." 

Cody blinked, and thought a few moments. He had had one in mind to say, but all of a sudden, was blanking on it. He grinned sheepishly. "Uh...I had one but I think it left," he said by way of explanation. 

Several students giggled, and Cody even laughed at his own expense, and Moody gave that intimidating smile again. "That's all right," he said, and pointed instead to Ron. 

"Er, my dad told me about one. Is it called the Imperius Curse or something?" 

"Ah, yes...your father _would_ know about that one. Gave the Ministry a lot of trouble at one time, the Imperius Curse." Moody reached into a desk drawer, and pulled out a jar with three spiders in it. Moody grabbed one out and pointed his wand at it, murmuring "Imperio." 

Cody giggled as the spider began swinging back and forth on a string of his web, looking rather like a tiny acrobat. It did a back flip and landed on the desk, cartwheeling around the desktop, and then beginning to dance on two of its legs. The class laughed. 

"Think it's funny, do you? You'd like it, would you, if I did it to you?" 

Or maybe not, Cody thought, as the laughter died. He looked at the spider, who was now rolling around in a little ball. 

"Total control," said Moody. "I could make it jump out the window, drown itself, throw itself down one of your throats." Cody grimaced and swallowed, thinking of the spider crawling into his mouth. He liked spiders, but that was going a bit too far. Moody continued. "Years back, there were a lot of witches and wizards being controlled by the Imperius Curse. Some job for the Ministry, trying to sort out who was being forced to act, and who was acting of their own free will. The Imperius Curse can be fought, and I'll be teaching you how, but it takes real strength of character, and not everyone's got it." The strength or the character? Cody wondered, and stifled a giggle. "Better avoid being hit with it if you can. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" 

The whole class jumped at this sudden exclamation, and Cody let out a big breath as he landed back in his seat. This guy definitely had a way of keeping everyone's heart rates up! Moody asked if anyone else knew a curse, and to Cody's surprise, he heard Neville's voice from behind him. 

"There's one...the Cruciatus Curse." 

"Your name's Longbottom?" Moody asked. Neville nodded. Moody scooped out another spider and put it on the desk, saying that he would have to make it a bit bigger for people to get the idea. "Engorgio!" Cody blinked as the spider grew to the size of a cup saucer. Ron shoved himself and his chair back a few feet at the sight of it. Moody pointed his wand at the spider and said, "Crucio!" 

At first, Cody was not sure what was happening; the spider began twitching, its legs bending up towards its body. He frowned at it, and was badly startled when Hermione cried, "Stop it!" Puzzled, he turned around to who she was looking at, and saw that Neville looked terrified. Cody was highly confused. 

Moody stopped his curse and reduced the spider's size, dropping it back in the jar. "Pain," he growled softly. "You don't need thumbscrews or knives to torture someone if you can perform the Cruciatus Curse. That one was very popular once too." 

Cody stared at Moody, his eyes almost as wide as Neville's. He felt himself start to shake a little bit as he realized that Moody had been torturing the spider, and that's why it was acting as it was. He was no longer sure he really wanted Moody as a teacher. He didn't even realize Moody had asked if anyone else knew a curse until Hermione spoke up. "Avada Kedavra." 

"Ah," said Moody. "Yes, the last and worst. Avada Kedavra - the killing curse." He reached in and caught the last spider, placing it on his desk, and raising his wand. It tried to run off, but Moody was too quick. He raised his wand and roared, "Avada Kedavra!" 

Cody screamed as a flash of green light nearly blinded him, and he scrambled out of his seat to back against the wall. The spider, now dead, slid off the desk and onto the floor. Cody gaped at it in horror. Though he did not like to kill bugs, it was not necessarily the dead spider that horrified him so, but the brutality and swiftness of the Curse Moody had used. Cody did not sit back down. 

"Not nice," said Moody. "Not pleasant. And there's no countercurse. There's no blocking it. Only one known person has ever survived it, and he's sitting right here in front of me." 

Harry Potter looked less than thrilled at having been pointed out. Cody looked shakily towards him, then back at Moody, of whom he rather afraid of by this point. The teacher looked at Cody now, and Cody supposed he must have looked fairly terrified, because Moody gazed at him for a moment before asking how old he was. 

A little taken by surprise by the question, he stammered, "N-nine." 

"Nine," he murmured. "That _is_ quite young to be seeing these...but you're in fourth year?" Cody nodded silently. "Interesting." Moody said no more to him, but Cody was not reassured. 

Moody went on to tell the class that the killing curse needed powerful magic behind it, and that he doubted he'd get even a nosebleed if everyone in the class tried it right then and there. "Now if there's no countercurse, why am I showing you? Because you've got to know. You've got to appreciate what the worst is. You don't want to find yourself in a situation where you're facing it. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" 

Cody clenched his teeth and retreated two steps yet farther along the wall, ending up even with the second row. It wasn't until Moody had finished telling them that use of those curses on another human could get you a life sentence in Azkaban, and told them to start copying down notes on the curses, that Cody managed to convince himself to slink back into his chair. He did move it a little closer to the wall, though. His hand shook as he held the quill, but managed to get an almost legible page of notes down. 

When the bell rang, he nearly hit the ceiling. He glared up in the general vicinity of where the sound had come from, and gladly packed up all of his things. He stood, and was about to attach himself to the end of the line heading out the door, but then he glanced back at the desk. The jar of spiders was still there, and Cody bit his lip. He looked at Moody, who seemed to be waiting for everyone to leave. 

After a moment, he scowled at Moody, then sidled to his desk and grabbed the jar. Holding it protectively to his chest, he backed away. Moody raised an eyebrow. "Y-you shouldn't've done that.. Cody said. 

"Shouldn't have what?" asked Moody. He seemed genuinely curious, and had said nothing yet about Cody taking the jar of spiders. 

"Shouldn't've...shouldn't've t-tortured that one!" Cody said angrily, pointing at the spider in the jar that still had not moved since Moody showed them the Cruciatus curse. He gestured to the one on the floor. "A-and killed that one! They didn't do anything to you!" 

"You'd rather not be prepared?" Moody said quietly. "You'd rather be taken by surprise, when someday a Dark wizard points his wand at your chest and whispers 'Avada Kedavra'?" 

Unnerved, Cody swallowed hard and backed towards the window, not sure what to say to that. Surely he did not have to kill innocent spiders to get his point across! But he didn't have the words with which to express this. They looked at each other for a moment or two, and Cody could have sworn he saw a nod of approval from Moody. But then he could have imagined it, too. He refused to leave, though, until Moody had, and finally the teacher left the room. 

At least Moody didn't seem too angry with him. In fact, when he stepped out into the hallway, he saw Moody talking with Neville, Harry, Hermione, and Ron. Neville was looking terrified, and Cody didn't blame him. Moody looked amused as he said to Harry, "Yeah, he's fine. He took my spiders, and told me off for demonstrating the Unforgivables on them." Cody scowled and walked off. 

Before going in to eat lunch, Cody slipped outside and let the spiders go at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. He watched them scuttle away, then headed back up to the castle, setting the empty jar just inside the entrance hall, next to the door. 

--- 

At lunch, Graham Pritchard asked him what was wrong, and Cody was a little while answering. But finally he told the older boy what the class had been like, and what Moody had done. "Wow," said Graham quietly. "Our Defense Against the Dark Arts class wasn't like that...we just learned some counterjinxes." 

Cody nodded. "Wish ours was like that. Man, he scared me," he admitted. "And those poor spiders...I like spiders." He scowled at his sandwich before taking a huge bite out of it. 

"I like them too. I think I'm glad I'm not in fourth year, do you think he'll do the same thing when I am?" 

"Well, he said he's just gonna be here one year," Cody answered. "I dunno who else is gonna teach after him." 

"Oh. He really is kinda paranoid though, isn't he?" They were fairly quiet for the rest of the meal, and once they were done, Cody headed for Study of Ancient Runes. Glad for the distraction, he ended up doing unusually well, having paid close attention to the professor during class. 

Cody went to visit Hagrid that evening, before the students had to be in their dorms. He told him about Moody's lesson, and was surprised when Hagrid chuckled. "Took a bit of nerve to do that, Cody," he said, gently ruffling Cody's hair. "I wouldn't worry too much about it. Moody's one of the good guys, as frightenin' as he is." 

"Yeah, I guess so. But the spiders didn't think so." Still, the visit with Hagrid did cheer him some, and he went back to the castle in a far better mood. 

--- 

Moody did not kill any more spiders, but his classes did get more difficult. During one class, he used the Imperius Curse on the entire class in turn. Cody found that even as stubborn as he was, he was having trouble fighting it. Moody did say that Cody's youth and hyperactivity had made putting the curse on him in the first place rather difficult. "A child's mind is not an easy mind to ensnare," he told the boy. "Nor is a very active mind. That'll be an advantage to you, at least for a couple three more years." 

Cody, who had just been made to pirouette around the room like a ballerina was feeling highly disgruntled, and only scowled. 

Harry Potter was the only one in the class who managed to shake off the curse entirely, and refuse to do what Moody was trying to make him do. 

In fact, all of Cody's classes were getting harder. Even Hagrid was having them come down to his cabin to observe the skrewts and take notes on them on the days between classes. Cody was delighted when Malfoy tried to refuse this order. "Yeh'll do as yer told," Hagrid growled at him. "Or I'll be takin' a leaf outta Professor Moody's book. I hear yeh made a good ferret, Malfoy." 

There was a roar of laughter from the Gryffindors, and Cody had to fight to keep himself from laughing aloud as well. He covered up his face and retreated into the back. He had enough problems with Malfoy. He vowed to remember to tell Graham, though. 

--- 

After classes that day, a huge group was congregated in the entrance hall around what turned out to be a school notice about the Triwizard Tournament. Despite his annoyance at the tournament for getting rid of Quidditch, Cody was interested. It seemed that the people from the other schools would be arriving the day before Halloween, and that lessons would end a half hour early! "Awesome!" he said with a grin. 

"I can't wait," said a voice to his left. Graham had come up to him. "Have you ever met someone from another country?" 

"Just England," said Cody. "And Ireland, I think. I think Seamus is from there." 

For a moment, Graham gave him the strangest look, but then he laughed. Cody was confused at first, before realizing that as Graham was English, that statement had probably sounded odd. "I forgot you're from America," he said. "I bet it's really weird there." 

Cody giggled. "Nah...it's weird here, though." 

"You don't have a really bad accent, at least." 

"Yeah, my mom said that I'm getting an English accent. It's really weird, because it doesn't sound like it to me, except sometimes. On some words, I hear it." He paused, then asked, "Do you know where those schools are from?" 

Graham looked back at the notice, and shook his head. "I dunno! Beauxbatons sounds French, and Durmstrang, I dunno. Maybe Russia? Or maybe Greenland, or somethin'?" 

"Maybe." 

As they continued to lunch, Cody realized a strange thing. Graham was older than him, like all of his other friends, and in that way Cody was the junior. But in others, it was almost like Cody was talking to someone younger than him, because he was in his fourth year at Hogwarts, and Graham was just beginning. It made Cody's head hurt sometimes! 

As Halloween approached, the students began to notice changes. Well, perhaps not changes, but improvements. The castle was being cleaned, top to bottom, and Argus Filch was being a worse fiend than ever. Cody avoided him at all costs. Even the other members of the staff were getting tense, and Cody had taken to avoiding most of them, too. 

At breakfast, the day that the others were to arrive, Cody found that huge banners depicting the four Houses had been hung over the House tables, and he grinned up at them. "Awesome!" he said, looking at the wicked serpent on the Slytherin banner. He sought out Graham and sat next to him. He wished he saw more of his friend, but obviously they had no classes together. 

"I wish I was old enough to enter," said Graham. "But I'd probably die the first day." He seemed less than happy. 

"Why?" Cody asked, grabbing some oatmeal and putting a good amount of treacle on it. 

"Just...because." He sighed, poked at his sausage, then continued. "We had flying today, and I did really bad, fell off my broom, and everything. The Gryffindors, and even some of the Slytherins were laughing at me." 

"Ohhh,' said Cody, understanding. "I hate when they do that! And Malfoy yells at me that I'm a traitor, just because a lot of my friends are Gryffindors. Least I know what loyalty _really_ is." 

"Yeah, well Malfoy's face looks like a mutated triangle, so sucks to him." 

Cody giggled, and nodded. 

Lessons were disjointed that day, mostly because most of the students were not paying much attention. Even Professor Moody gave up trying to teach anything strenuous. Cody was glad of this, he did not really like Professor Moody much; he just wouldn't admit that it was because he was scared of him. 

After the last class was over, the Heads of House were ushering their students outside. Snape moved them all along with brisk commands to be quick, to get in line, and remember not to give Hogwarts a bad name. "First years and Cody in front," he said to them. There was laughter among the Slytherins, some friendly, some not, and Cody turned a little red. Sometimes being short was a huge inconvenience! He caught Graham smirking at him as he moved to stand next to him, and Cody stuck out his tongue. Graham laughed, and after a moment, Cody did too. 

Snape came up to Cody then, and looked down at his tie. "Kindly fasten that correctly, Mr. DeDannan." 

At first, Cody had no clue what Snape was talking about. "Fasten - oh, my tie?" He looked down at the tie, which was, as usual, tied in a loose knot. He had gotten so used to it that he never noticed it was different. "Er, well, I dunno how." 

"You don't know how?" This seemed to come as a great surprise to Snape. "Have you never worn one? For school?" 

Cody shook his head. "No, we don't wear ties in school in America. There's some schools that boys wear ties and girls sometimes, I think, but not a lot. Only like in some private schools and stuff. In most you just wear normal clothes." 

"I see." Snape knelt, then, tugging Cody's tie out from his robes. "Watch carefully, Mr. DeDannan," he said, cold as always. "I will only show you once. When you wear your uniform, you need to wear it properly. It is a matter of school pride. If you cannot remember, get someone to teach you until you do." 

Cody nodded, feeling as he often did, like he was being scolded. But that was just how Snape was. 

He watched as Snape fastened his tie in the correct way, and tightened it just enough to look nice. There was a lot of turning and twisting and looping involved, and he had no idea how Snape had done it. He'd have to ask Neville or Graham to teach him. 

Snape stood. "Much better." Then he went and stood with the other teachers. Cody looked down at the tie again, and it kind of looked weird. He didn't even like the thing, anyway, and wore it only when he absolutely had to. kinda like his hat. 

All around him, students were speculating as to how the visitors would be arriving. It seemed kind of cold for broomsticks, but that didn't really mean much. Cody, who had not thought to wear his winter cloak, shivered in the damp, chilly air. Suddenly, Dumbledore spoke. "Aha! Unless I am very much mistaken, the delegation from Beauxbatons arrives!" 

"Where?" came the query from several students at once. Cody looked all around, trying to spot them. But a sixth year saw it first. "There!" 

Cody looked up at the sky, where the older youth pointed, and there was something very big heading their way. "It's a dragon!" cried a first-year girl from Ravenclaw. 

"Don't be stupid!' said a tiny Gryffindor boy, who Cody saw was even shorter than him. "It's a flying house!" 

"Like that wasn't stupid," Cody heard one of the Slytherins mutter. 

It was strange, whatever it was. At the mass approached, everyone could see that it was an old-fashioned carriage, like in Cinderella. It was the size, if not shape, of a house, and the horses that drew it were huge. They were Pegasuses, and Cody gaped at them in fascination. They landed gracefully on the ground, and Cody took an involuntary step backwards. The horses looked fierce. 

The door of the carriage opened, and a boy who looked like he was in his late teens got out and unfolded a set of steps from the enormous carriage. He stepped back, rather like the doorman in Cinderella, and Cody wondered if the similarities were on purpose or not. 

The woman who stepped from the carriage had most students' eyes as wide as dinner plates. She had olive-dark skin, and black eyes...but that was not what was so startling about her. The woman could have been Hagrid's twin sister. She was _huge_. "Wow," Cody said, awe in his voice. He almost said "You're big!" but at the last second decided that was probably not the most tactful thing he could say to a woman. 

"Who's she?" Graham asked, also riveted to this startling sight. 

"I dunno!" 

But Dumbledore answered this question as he approached the titan woman. Dumbledore was pretty tall, but this woman dwarfed him. It looked very strange when he took her hand and kissed it. Cody stifled a giggle. "My dear Madame Maxime," said Dumbledore gallantly. "Welcome to Hogwarts." 

"Dumbly-dorr," said the woman in a deep voice. Her accent sounded very foreign to Cody's ears. "I 'ope I find you well." 

"In excellent form, thank you." 

"My pupils," said Madame Maxime. 

Like most everyone else, Cody had not even noticed the teenagers that had stepped from the carriage, but at this introduction, he looked their way. Eleven of them stood behind the woman in thin blue robes, and many were shivering. Cody could sympathize. He was shivering, too. 

Maxime then asked if someone named Karkaroff had arrived, and Dumbledore said that he would be there soon, and asked if she wanted to wait to greet him, or to step inside and warm up. 

"Warm up, I think," she said. "But ze 'orses..." 

Dumbledore told her that the Care of Magical Creatures teacher could take care of it. At least when he came back from a situation that arose from some of his other "charges". Cody snickered, wondering which skrewt it was that had gotten him. Madame Maxime did not seem to think that Hagrid was up to the job, but Dumbledore convinced her that he was. Just wait until she sees him, Cody thought. 

And now, all there was to do was wait for the students from Durmstrang to arrive. Montague, who never let the cold bother him much, took pity on Cody, and gave him his cloak as the night became chillier. Cody gave him a grateful "Thanks." 

"Don't mention it," he said with a smirk. "Too often, at least." 

Graham giggled. "You look like you've got a blanket on." 

"Oh, be quiet," said Cody, but he was grinning. "At least it's warm." 

A few minutes later, a strange noise rang through the still air. It sounded like machinery, or..or... 

"The lake!" came Lee Jordan's excited voice. All heads turned toward it. 

Something was coming up from the dark lake, and it was big. Bubbles rose and broke, and the waters began to swirl violently. The moonlight gleamed on the wood of a huge spar that was emerging from the lake, and it was finally identified as a mast. A ship rose from the lake then, a ship like the ones the Vikings used, rising dark and foreboding from the water. When it emerged, like a great sea serpent, it drifted silently toward the shore. 

"Wooooow, awesome!" Cody exclaimed. Now _that_ was neat, certainly neater than the fairy-tale like arrival of the French students! 

Those who disembarked from the ship wore cloaks of thick fur, and Cody rather envied them their uniforms. The man Cody assumed was the teacher, or headmaster, was a tall, skinny man with a curly goatee. He greeted Dumbledore in a hearty, rather effeminate voice. Cody disliked the man immediately. 

"Dear old Hogwarts," said the man. He was very creepy. "How good it is to be here, how good... Viktor, come along into the warmth. You don't mind, Dumbledore? Viktor has a slight head cold." 

One of the students from Durmstrang stepped forward, and Cody's eyes widened as he saw who it was. Viktor Krum! "Awesome!" Seemed that this word would get a lot of use out of Cody that day. 

The best thing about the whole thing was, that once the Durmstrang students arrived, everyone was allowed to go back into Hogwarts for a feast that was to be given in their guests' honor. As they all sat down at their house tables, Cody sighed in relief at the warmth that spread over his body. Once he stopped shivering, he took Montague's cloak off and gave it back to him. He saw with some excitement that the Durmstrang group was sitting among the Slytherins. Cody grinned and waved excitedly to Krum, and was delighted when he got a distracted wave back. 

"Wow, do you know who that _is_, Cody?" Graham said. "That's Viktor Krum!" 

"I know that," said Cody. 

"He's one of the greatest Quidditch players in the whole world! Did you see him at the World Cup?" 

At this, Cody grinned. "Yeah, was that awesome?" 

"It sure was! You said you play Quidditch, right? Can you imagine playing after getting whacked right in the face with a Bludger?" 

Cody winced. "I'd be knocked out, if it did that to me!" 

The two boys might have gone on talking Quidditch all night, had Dumbledore not begun his speech. Quieting, Cody looked up at the staff table. The Beauxbatons and Durmstrang teachers had sat down at the table, but there were also two extra chairs. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts, and most particularly, guests," said Dumbledore. "I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable. The tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast. I now invite you to eat, drink, and make yourselves at home!" 

Much better, Cody thought, seeing the massive array of foods that had appeared on the table. There seemed to be some new stuff, dishes from the guests' home countries, Cody assumed, that looked even weirder than the English stuff. Still, he tried a bit of each, and found that he actually liked some of it. 

"Hi, Hagrid!" Cody called at the top of his lungs as Hagrid entered, making several nearby Slytherins wince. Hagrid laughed and returned the greeting before sitting down with the rest of the adults. Aside from liking to say hello to his friend, Cody knew that it annoyed the heck out of people like Malfoy, so he usually tried to be as loud about it as possible. And lo and behold, Malfoy was shooting him a dirty look. Cody only grinned back and dug into his meal. 

A little ways into the feast, the hall doors opened to reveal two guests to the dinner; Ludo Bagman and Mr. Crouch of the Ministry. Cody made a face as Crouch headed to the staff table, but waved at Ludo. He did not notice, however, only walked up to greet Dumbledore and to join the staff. 

When the meal was over, Dumbledore stood to speak, and the entire Hall was silent, watching him. Dumbledore smiled at the students. "The moment has come," he said. "The Triwizard Tournament is about to start. I would like to say a few words of explanation before we bring in the casket..." 

"A casket?" said Cody doubtfully, not realizing there was quite a difference in the American and English versions of the word. Graham shrugged. 

"...just the clarify the procedure we will be following this year. But first, let me introduce, for those who do not know them, Mr. Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of International Cooperation, and Mr. Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports." 

There was a loud round of applause for Ludo, which was better than what Crouch had gotten. But then Crouch was a grumpy sort. Dumbledore went on to tell them that they would be among the judges who would give the champions their scores. There would be three tasks throughout the school year, testing various things such as bravery, daring, magical powers, cleverness... One champion from each of the three school was to compete, and he or she who had earned the most total points after the Tournament was complete would win the Triwizard Cup and the gold. "The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector: The Goblet of Fire." 

An old, jeweled chest was brought up to the staff table and set down upon it. It didn't look much like a coffin, which was what Cody always thought a casket was. It looked more like a treasure chest. 

Along with a few tiny first years, Cody stood up on the bench to better see, as Dumbledore tapped the casket with his wand. When the lid opened, Dumbledore took out a big wooden cup of the sort Cody always saw on movies about the Middle Ages. Except this one had a cupful of bluish flames. He put the goblet on the casket so that everyone could see. 

"Anyone wishing to submit themselves as champion must write their name and school clearly upon a slip of parchment and drop it into the goblet. Aspiring champions have twenty-four hours in which to put their names forward. Tomorrow night, Halloween, the goblet will return the names of the three it has judged most worthy to represent their schools. The goblet will be placed in the entrance hall tonight, where it will be freely accessible to all those wishing to compete." 

"That's cool!" said Cody. He was more interested at the moment in the goblet full of blue fire than Dumbledore's words. 

The headmaster told the school that an Age Line would be drawn around the goblet so that no one under seventeen could cross it. And that whoever entered must not enter lightly, for the champions, once chosen, were obliged to see it through the end. 

There was little after that, and when Dumbledore announced it was time for bed, the students stood and began milling towards the doors. Cody, however, told Graham he would be right back, and went up to the staff table. His curiosity had gotten the better of him and he wanted to see what the goblet looked like inside. 

When he got to the front of the Great Hall, he turned a little red as Dumbledore looked mildly down at him. He was struck at how tall the man was. He hadn't seemed like it in the books. "Hello, Cody," he said warmly. No wonder he was such a good headmaster; he liked his students. 

"Um...hi. I was kind of wondering if I could see the goblet up close. I don't wanna enter or anything, I just wanna see what's inside." 

Dumbledore cocked his head as if considering, then turned to Crouch and Bagman. Bagman was busy talking animatedly with Professor Sprout at the moment, but Crouch had heard Cody's request. "I see no problem with it," he said to Dumbledore, then gave Cody a stern look. "Just make sure you do not tamper with it. Understood?" 

Cody wasn't sure exactly what the word meant, but he got the general gist: don't mess with the goblet. He nodded. "Yes, sir." 

Dumbledore smiled, and moved aside so that Cody could view the goblet. The problem was, the staff table was large, and the chest the goblet stood on was large as well. Cody blinked as he looked up at the Goblet, that from this close, he could only see part of. He looked around as he felt someone lift him up to stand on Dumbledore's chair. He turned and grinned sheepishly at the headmaster, who set him down. "Thanks." 

"You are welcome." 

Level with the cup now, Cody put his hands on the chest and stood on his toes, peering into the wooden cup. It was not anything fantastic; the cup was blackened inside, and the fire seemed to be burning from thin air. It rather reminded Cody of a gas fire. Curiously, he poked a finger into the flame and felt only heat. "How come it's blue?" he asked. 

"Magical fires are often colors other than orange and red," Dumbledore said, chuckling a bit. "You know that." 

"Oh yeah...I knew that!" Cody giggled, and looked back at the cup. He blinked, then, realizing something that should have made no sense. "The cup is wood!" he exclaimed. "How come it doesn't get burned?" 

"Again, the fire and the cup itself are both quite magical, and powerful," said Dumbledore, lifting Cody to the ground again. 

"Oh...creepy!" He grinned up at Dumbledore, who looked mildly amused. "Thanks!" 

"You're welcome. Now get along to bed." 

"Okay!" Waving to Hagrid, Cody ran over to join the last of the Slytherins heading out of the Hall. 

Graham was waiting for him. "What did it look like?" 

Cody shrugged. "Just fire. Just the cup, and fire inside, but there's not anything in there to burn to make the fire." 

"What did it feel like?" Graham asked, his eyes a little wide. 

"Fire." Cody giggled at the look on Graham's face. "Well, it did. It just felt hot is all...what?" 

Graham was looking at Cody was a strange expression, and Cody wasn't sure what it was. "Weren't you afraid, going up there and just...doing that?" 

"Well I asked, first." 

"I know, but still. I'd've been too scared to, and there were people from the Ministry there, and everything." 

Cody blushed. "Nah, it's okay. I mean if I don't ask, how do I know if they'll let me?" 

Graham grinned. "That's true!" 

The two boys reached their common room then, and headed for their dorms. Cody couldn't wait to see who entered. 


	30. Year 4, Chapter 9: The Goblet Speaks

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 9: The Goblet Speaks**

The next morning, most students got up a bit earlier than normal to see who would be putting their names in the Goblet of Fire. Cody ate a quick bowl of blueberry oatmeal, grabbed two pancakes, and headed out of the Great Hall. It was weird; English pancakes were really thin, not at all like what he was used to in the U.S.. They were good, though. 

Ron and the others were there as Cody came out from the Great Hall, clutching his rolled-up pancakes. Ron gave Cody a weird look. "What've you got?" 

Cody showed him. "Pancakes." 

Looking mildly disgusted, Ron looked at them and then at Cody. "You're carrying around...a pair of pancakes." 

Cody took a bite of one and gestured to a few of the students who had toast in their hands. "They've got food, too," he said. 

"Yeah, but you don't generally eat pancakes with your hands." 

Cody just grinned and shrugged. "At least I didn't put syrup on them!" 

"Well, that's something at least. So, what do you think?" he asked, looking to the goblet. "I saw you last night up there looking at it." 

"It's okay," said Cody. "I would like it better if we were still having Quidditch though." 

"I know what you mean," said Harry. 

"But this is much more interesting than Quidditch, isn't it?" said Hermione, earning dirty looks from the Quidditch players. "I mean just think of it, bringing three countries together, a chance to show off your skills and knowledge...and it hasn't been done in such a long time. I mean, it's dangerous but at least they've taken precautions this time." 

"Yeah, well, I'm too little to enter, so I don't get to try to do the Tournament _and_ I don't get to play Quidditch!" Cody made a face that involved sticking out his tongue, which he did on a regular basis. "At least they're still doing choir...but we're not giving a Halloween concert this year because of the dumb Goblet." He sighed. 

"Anyone put their name it yet?" Ron asked a nearby third-year. 

"All the Durmstrang lot," she said. "But I haven't seen anyone from Hogwarts yet." 

Harry said that if it had been him, he would have done it last night so no one saw him. "What if the goblet just gobbed you back out again?" 

Cody giggled at the mental image, then turned at a burst of laughter from the stairs. The twins and Lee Jordan were coming down looking excited. Cody stuck his tongue out at all three of them; the twins on general principals, and Lee Jordan because of his commentary in the Quidditch games the year previous. Lee was one of the first Hogwarts students Cody had met, in Madame Malkin's shop. He got ignored by all three older boys, which he wasn't too surprised at. 

"Done it," said Fred in a whisper as he reached the group. "Just taken it." 

"Did what?" Cody asked as at the same time Ron asked, "What?" 

"The Aging Potion, dungbrains," said Fred, ruffling Cody's hair so that it stood on end. Cody wasn't sure whether to take offense or not, as he might have been calling Ron the dungbrains, not Cody. 

"On drop each," said George, looking gleeful. "We only need to be a few months older." 

"But...but isn't that taking three months off your age?" asked Cody. Why would anyone want to do that? 

George shrugged. "We're not too worried about it. What's a few months? It's not like you can tell, or it would make much difference. Besides we can reverse it if we need to." 

"We're going to split the thousand Galleons between the three of us is one of us wins," said Lee. 

"I'm not sure this is going to work," said Hermione. "I'm sure Dumbledore will have thought of this." 

The three sixth years ignored her completely. "Ready?" said Fred, taking a slip of paper out of his pocket with his name and school written on it. "C'mon then, I'll go first." 

All eyes were on the Weasley twin as he stepped up to the line, rocking back and forth for a moment gathering his nerve, then stepped over. For a moment, nothing happened, and George jumped in after him. But then Cody jumped backwards as there was an alarming sound like electricity, and the twins were hurled out of the circle to land on the hard floor. They looked shocked for a moment, when a loud POP rang through the hall, and all of a sudden, the twins were sporting long, white beards, much like Dumbledore's. Cody fell on the floor laughing. The twins stood up and looked at each other, and then they, too, laughed. 

"I did warn you," came a voice from the Great Hall. Looking entirely amused, Professor Dumbledore approached the twins. "I suggest you both go up to Madame Pomfrey. She is already tending to Miss Fawcett, of Ravenclaw, and Mr. Summers, of Hufflepuff, both of whom decided to age themselves up a little too. Though I must say, neither of their beards is anything like as fine as yours." 

Cody leaned back against the wall laughing, clutching the remains of his last pancake in his hand. Lee Jordan, laughing even harder, followed the twins up to hospital wing. 

Still giggling, Cody picked himself off the ground, ate his pancake, then headed outside. 

It wasn't too cold out, and so Cody spent most of his time running around the grounds and expending the energy he didn't always get to expend in school. More than one teacher had scolded him for fidgeting too much at least once per week since he joined Hogwarts. The teachers here sure did try to take the fun out of things sometimes. Sit down, be quiet, wear this, straighten your tie... Some people here, if they had not been wizards, would be the sort who took all of the wonder out of life. 

This day, Cody wore his robes, but not his tie. He only wore those in class and on special occasions like the feasts, or visits to Hogsmeade. And those only because it was expected of him. 

He romped around the grounds, saying hello to anyone he passed, and climbing the trees. He swung from the smaller branches, enjoying how he bounced up and down, sort of like a carnival ride. He wrestled a bit with the twins once they'd gotten their beards removed (and gotten an evil noogie when he called Fred "Rip Van Winkle"). 

He went to visit Hagrid, and was very much taken aback to see he was dressed in a suit...kind of. It was some hairy material, for one, and it was brown, and his hair had been greased back into two bunches behind him. He blinked, but didn't say anything about it. The reason was clear later, though, when later, he met up with Madame Maxime and headed up to the castle with her. Cody looked after them in disgust...even Hagrid got bitten by the mushy bug! 

As the sun began to set and it got chillier outside, Cody headed back in, full of energy and excitement. As annoyed as he was about not having Quidditch, he still couldn't wait to see who the Hogwarts champion would be. 

The Hall was full when Cody got back inside, having gone down to get his tie and to have Graham help him put it on right. They made their way to the Slytherin table and sat down, talking eagerly about who had joined. Cody would have to tell Kathy about this, and Kyle and Flint, too! They would have loved to try! 

Cody only remembered it was Halloween when he saw the giant pumpkins that Hagrid had grown, and the jack-o-lanterns that hovered in midair all around the Hall. He wondered what would happen if one day he came into the Hall in a costume. Probably get made fun of and made to go change. Maybe in England only really little kids went trick-or-treating. Or maybe they didn't at all. He would have to ask. 

When the meal was over, Dumbledore stood and announced that the Goblet was nearly ready to make its decision, and that when called, the winners would have to go into a room behind the staff table and get their first instructions. 

Wish a swish of his wand, Dumbledore extinguished the candles in the Great Hall, leaving only the jack-o-lanterns. The Goblet of fire lit half the room with an eerie blue glow. "Oo, cool," Cody whispered as a very creepy mood fell over the Great Hall. He wished that he could go up and read the names of the winners to the Hall but he highly doubted they would let him. 

The Goblet shone bright blue at the front of the Hall, and most of the eyes present were fixed on it. "Who entered from Slytherin?" Graham asked Cody. 

"Well, Warrington did, I know. A couple of seventh-years." 

"I wish I could enter." 

"Me too." 

As everyone watched, the flames in the goblet suddenly turned a lurid red, and a burned looking piece of paper came out. Everyone gasped as Dumbledore took the paper and held it out to read it. "The champion for Durmstrang will be...Viktor Krum!" 

Cody laughed and applauded along with the rest of the crowd, grinning over at Krum, who was sitting at the Slytherin table. "Bravo, Viktor!" Karkaroff roared. Cody stood up on the bench to see better. 

When the flames turned red again, the Beauxbatons champion was announced; "Fleur Delacour!" 

There was more applause as a pretty girl with white hair stood. The older boys, in particular, clapped hard. The others from Beauxbatons were highly disappointed, and two of the girls actually burst into tears. Fleur and Viktor headed into the back, and the entire student body waited eagerly to hear the final champion. The Hogwarts champion. 

When the goblet spit out the name, Dumbledore caught the paper, and read out the name. "The Hogwarts Champion is...Cedric Diggory!" 

The Hufflepuffs leapt to their feet, cheering and yelling, as Cedric stood up and grinned at the students in the Hall. Cody cheered as Cedric made his way into the back room to get his instructions. Dumbledore congratulated those who had won, and urged the students to cheer on their champions. But before he could get much farther, the goblet's fire turned red once more...and spit out a name. He caught it, and stared at it, before reading the name on the paper. "Harry Potter." 

Cody's eyes got wide as he turned to look down at Graham (who was sitting rather than standing). "But...but I thought just three people, and three schools!" 

"I did too!" 

As the students began whispering to each other, Cody caught sight of Harry, sitting stunned, in his seat. Dumbledore called Harry up to the front and he went, though reluctantly. 

Everyone was talking about it as they headed to their dorms to sleep. Many of the Slytherins spoke ill of Harry, as Cody knew they would. Some were just amazed that he had managed to trick the Goblet. But Cody knew he had not. "Do you think he put his name in?" Graham asked as they entered the common room. "I mean you're his best friend, right?" 

Cody blushed, taken aback by this. "N-no," he stammered. "Ron Weasley's his best friend, an' Hermione Granger. I mean I like him an' he's my friend, but not his best friend or anything." 

"Oh...I didn't know that." 

Still a bit embarrassed, Cody answered the first question Graham had asked. "If he says he didn't, he didn't. I'll ask him tomorrow. I don't think he did, though. He'd know that he'd get in trouble if he did." 

"But he didn't get in trouble! You and I could've given it a try, Cody. If we just knew how he did it. I mean _if_ he did," he added quickly, as Cody began to protest." 

"Maybe," said Cody. "But...do you think that the Goblet woulda chosen us?" 

"Nah, but at least we could've tried!" 

That was true; it was better than not being allowed, period. 

They talked about the tournament a while that night, joining some of the other Slytherins in the dungeon common room, before most students headed to bed. 

--- 

In Care of Magical Creatures on Monday, Cody saw Harry and the others for the first time since Halloween. He grinned and waved at the lot, but got only a distracted wave back. The boy shrugged and went over to talk to Neville. Draco made a few snide remarks, but before anything could be retorted to, Hagrid came out of the back of his cabin with large crate full of Blast Ended Skrewts. "They've been killin' each other," he explained. "An' I'm thinkin' it's because they've got this excess of pent-up energy. Much like Cody here," Hagrid said, setting the crates down and patting Cody on the shoulder. 

Cody put his hands on his hips and gave Hagrid a very indignant look, while the rest of the class chuckled. 

Hagrid told them they'd be taking the Skrewts for a walk that day in class. It sounded fun to Cody! They were told to use their dragon-hide gloves and at Malfoy's query, told them to affix the leash around the middle. 

Cody and Neville took a skrewt, both holding onto the leash, and walked one around the yard. Its end blasted off with a loud bang, jerking both boys off their feet and dragging them across the dewy grass. Neville looked less than pleased, but Cody laughed as he scrambled back up onto his feet. He seemed to be the only one who was enjoying the excursion. 

They spent the class walking skrewts, and there were some minor burns and some scraped knees when the class was over. But mostly everyone was intact. "Those things are disgusting," Neville said as everyone headed back to the castle. "I mean...I've never even heard of them! What _are_ they?" 

"Blast-Ended-Skrewts," Cody said with a grin. 

Neville gave him a look. "Cheeky, aren't you?" 

Once Cody discovered this was roughly equivalent to wise guy, he readily agreed. "I dunno really. I mean, I never heard of them either but I didn't know I was a wizard until I was seven." 

"That must've been weird, being a kid in a Muggle house. Was it hard?" 

Cody giggled. "Nah of course not! Muggles have other things to make doing things easier. Not as good as magic, but still pretty good." He spent the rest of the trip inside telling Neville about things like electricity, and stoves, and "potions" like window cleaner and the like. 

--- 

Cody felt very bad for Harry the next few days. Not only did the Slytherins make fun of him, so did half the rest of the school! Draco seemed to be especially determined to make Harry miserable. One night in the common room, Cody caught Draco and his thugs, and a few other Slytherins crowded around a table, working on some kind of project. He caught Harry's name, and saw that there was a pile of badges on the table, before Crabbe stood and shoved the boy onto the floor. "Bugger off," he growled. 

Getting to his feet, Cody scowled and called him a git before going to his dorm. 

The next day, he sought out Harry in the halls before Defense Against the Dark Arts, and told him what he had seen. "So...just kinda be ready. I dunno what they were, but Draco's gonna try an' embarrass you, I'm sure of it." 

Harry sighed. "Perfect." 

Hermione, who had been with Harry, rolled her eyes. "Haven't they anything better to do?" 

Cody snorted. "No." 

"Well thanks for warning me," said Harry. "Sorry you got shoved on the floor because of it." 

Cody shrugged. "It's okay, I'm tougher than that, and Crabbe's a jerk, anyways. You know, a git." 

"You said it." 

Defense Against the Dark Arts was not too bad that day, though later they would have Potions. Cody was not looking forward to it. When he walked down to the dungeon, he saw the rest of the Slytherin fourth-years standing in front of the door with the badges Cody had seen on the front of their robes. He squinted his eyes to see that they read: "Support Cedric Diggory - the REAL Hogwarts Champion!" 

"Oh gimme a break," Cody said. 

But then Draco demonstrated what the badge did, when he pressed it, and it changed to read, "Potter Stinks". 

Cody looked at the cackling Slytherins in disgust, seeing that Harry's face was turning red. As who wouldn't be embarrassed! "Boy, I sure am ashamed to be a Slytherin!" Cody said loudly, which got him quite a few evil glares. 

Hermione was just as impressed as Cody was. "Oh very funny," she said sarcastically to the Slytherins, Pansy and her gang in particular. "Really _witty_." 

Malfoy smirked at her. "Want one, Granger? I've got loads. But don't touch my hand, now. I've just washed it, you see. I don't want a Mudblood sliming it up." 

This did not go over so well with Harry. Angrily he stepped forward and retrieved his wand from in his robes. Cody stepped back along with almost everyone else. "Harry!" Hermione said, but he did not seem to have heard. 

"Go on then, Potter," said Malfoy. He drew his own wand. "Moody's not here to look after you, now. Do it, if you've got the guts." Cody moved farther out of the way, hoping rather that Harry would turn Malfoy into a toad. 

They attacked at the same time. Harry shouted "Furnunculus!" while Draco yelled "Densaugeo!" Cody was not sure what either of them were, at least not at first. 

The hexes hit each other in midair, ricocheting at the other students. Goyle yelled as boils sprang up on his face, and Hermione yelled also, clamping her hands over her mouth. Ron moved her hands away to see what had happened, and Cody saw her front teeth were growing like a rat's or beaver's. 

Snape arrived then, as grim as ever, and demanded to know what was going on. 

"Potter attacked me sir!" Malfoy said. 

"We attacked each other!" Harry growled. 

"And he hit Goyle, look!" 

Snape looked at Goyle and calmly told him to go to hospital. But when Ron showed Hermione's teeth to him, he simply looked at her and said, "I see no difference." 

Cody's jaw dropped that a teacher, even Snape, would say something that mean and horrible to a kid. Hermione turned and ran, and Cody saw that she was crying. 

Ron and Harry both turned on Snape, furious, but it was too echoing in the chamber to hear what they were saying. Snape nevertheless gave them detention and took fifty points from Gryffindor. 

Cody looked worriedly after Hermione and had started to go after him, but Snape's voice stopped him. "Mr. DeDannan, you will get inside the classroom this instant, else you will be joining the Gryffindors in detention." 

Scowling, Cody stomped inside and sat down at a table next to Harry. He decided to see how evilly he could glare at Snape, but was ignored, so far as he could tell. Snape informed them that it was time to be testing their knowledge in poison antidotes, and that one of the students would be used to test them out on. But before anyone could go any further, a Gryffindor third-year almost as small as Cody poked his head in and told Professor Snape he had to take Harry upstairs. Snape seemed less than inclined to allow it, but the third-year was persistent. Said Harry needed to go with the other champions to take photographs. Harry turned quite red as he said this, and looked only too glad to leave the class. 

Cody sighed and sat back in his chair, then moved over to sit with Neville, like he normally did. The class was a disaster, for Snape was in a horrible mood, and took it out on most of the Gryffindors (and a bit on Cody). At the end of class, Snape called Neville to the front of the class. 

Looking terrified, Neville crept up to Snape's desk, where he was handed a vial of neon blue liquid, and told to drink it. Neville looked at him pleadingly, but got only a cold, pitiless look. "As much as it would benefit the whole of Hogwarts, I have no intentions of letting you die, Longbottom. If Mr. DeDannan's antidote doesn't work -" Cody's eyes widened in alarm - "I have the correct concoction made. DeDannan, fill a flask of your antidote and bring it up here." 

Gulping, Cody brought a medium-sized glass vial from his school bag, and scooped out a vial of his antidote. He hoped fervently he had done it correctly as he walked to the front of the class, where Neville had taken the poison Snape gave him. He looked even less thrilled than Cody as the eyes of the entire class were on them. The Slytherins, Cody was certain, hoped that Cody's potion wouldn't work; while the Gryffindors looked hopeful that it would. While Cody was sure Snape would not let Neville die, as he could get into a lot of trouble for it, he didn't know how long he would let Neville suffer before giving him the right antidote. 

Neville already looked pale, and as Cody watched, he staggered against the wall. Cody gave the vial to Neville, who looked at it uncertainly. Cody bit his lip. What if it made it worse? He glanced up at Snape, who looked at him coldly. Though Cody thought he could see the ghost of a smirk on his lips, as if he were enjoying Neville's and Cody's anxiety. 

Closing his eyes, Neville clenched his teeth as if in pain, then bolted the contents of Cody's antidote. It seemed like a very long time that Cody watched, looking for signs that Neville was getting better, or worse. 

A minute or so after he had swallowed Cody's antidote, Neville opened his eyes and looked at him. He had stopped shaking, though his face was pale, and he stood up straight. Cody breathed a sigh of relief. Snape looked Neville over dispassionately, and then finally nodded down at Cody. "Not bad, DeDannan. Not bad." He looked to the rest of the class and announced it over, and without any work for once. 

Shaken, Cody gathered all of his stuff quickly and joined Neville outside the class. "A-are you okay?" he asked quietly as they made haste to leave the class, but Malfoy's drawling voice interrupted the conversation. 

"Too bad you're not as abysmal at Potions as Longbottom is, Cody. I woulda liked to have seen Longbottom vomiting his guts on the floor." He smirked at Neville, then continued to their next class. 

Neville scowled at them but looked down at Cody. He looked pale, but mostly all right. "Yeah, I'm okay," he said quietly. "Just...you know. Snape. Did you see the look on his face?" 

"Yeah, he's just mad because he couldn't pick on Harry during the whole class." 

Neville brooded for a moment before asking, "How can you stand him? How can you stand him being your Head of House?" 

"Well..." said Cody, looking apologetic. "I don't really see him much. And he's not that bad all the time. Just -" 

"Just with the Gryffindors," said Neville bitterly. 

"I'm sorry." 

Neville smiled a little and put a hand on Cody's shoulder. "It's not your fault. Well, I'm gonna head back to Gryffindor Tower. See you later, Cody." 

"Bye, Neville." 

Cody did not join the Slytherins heading back to the dungeon common room, for his anger with Malfoy and Snape were too great. Instead he went outside, shivering a little in the damp chill, and sat by the lake. He watched the black waters ripple in the slight breeze around the Durmstrang ship, and watched the tentacles of the giant squid below break the water every now and then. He wondered again why he got Sorted into Slytherin. It was just making him miserable. And though he had read of and heard of people who really were as bad as Malfoy, he had never met them in his short life, not even at the orphanage. He could not comprehend what could make a person act like that, and enjoy it! 

He was startled out of his thoughts by a hand tapping him on his shoulder. He looked up to see Graham Pritchard standing there in his school robes (and looking like the cold did not bother him in the least). "Hi, Cody. It's almost time that we have to go back to the common rooms...what's wrong?" 

"Draco's a jerk." 

"Well yeah. What'd he do this time?" 

As Graham sat on the grass near him, Cody told him of the entire fiasco at Potions, of Harry and Draco's fight, of Snape's comment to Hermione and the Slytherins' badges. 

"Oh yeah," said Graham. "Draco tried to give me one but I didn't want it." 

"Yeah, and Snape just lets him be that mean. In my school in America, none of the teachers would ever be that mean to a kid! Maybe they'd get mad sometimes, or yell, but if they did that kinda stuff, they'd get in big trouble! I dunno why they let him!" 

"I don't know either. Some of the teachers are like that though. The Magical world has its own rules, I guess. And some of them aren't fair." 

"No kidding."Cody scowled at the lake and hurled a nearby stone into the waters. A squid tentacle slapped the water in annoyance. Cody stuck his tongue out at it then turned to Graham. "Well...guess we should go back in before Snape gets mad." He saw the smirk twitch onto Graham's face and could not stop a smirk of his own. "Yeah...definitely mad." 

Graham laughed aloud at this, and the two boys headed back to the castle. 

"Thanks for comin' out," said Cody. 

"You're welcome. That's what friends do, right?" 

Cody nodded. "Yeah, you're right." 

They did get back on time, and Malfoy had already gone to bed when they got to the common room. And good riddance! 


	31. Year 4, Chapter 10: PoisonPen Skeeter

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 10: Poison-Pen Skeeter**

About a week later, Cody found Draco snickering over something in the Daily Prophet, and was all too happy to show Cody when he asked what was so funny. Cody slowly read the article, looking in disgust at what was written, about how Harry had told some reporter that he still cried over his parents, how he knew they were watching over him... Perhaps it was true, perhaps not, but Cody was fairly sure Harry would not have spouted it to a reporter he hardly knew. He had thought it was supposed to be an article on the Triwizard Tournament! He checked the name of the reporter and made an angry sound at it: Rita Skeeter. "That git!" 

Malfoy snickered, grabbing the newspaper back. "Better go find Potter, Cody. He'll need all the comfort he can get." 

Cody gave Malfoy a _look_, then left the dungeons, shaking his head. No wonder so many kids here were jerks; so were half the adults! 

He felt sorry for Harry. He couldn't believe how many students were using that stupid article to make him miserable. They wouldn't like it if it were them! Between that, and Malfoy's really annoying insinuations that Cody was a traitor to Slytherin, of Snape's foul mood, and his normal abysmal performance in Herbology, it really was not a good week for Cody, either. 

And to top it all off, Hermione was highly annoyed with him for not joining S.P.E.W.. 

Halfway through the week, Hermione had come up to Cody before supper, asking him if he wanted to join an organization that she was trying to get going, called S.P.E.W. "Spew?" he said. 

"Not _spew!_" she said irritably, and Cody seemed to remember that that was what Ron called it. "It's the Society for the Promotion of Elvish Welfare." At Cody's blank stare, she sighed in exasperation and told him what the words meant. Cody scowled; she had a way of making him feel very stupid. 

"So...you're gonna try an' free them even though it'd make them really miserable?" 

Hermione scowled at Cody then, and put her hands on her hips. "They don't know any better Cody. We've got to teach them, we've got to make them see that slavery is wrong." 

Cody looked at her for a moment then shook his head. "No...I...I don't think it's right, Hermione. I mean they like their work! _I_ think that there should be a law though that makes people be nice to their house elves and not hurt them like Malfoy's dad did with Dobby. And they should add a law that says that if an elf _wants_ to be free, he should be allowed to." 

"Oh, I shouldn't have expected you to understand," she said, storming out of the Great Hall. 

Cody had been quite stung by her reaction, and gone to bed feeling less than happy. 

Thinking about this, Cody sighed, and retrieved his broomstick from the dungeons. It was the end of the week, and very chilly, but for once he did not notice the cold. He only mounted his broomstick and took it up into the air. 

He coaxed as much speed as he could from the broom, flying through the goal hoops (he was small enough to easily accomplish this) and flying around in circles. He growled, wishing he had brought out some Bludgers and his bat, but did not really feel like going back to get either one. And so he only flew. 

A while later, very cold and feeling somewhat better, Cody went up to the dorms and crept into bed. Most the Slytherins were still at dinner, and so he had peace and quiet in the dorm. He hadn't intended to sleep, but obviously he needed it, for the last thing he remembered was wishing he could use his Beater's bat on Malfoy's stupid, empty head. 

--- 

There was a Hogsmeade weekend coming up, and while Cody intended to go, he intended to go alone. He was still mad at Hermione (whom he had not seen except in class) and Ron and Harry usually hung out with her. Graham couldn't go, being a first-year, and while Cody considered at first going with Neville, he decided that he wanted a break from Hogwarts students for a while. 

And so, a very chilly Saturday morning, Cody put on his long underwear, some jeans and a long-sleeved ThunderCats shirt, his school robes and his winter cloak. He left his tie on his bed, vowing never to wear the stupid thing again unless he was made to, for it was driving him crazy trying to remember how to fasten it correctly. He did bring his green and silver scarf, though, in case it got too cold for him. 

At Hogsmeade, Cody drifted away from the rest of the students, heading for the Shrieking Shack. Though a popular site for students to check out, most of them liked to go to places like Zonko's and Honeydukes first. 

The area was empty by the time Cody got there, for which he was glad. It was difficult, sometimes, being among so many students constantly. Tended to make him the slightest bit claustrophobic. Here, though it was cold out, at least it was open, and Cody could breathe in the fresh air. Feeling rather subdued, he climbed up onto the railing of the fence that surrounded the Shrieking Shack, and sat there. For some time, he simply gazed at the dilapidated old ruin, remembering the last time he had seen it. He had been inside, with Harry and the others, dealing with Sirius Black and Professor Snape. He scowled, remembering how Snape had told him he was acting like a traitor. He was getting sick of hearing that word. 

When some third-years began heading that way, Cody slipped down off the fence and wandered off. 

After a while of aimless wandering, he ran full-tilt into someone who was wearing a dress, and looked up, startled. Had he been spacing out that badly? "Sorry," he said. 

The woman turned around, and there was something very familiar about her face. He frowned, trying to figure out what it was. She was tall and skinny, with rigid, curly hair, and a big, gaudy handbag made of snakeskin or something. "That's all right,' she said with a rather insincere smile. Then she cocked her head and looked a little more closely. "You're wearing a Hogwarts uniform...surely you're not there as a student?" 

Cody nodded. "Yeah, I am. They let me in young. But it's okay, I'm good at magic, mostly." 

"What's your name?" the woman asked, curiosity showing through her flashy, cat-eye shaped spectacles. 

"Cody, what's yours?" 

The woman flashed him the smile again, which reminded him vaguely of "Professor" Lockhart. She extended her big hand down towards him, in a prissy sort of all-business manner. "Rita Skeeter. Nice to meet you." 

Cody blinked, looking up again into her face; Rita Skeeter! That was her - the reporter! The one that was making Ron's dad look bad, and had written that stupid article about Harry! He did not take her hand. "Harry told me about you." 

At this, Rita's eyebrows rose, and she peered down at the boy. "Is that so?" 

"Yeah...he said that he didn't say any of the things you put in your dumb article." The smile faded from Rita's face. "How come you lied?" 

The woman favored him with a rather withering look. "That's my job, half-pint," she said, gaining a dirty look from the boy in front of her. "I write what the readers want to see." 

Cody snorted. "I thought reporters were supposed to tell the truth. Guess not." 

"Tell you what," said Rita, smiling again in an entirely less friendly fashion. "When you're old enough not to wet the bed then we can talk about how well I do my job." Leaving Cody fuming in the middle of the street, Rita went on her way. 

Cody, his fists clenched and his face red enough that he thought it might just thaw the rest of his body out, couldn't even think of anything awful to say to her. He was too angry. 

Finally he huffed down the street thinking less than pleasant thoughts. 

He spent a while in the Three Broomsticks later that day, drinking butterbeer to warm up. He left feeling slightly better than he had before. He checked out the Hog's Head, which was a good deal less clean and cheerful, and was filled with unsavory sorts. Most of the patrons turned to look at him as he entered, and Cody got the distinct notion that children his age were a rarity here. Deciding that it would be better judgment to leave, he did. 

Last on his list was Honeydukes, where he bought his usual assortment of candies. He even bought another Blood Lollipop for when he wanted to gross other people out. The taste wasn't fantastic, but it wasn't horrible, either, and it wasn't real blood. And so it was quite worth it to gross others out with it. After a moment's thought, he bought a few sweets for Graham, too, and exited the shop. 

That night in the common room, he gave Graham the candies he'd bought for him, and was cheered at the look of pleased surprise on Graham's face. "Thanks! What is all this stuff?" 

Cody pointed out the various sweets he'd gotten for him, including a couple of chocolate frogs, a Fizzing Whizbee, and Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans, and a bar of chocolate. He spent a lot of time telling Graham what it was like in Hogsmeade, and answering his questions about it. He also mentioned his encounter with Rita Skeeter. "That cow!" Graham exclaimed. "What was she doing there?" 

"I dunno," said Cody through a mouthful of chocolate. "I bet she's gonna come here and watch the first Triwizard thing though." 

"Ohhh, yeah...that's Tuesday, huh?" Cody nodded. "I wonder what they're gonna have to do." 

"I dunno! I bet it'll be dangerous though." 

After the two boys had eaten enough sweets to satisfy their sweet tooth, they played a game of wizard chess. Cody lost, as usual, and Graham gloated, as usual. After supper, they played Exploding Snap until bedtime and talked about Quidditch and about the World Cup. And so, while the day had started out badly, Cody was happy with its end. He really was glad Graham had been put into Slytherin. 

--- 

Come Tuesday, Cody and Graham sat with Hermione and Ron to watch the first task. Graham seemed a little nervous to be sitting among all the Gryffindors, and there were a few mutterings about the Slytherins invading, but otherwise things remained fairly friendly. 

Cody had not gotten much of a chance to talk a lot with his Gryffindor friends of late, and it was only now that he found out what Harry would be facing. "Something about dragons," said Hermione when Cody asked. She was no longer annoyed with Cody, it seemed. "He's got to defeat one, or get past one, or something." 

"Wow," Graham whispered, his eyes wide. "Real ones? Dragons are really dangerous, and they're letting kids fight one?" 

"Well, there'll be mediwizards nearby of course," said Hermione, who nevertheless looked very worried. "And all sorts of people around to try and make sure nothing horrible happens." 

Cody, who knew that Harry would turn out fine, was rather excited. He had never seen a real dragon before! Near the front of the magically-erected stands, out on the frigid grounds of the castle, Cody turned his gaze back to the wide area that was apparently set up for the champions to perform their tasks. 

The students did not have long to wait. Ludo Bagman, who would be commentating, rushed outside and announced to the crowd that the first task would be starting very soon. And even as he said this, a commotion at the far end of the arena (for that was what it truly was) turned everyone's attention there. Cody's jaw dropped as a huge reptile was dragged into the arena by several wizards (one of them was Ron's brother, Charlie), snorting bluish flames and snarling. It had pretty, blue-white skin, and a whipping tail. One wizard towed behind him a nest of sorts, a nest filled with dragon eggs. This was put at one end of the arena, and once the dragon saw it, it headed for the nest, and the wizards let her. Cody was sure it was a mother dragon by the way it crouched protectively over the eggs, just daring anyone to try and get close to her. Before she did, Cody glimpsed an egg that shone golden. 

Ron's eyes were huge, and Hermione looked like she might faint. "Blimey," said Ron weakly, looking at the creature. "They must've gone mad, the Ministry! That's a Swedish Short-Snout, that is!" 

"Harry's got to get past that?" Graham asked, his eyes even wider than Ron's. 

"No," said Cody, pointing. "It's Cedric. Lookit!" 

Indeed, Cedric Diggory walked out onto the ground, his face sheer white, but his expression determined. He looked up at the dragon, his wand in hand. The dragon looked back at him, narrowing its eyes and shooting a jet of blue flame into the air as a warning. 

At first, Cody was simply fascinated by watching the dragon, a creature that he had never dreamed he would see. And so close, too! 

Cedric walked very slowly toward the dragon then, watching her the entire time, and when she snarled at him, he stopped. He glanced quickly around, and spotted a stone on the ground. He pointed his wand at it, and uttered something that could not be heard above the muttering and whispers of the audience, and suddenly, the stone was growing into a dog. The dog barked, took one look at the dragon, and ran as fast as it could away, with its tail between its legs. Distracted, the dragon roared, and lunged with its fangs at the dog, and Cedric ran towards the nest. 

Seeing this, the dragon whipped her head around and shot a narrow stream of blue flame at Cedric, who dropped and rolled. Everyone in the bleachers gasped as Cedric beat out a flame on his shoulder, and darted out of the way of the next flame. "Ohhh, narrow miss there, very narrow!" Ludo Bagman cried. 

"Go, Cedric!" Cody yelled, his eyes wide. "Quick!" 

Eventually, Cedric reached the nest and grabbed the flash of gold Cody had seen, and the crowd cheered enthusiastically. Ludo announced that the judges would be giving their marks, and Cody looked over at them to see they were using their wands to shoot numbers into the air. Cody grinned and cheered as the dragon handlers led the Short-Snout out. 

A great green dragon was led in then, and it was this kind of dragon that Cody most often saw in pictures and books that Muggles created. "A common Welsh Green," Ron whispered. 

Fleur, it seemed, would be facing this one down. Cody watched in awe as she approached as Cedric did, pointing her wand and crying something in French. A powerful-looking Stunning charm shot at the dragon, but bounced off its thick hide, and seemed to make it more angry than anything. "Oh, I'm not sure that was wise!" Bagman exclaimed. 

A silvery sheen erupted from her wand then, and the dragon seemed to be falling asleep. "Oh, nearly..." Bagman announced as Fleur approached. "Careful now..." The trouble was, as it drifted off, the dragon let out a snort of flame. Fleur let out an alarmed cry as her skirt immediately caught fire, and she retreated several steps. "Good Lord, I thought she'd had it then!" 

A jet of water from her wand extinguished the flames, and the French girl looked very shaken once it had. But the dragon seemed to sleep still, and now avoiding walking directly in front of its snoring mouth, Fleur crept towards the nest. It took a while, as she did not want to disturb it, but she finally got the egg. 

Krum was next, and he ended up facing a really strange-looking dragon that looked like it might be half lion. It was a pretty creature once one got past its very strange appearance. Its eyes bulged out, and its snout was incredibly short. It had a fringe around its face, and its scales were a brilliant red. "That one's weird!" said Cody, drawing his scarf a bit tighter around his face. 

"It's Chinese, I think," said Graham. 

"It is," said Ron quietly. As Harry had not yet come out and thus was likely still very much all right, Ron and Hermione seemed to have calmed some. But after Krum, Harry would be up. 

Krum did the best so far, and got his egg in the least time. He walked boldly into the area, his wand out, and shouted something that Cody assumed was Bulgarian, or whatever language it was he spoke. A searing red streak raced across the air to hit the dragon in the eye as Bagman exclaimed about Krum's daring. The dragon shrieked in pain and began to thrash, trampling half of the eggs in the nest to mush. 

Cody's eyes widened. "The eggs!" he cried. "There's babies in there, she just killed her babies!" 

A hand on his shoulder made him spin around, a look of shock on his face. "Easy," said Hermione. "I highly doubt those eggs were anywhere close to developing, and might not have even been fertilized yet. They wouldn't just endanger infant creatures like that, I'm sure. Especially for just a contest." 

Cody bit his lip, unsure, but turned his eyes back to the game. She was probably right, he tried to convince himself, for his own peace of mind. Even wizards weren't that cruel. Were they? 

Krum did get his egg, though points were taking off for the damaged eggs, and the last dragon was brought into the ring. 

Hermione gasped as the dragon was dragged in by the biggest group of wizards yet. It was a sinister black dragon with an eerie lizard-like body and a slithering way of moving. A wicked spiked tail lashed behind it. "That's a Hungarian Horntail!" Hermione cried, her hands to her mouth. "That's the most dangerous kind!" 

"He's a goner," Ron whispered rather unencouragingly. 

"You don't think he'll really die, do you?" Graham asked worriedly. 

"Nah," Cody said. "He's really good at dangerous stuff. And the grown-ups won't let him die, will they?" This he aimed up at Hermione. 

"I...well not on purpose, they won't!" 

Cody was not reassured. 

When Harry walked out, easily much shorter than any of the other champions and looking quite defenseless against the angry Horntail, he only stood in the middle of the arena. He raised his wand and shouted what Cody made out as a summoning charm, for his Firebolt! And after a moment, Cody could see it soar overhead, and into Harry's hands. 

Harry really was a fantastic flier, and Bagman even commented on this to the crowd. Cody grinned as Harry rose in the air, trying to get the dragon to go after him, dodging the dragon's flames. He took a strike from its spiked tail, but kept on flying. And then, as the dragon finally rose to go after him, he streaked downwards on his broom as if he had seen the Golden Snitch, and very soon, he had grabbed his target; the Golden Egg! 

There were very few students that did not cheer, and Cody could see that even several Slytherins could not help but appreciate Harry's skill. Cody jumped up and down in the stands, yelling. Hermione was crying in relief behind him, and it was Ron's turn to look like he might faint. His freckles stood out vividly against his skin, which was now very pale. 

Bagman was crowing that Harry, the youngest of them, had been quickest to get his egg, and that this would shorten the odds on him. Cody wasn't sure what that meant, but he did know that Harry had just surprised a lot of people! 

Ron and Hermione rushed down to the arena area while the Horntail was subdued and brought out (Cody hoped that they hadn't _hurt_ the dragons for this test!) and the crowd began talking excitedly about the task. 

Once Harry had gotten his score, the students began to clear off, emptying the stands. Cody could not get to Harry just then to congratulate him, but he did see Cedric, who was looking both supremely relieved, and fairly pleased with his performance. "Good job!" Cody called to him with a thumbs-up. 

Cedric looked toward the voice and smiled, mouthing a "thanks." 

"Hey look!" said Cody as the crowd began heading for the castle. "That's Charlie! He's one of Ron's brothers!" Cody darted among the other students, with Graham close behind, and caught up with the red-haired man, tugging on his robes. In surprise, Charlie turned around, his face breaking into a smile. "Hey, Cody!' he said, hugging the boy. "That was some show, eh?" 

"Yeah! Boy, that was awesome, I never saw a dragon before!" 

Charlie chuckled. "Pretty frightening, aren't they?" Cody nodded. "Well, I'm glad I got to see you, kid, but I've got to head for the Owlery, to send Mum a letter. You know how she is, she's been nearly hysterical about Harry having been chosen for this." 

Cody stifled a giggle, and nodded. "Okay. I hope I see you again!" 

"I think I can manage that!" Charlie smiled, ruffled Cody's hair, and ran off to the castle. 

"That's Charlie," Cody repeated to Graham. "He _works_ with dragons!" 

"Really? As a job?" 

Cody nodded. "Yeah! Wow...I wonder what that'd be like!" 

"I bet it would be exciting," Graham said. "Maybe that's what I should do when I grow up!" 

--- 

Cody did not get the opportunity to see Harry again until the next Care of Magical Creatures class, during which Harry told him what had been in the golden egg (a lot of screeching). Cody frowned, puzzled by this. He was finding that more and more, he could not remember things that he had read about Hogwarts in the books. He was glad of this though, it was far more fun and exciting when he was seeing things for the first time. "It's just screeches?" 

"Yeah, but not like anything human!" 

"Maybe it's not human?" 

Harry shook his head. "I dunno, but it's almost too loud to bear. I've got to find out what that sound is before I get anywhere solving this riddle." 

They had little time to talk then, as Hagrid had told the class they would be trying to determine if the skrewts hibernated or not. As it turned out, they did not, and when they were sealed in crates, they let their displeasure be known. They blasted the crates into pieces, and began rampaging around Hagrid's pumpkin patch, causing most of the students to take refuge in the cabin. 

Cody, though alarmed at first, stayed to help the handful of students who had stayed outside to try and get the skrewts tied up and restrained. Now this was fun! 

He jumped on one of them, but yelled in alarm as it took off running, with Cody still on top of it. "Hey!" he yelled, trying to drag his feet on the ground to stop it. "Stop, you stupid skrewt!" 

Unfortunately, it did stop, throwing Cody headfirst onto the ground. He rubbed his head and scowled as the creature ran off. 

Still, they did manage to get the skrewts tied up, all but one. Everyone had gotten burned and cut in some fashion, and only one skrewt was left. Hagrid seemed more concerned about not frightening it, while Ron seemed to think that this idea was ludicrous. 

They were interrupted by a woman's voice outside the paddock, saying, "Well, well, well. This does look like fun." 

Everyone (including the skrewt by all outward appearances) turned his or her attention to the voice's owner, and saw that it was Rita Skeeter. Cody scowled irritably at her and turned back to the skrewt. 

Hagrid used the distraction to jump on the skrewt and get it tied up along with the others. "Who're you?" he asked the woman. 

Smiling the Lockhart smile, revealing her gold teeth, Rita told him her name. 

"Thought Dumbledore said you weren't allowed inside the school anymore," Hagrid said as he finished dealing with the skrewt. 

Ignoring this, Rita stepped forward, asking what the skrewts were called, and Hagrid told her. She asked where they had come from, but Hagrid did not seem to want to say. Hermione spoke up, telling Rita how interesting they were, and after getting his foot stepped on, Harry agreed. 

Rita was quite happy to see Harry standing there, and asked him if he enjoyed the class. 

"Yes," said Harry firmly. 

"Lovely..." said Rita. 

From the students' perspectives, things went rather downhill from there. Rita convinced Hagrid to grant her an interview about his "Bang-Ended Scoots" for the Daily Prophet's zoology column, and went off to talk to him. 

Hermione was rather of the opinion that Rita would twist anything he said. 

"Yeah!" Cody said vehemently. "I just bet she does! I met her, in Hogsmeade! I told her she was a liar and she said when I was old enough not to wet the bed, then I could talk." He scowled. "I do not wet the bed!" 

Ron snorted. "Yeah, well, she hasn't got anything right so far, why should she get that right?" 

"You think she can get Hagrid into trouble?" Cody asked. 

"As long as he didn't import those skrewts illegally, or anything..." said Hermione. 

Ron did not seem worried, saying that Hagrid had been in trouble before and Dumbledore had not sacked him yet. That the worst thing that could happen was that he'd have to get rid of the skrewts. "Sorry...did I say worst? I meant best." 

Cody giggled as they made their way to lunch, where Cody said goodbye to the trio and sat at the Slytherin table. 

He told Graham what had happened in class that day, about the skrewts blasting Hagrid's poor pumpkin patch apart and about how Cody had helped get them back in. Graham made a face. "Those sound nasty," he said. "I'm glad I don't take that class yet." 

"Nah, it's not that bad." 

Graham snorted. "Yeah, if you like getting burned." He looked down at Cody's sleeve, which had a long burn mark in it. His shirt underneath and the skin under _that_ was burned too. 

Cody shrugged. "That's okay. After lunch I'm gonna go to Madame Pomfrey." 

"I'll just bet she chews you out, too." 

Cody made a face. "Yeah...I bet she does." 


	32. Year 4, Chapter 11: Hagrid's Shame

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 11: Hagrid's Shame**

Some days later, Snape had told the students from his house to remain behind after a Potions class, as he had something to tell them. Interested, Cody listened as Snape told them that the Yule Ball approached, a dance that was a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament, not to mention the reason they needed dress robes that year. "And I expect that those in my House behave in a way befitting a Hogwarts student," said Snape menacingly. "If anyone from Slytherin embarrasses this school, there will be consequences." 

A _dance?_ Cody thought. At first he really had no interest in going, but after classes that day, he found he had little choice. One morning, Merlin brought Cody a letter from home. He scritched the little bat on the head and he settled on Cody's arm and sniffed at his pancakes. Cody read the letter and frowned. 

_ Cody - something has come up here and we're going to have to go out of town during Christmas. My father has taken ill, and Samantha and I are going to Michigan to visit him. Would you be terribly disappointed to stay at Hogwarts over Christmas vacation?_

_ Love, Mom_

Well, Cody thought, at least it won't be too boring. But he had planned on spending Christmas with his family. Cody was not sure if he was glad or not, but in any case, he had no choice. After breakfast, he scribbled a reply saying that yes, he could stay here and he hoped her dad got better. It was highly convenient, but then that was how magic worked, wasn't it? He sent Merlin off with the reply. 

Besides, it would let him join the rest of the choir in performing that night. While Dumbledore planned on hiring a band to play, the Hogwarts choir was going to sing as well, when the main group took their break. They would be wearing their dress robes, with the choir robes over those. 

The fourth years had gotten a fairly heavy load of work to do over vacation, a fact that had Cody less than thrilled. He was determined this time to get it done early so that he did not have to do it later, and succeeded fairly well for once. He told Graham if he saw Cody goofing around before his work was done, to bop him on the head, and he was only too happy to comply, Cody found. It was easier to do the work than to dodge Graham's bonking fist. 

Graham was going home for the holidays, as no one below fourth year could go to the ball unless accompanied by an older student. Cody endured a lot of teasing before his friend left about what girl he was going to ask. Cody told him to go kiss Hagrid's Blast-Ended Skrewts, which only made Graham laugh. 

Ron came up to Cody the second day of vacation, and warned him not to accept anything that Fred or George gave him in the way of food. Cody smirked, remembering some of the things they had shown him when he was staying at the Burrow. Apparently they were passing out their Canary Creams, which temporarily turned the victim into a giant canary. Cody giggled at the thought. 

As Christmas approached, Cody noticed that all of the girls in fourth year and up (and some in the lower years) were beginning to act very annoyingly, giggling all the time and talking about their hair and the like. Cody had taken to avoiding any and all girls in the days leading up to the ball. The Weasley twins asked Cody if he really intended to go to the ball, and Cody said he kind of had to, the choir was singing. Some of the students had gone home for Christmas, but most of them were staying. He told them his mother and sister would be out of town. "Oh, splendid!" said George with a smirk. "Who're you going to ask then?" 

Cody gave him a look of deepest disgust. "I'm not!" 

"But it's a ball," said Fred. "You've got to take someone. I'm sure there's plenty of girls in your year that would love to go with you!" 

Cody's face turned red and he crossed his arms. "I'm not asking a girl!" 

"Well, who will you dance with then?" 

"No one!" 

Fred grinned, and ruffled Cody's hair. "Aw, you're no fun. Just wait 'til you're older, you'll have girls wanting to dance with you left and right." 

Cody snorted, but said nothing. It was already quite clear what he thought on the matter! 

--- 

On the night of the ball, Cody put on his blue dress robes, and carried his choir robes over his shoulder. The choir would not be singing at the beginning, and so would not need their robes just yet. 

The Slytherin common room was full of people in different colored robes, which looked very strange. Malfoy had on a set of black robes with a high collar, and Cody told him he looked like a vampire. Draco rolled his eyes. Pansy Parkinson had frilly, pink robes on, and Crabbe and Goyle were both wearing green. 

"Aw, look how cuuuute," said Goyle with a smirk. "DeDannan's got little blue dress robes!" 

Cody stuck out his tongue at him. "At least I don't look like I'm covered with mold," he said. Goyle did not make him as mad as Draco and Crabbe did, but they did often bicker. 

Goyle snorted, but said no more. 

Feeling disgruntled, Cody waited until Malfoy and his little group had left before coming out of the common room. He did feel fairly self-conscious as he walked down the halls, all dressed up. One of the sixth year girls that was fairly friendly towards him had insisted on combing out his hair, so that instead of his usual mop, it was all nice and smooth. He had to resist the urge to mess it up a bit just so it didn't feel weird. 

As the Slytherins came up from the dungeon, Cody looked around and spotted Harry and Ron. He grinned, and waved their way. Harry was in his bottle-green robes, and he saw that Ron had cut off the lace on his own maroon ones. They looked a lot better that way. Even the teachers were dressed up, he saw, and it was really weird to see Professor McGonagall in plaid dress robes. 

He looked around for Hermione, but at first, he didn't see her; she was dressed in light blue robes, and her hair was all pulled back, not long and messy like it usually was. She was hardly recognizable! He blinked, and then waved at her and Viktor Krum, who was her partner for the ball. 

The Great Hall looked a lot different. Instead of the huge house tables, smaller ones with lanterns were scattered all around. They would probably sit ten or twelve people. 

The Champions sat at a table with the school headmasters, and Cody felt rather lost. He wasn't sure where he was supposed to sit. Eventually, he wandered over to a table full of Ravenclaws that he knew from his Astronomy class, and sat down with them. A few said hello to him, and he said hello back. 

Dinner that night was very strange. There were menus on the tables, and with a little help from one of the Ravenclaws, he was able to read most of the dishes. (There was some strange stuff.) But he was not sure how to order, until Dumbledore sat up and said to his plate, "Pork chops!" 

Cody looked down at his own plate, thought about what he wanted, and said, "Chicken!" And chicken appeared! Cody grinned as the rest of the school began telling their plates what they wanted. 

Many people were acting all romantic, but a lot were simply talking with each other and enjoying the ball. Cody supposed that this wasn;t so bad, after all. It was different, at least. At first, he simply looked around at the glittering decorations, and the different dress robes. Malfoy and Pansy walked by his table, and Cody resisted the urge to say of Pansy, "There goes a pink elephant." He figured while likely the Ravenclaws at the table would appreciate the comment, the teachers might not. 

He knelt up in his seat to eat, for the chairs and tables were meant for people who were nearly full grown in height, and Cody frowned, thinking again of how he was the youngest person in the room. He wondered if anyone felt annoyed having a child in the castle, or felt that they had to baby-sit. He sighed quietly as he gnawed on his chicken. 

When the food was gone, Dumbledore asked everyone to stand up from the tables. Cody quickly finished his milk and stood, wondering what was going to happen now. Once everyone was on his or her feet, Dumbledore motioned with his wand, and the tables all slid to the outside of the room, along the walls. On one side of the Hall, a large platform was raised that ended up being a stage for the Weird Sisters, a popular wizarding music group. Their robes were torn, but it looked like it was done on purpose. 

The champions had to go out on the floor by themselves, and Cody made his way in front of everyone so that he could see. Harry and Parvati from Gryffindor were dancing as the music started, and Cody stifled a giggle at the nervous look on Harry's face. But soon many others had stepped out onto the dance floor, and Cody began to lose interest. 

After the song, Harry went to sit down with Ron and Hermione, but they were bickering too much for Cody to want to be around them. He headed away from them, back towards the tables. He started as someone called his name, and he turned around to look. 

One of the seventh-year Slytherin girls whose name he thought might be Brandy told Cody impishly that he looked bored, and that he should dance with her. He turned red and said he didn't want to, but she insisted. Her dancing partner, a seventh-year from Hufflepuff, watched amusedly as the girl dragged Cody out onto the dance floor. "Hey, hold on!" the boy protested. The Weird Sisters were playing a fast sort of music with a lot of bagpipes, and the girl hung on to Cody's hands and started dancing. 

Cody hadn't the vaguest idea about how to dance, but he found he really didn't need to. All he had to do was move his feet around in time to the beat, and found it was actually kind of fun. He giggled when she picked him up in the air and swung him around during the fastest part of the song. He noticed several amused looks from the adults and older students on the floor, but that was okay. It _was_ kind of fun. 

When the song was over, Brandy walked with him back to the tables where her partner winked at Cody. "You're a pretty dashing dancer there, kid,' he said. "I'll have to watch out you don't steal my girlfriend away." 

Cody blushed a deep red. "Aw, I'm not gonna steal anyone's girlfriend...girlfriends are gross, anyway." The seventh-year boy had to stifle a snicker, as Brandy raised her brows at him. Realizing that he had just insulted her, he felt his face grow hotter as he said, "No, wait, I didn't mean _you_, I meant..." 

Brandy chuckled and gave him a quick squeeze. "I know what ya meant. And I'm sure you'll grow tired of hearing this, but when you get older, you'll change your mind. Hormones, you know. When you're thirteen or so, those hormones'll start developing in your body and you'll start likin' all that stuff." 

Cody frowned, thinking about this. Finally, he said, "You'd think they'd've found a cure for those!" 

At this, both Brandy and her friend laughed aloud, and Cody grinned sheepishly. "Now that would take all the fun out of growing up," she said to Cody. 

Cody made a face, but he shrugged agreeably. "I guess so." 

"Go on," she said with a chuckle. "We won't make your face turn any redder." She winked and sat back in her chair to watch the dancers on the floor. Cody shook his head and waved as he left. Boy, people sure got weird when they got older; and people called _Cody_ weird! 

Now what? he wondered. Harry and Ron had left a few moments before, and most everyone else Cody knew was dancing or getting all mushy at their tables. He considerd going back to the dorms, but he didn;t want to miss anything, and finally his eyes fell on Viktor Krum and Hermione. They were sitting at a table alone, but it did not look like they were getting mushy, or anything. He headed in that direction and waved. 

Hermione caught his wave and smiled, motioning for him to join them. Feeling very shy, realizing again how famous Viktor Krum was, Cody sat down at the table. "Hi." 

"Cody, have you met Viktor yet?" Cody shook his head. "Ah, well, this is Viktor Krum. Victor, this is Cody DeDannan, he's in Slytherin House, fourth-year." 

Krum nodded his head and offered his hand. Cody knelt up on his seat to be able to reach across the table to shake it. "It is nice to meet you," said Krum politely. 

"Thanks," said Cody. "You too." 

"Having fun?" Hermione asked. 

Cody shrugged. "Yeah... There's too much mush around here, but the rest of it's fun." He felt his face prickle with heat as the two older students chuckled, but gave them a meek grin. 

"How old are you?" asked Krum. 

"Nine. I'll be ten in March, though. March thirteen." 

"You are quite young." 

Cody nodded. "I know. I dunno why I got to go here early. I'm glad, though, I didn't like my other school." He hesitated aa moment before saying, "You're a really good Quidditch player - I saw you at the World Cup! You sure are tough. If I got hit in the nose with a Bludger I'd probably die, or something!" 

Krum looked surprised, and then chuckled, looking appreciative of the comment. "Thank you," he said. "I have been hurt many times in practice. It vas not the vorst I've been hurt." 

Cody wondered at Krum's accent, like the Bulgarian minister's had been. It was so different! He stood up from his chair, stretching. "I'm gonna go," he said. "I might even dance again - that was kinda fun." He grinned a bit impishly at the pair. "You guys can go back to bein' all mushy again if you want..." 

He laughed when Hermione grabbed him around the waist and gave him a noogie, and then an affectionate squeeze. "Go on, you little rugrat," she said. "And behave!" 

Cody agreed, and left Hermione and Krum to their conversation. Hermione really was nice, and Viktor Krum was pretty nice, too! 

He did dance one more time, with Professor McGonagall, which was kind of fun. She could be fun when she wasn't being such a grouch! 

After the Ball, Cody was very tired, as it was after midnight. Yawning, he stumbled down to the Slytherin common room, where most of the students were talking about what they had done that night and who they'd danced with, and who had kissed whom... Utterly uninterested, Cody crept into the fourth-year boys' dorm and curled up in his bed, not having bothered to take his dress robes off. At least he didn't dream about dancing! 

--- 

The day after Christmas was Boxing Day, a holiday in England that took place December 26th. Every time Cody heard the phrase, all he could think of was two people in a boxing ring, about to fight each other... he finally asked someone what the heck it meant, and it was explained that traditionally it was the day where the common and poor folk, especially those who worked for rich people, were given gifts in boxes. Cody thought it was all very weird. Why didn't they just give them the gifts on Christmas? 

Cody found that in the excitement of the ball, he had forgotten to open his gifts, but he did get some from those at Hogwarts he was friends with. He had sent his off a few days previous, so at least he didn't forget. Mom had sent him a few things too, saying he could open the rest when he came home that summer. Cody sent out a few thank-you notes before going out to find Ron and the others. 

He was quite surprised when he did find them, for they told him of something they had overheard at the Ball. "Did you know about Hagrid's mum?" Ron asked as the foursome walked around the snow-covered grounds. It was chilly and damp but at least it wasn't too awfully cold. 

"No, what's wrong with her?" 

"Well...she's a giant," Ron whispered. 

Cody blinked. "A real one? Like the kind that are this big..." He raised his hand as tall as he could... "like in the fairy tales and stuff?" 

Ron nodded grimly. "Yeah. And they're about as mean as in fairy tales, too, giants are. Vicious, most of 'em. I never knew he was half-giant." 

Cody shook his head. "Me neither!" 

"But, er, we weren't really supposed to have heard," Ron said. "So don't go asking Hagrid about it, all right?" 

Cody frowned, but he promised not to bring up the subject. Turned out, he did not have to. When classes started again, and Cody tromped down to Hagrid's hut for a Care of Magical Creatures class, Hagrid was not there. Shivering slightly, Cody pulled his winter cloak more tightly about himself. He frowned at the oldish woman that stood in front of Hagrid's cabin. "Who're you?" he asked. It came out sounding a bit rude, though that was unintentional; he was simply surprised. 

The woman looked at him with a raised brow. "I am Professor Grubbly-Plank." 

Oh, well, that told him her name, but did not explain much else. 

Just then, Harry, Ron, and Hermione headed down to the cabin, and asked the teacher the same thing Cody had. She told them her name, and said she was the temporary Care of Magical Creatures teacher. When Harry asked where Hagrid was, she simply said that he was indisposed. 

"What's that mean?" Cody asked Harry. 

"It usually means ill, or unavailable because of something less than pleasant." 

Cody frowned. "I didn't think Hagrid ever _got_ sick." He looked up as Draco Malfoy and the others headed for the lass, yet later than the Gryffindors had been, and for some reason Malfoy looked gleeful. That usually bode ill for anyone Cody cared about. 

"This way, please," said the witch teacher with the weird name. She led everyone toward the back, past the paddock where Hagrid had shown them the hippogriffs, and where the Beauxbatons horses now stood. Cody tried to look into Hagrid's hut, but the windows were all covered up. Harry asked Grubbly-Plank what was wrong with Hagrid, and got a curt "Never you mind" in reply. Cody immediately did not like the woman, whom he thought was pretty snotty. 

Harry was no more pleased with this response than Cody was. "I do mind, though! What's up with him?" 

But Grubbly-Plank ignored him, and led the class past the paddock toward the edge of the forest. Cody blinked when he saw a unicorn tethered to a tree. "Neat," he said, distracted for the moment from what might be wrong with Hagrid. He had only seen a unicorn once, and the pretty creature had been dead. This one was very much alive, and looking nervous. 

Cody was highly annoyed, though, when Grubbly Plank stopped the boys from approaching the unicorn, saying that they preferred the woman's touch. The boy scowled as all the girls walked past to look at the unicorn. "Nuts," Cody said, walking back to where Harry and the others stood. 

"What d'you reckon's wrong with him?" Harry was asking Ron when Cody came into earshot. "You don't think a skrewt -" 

But Malfoy was only too glad to answer. "Oh, he hasn't been attacked, Potter, if that's what you're thinking. No, he's just too ashamed to show his big, ugly face." 

Cody scowled. "He does _not_ have a big, ugly face!" he hissed. 

"What d'you mean?" Harry asked Malfoy. 

Malfoy smirked and took a page of the Daily Prophet from the folds of his robes, and handed it to Harry. "There you go. Hate to break it to you, Potter." 

Harry grabbed the page and began reading, the other fourth-year Gryffindor boys reading over his shoulder. Cody stood on his toes, his hands on Harry's arm, so that he could see. The headline read: "Dumbledore's Giant Mistake" and there was a picture of Hagrid. 

Cody squinted his eyes to read the article, as it was a fairly difficult piece for a boy his age. But he got the general gist. It started off mentioning that Dumbledore was eccentric, and often hired people to work at his school that perhaps weren't quite appropriate. Here and there Cody asked Neville what this or that word meant as he read. 

The article was all about Hagrid, the "part-human" that Dumbledore hired to teach. Talked all about Hagrid being expelled in his third year, but able to stay on as gamekeeper. And that he had use his "mysterious influence" over the headmaster to get his teaching job over the heads of better qualified candidates. All throughout the piece were statements that Hagrid was vicious and frightening to the students, and that he was terrorizing his classes with monsters and terrifying creatures. There was the part about Draco being attacked by the hippogriff, and about Crabbe having gotten a bad bite of a flobberworm. And even Cody knew that flobberworms didn't even have teeth! Surely anyone with any intelligence who read the article would realize that! 

Cody's grip on Harry's arm was getting very tight, but as Harry was just as angry, he did not notice. Apparently Hagrid was continuing his "reign of terror" by introducing the skrewts, which were supposedly an illegal cross-breed. And then the article announced that Hagrid's mother was a giant named Fridwulfa, and that giants were bloodthirsty and brutal, and that those left were a part of Voldemort's ranks. The article ended by stating that Hagrid had made friends with Harry Potter, who had been the one to cause Voldemort's downfall. 

When Harry was done reading, he handed the article to Cody, so that he could finish. He heard Ron ask how she knew (Rita Skeeter, of course, that miserable jerk!) and Harry hiss furiously to Malfoy, "What d'you mean, 'we all hate Hagrid'? What's this rubbish about him getting a bad bite off a flobberworm? They haven't even got teeth!" 

Cody crumpled the article in his hands and glared at Malfoy. "That's because Crabbe's too stupid to know what a flobberworm is," he growled. Crabbe narrowed his eyes at Cody and subtly shook his fist in warning. 

Malfoy only looked pleased with himself. "Well, I think this should put an end to the oaf's teaching career. Half-giant...and there was me thinking he'd just swallowed a bottle of Skele-Gro when he was young! None of the mummies and daddies are going to like this at all. They'll be worried he'll eat their kids." He laughed nastily, and Cody threw the article on the ground. 

"You're a jerk!" he yelled furiously, which unfortunately caught the attention of the entire class. The substitute professor turned her head just as Cody strode forward and kicked Malfoy as hard as he could in the shin. 

Malfoy yelped and hissed angrily, as professor Grubbly-Plank stalked up and pulled Cody back. "Such behavior!" she exclaimed. "What's your name, young man?" 

Cody scowled stubbornly, but Draco was all too willing to tell her. "His name's Cody DeDannan, Professor." 

"Well, Mr. DeDannan. That will be twenty points from Slytherin, and if I see you striking another student again, I will speak to your Head of House." With an angry, stern look, she went back to the tree to which the unicorn was tethered. 

Cody tried very hard to ignore Malfoy's quiet snickering as he moved to stand on the other side of the Gryffindors, behind Neville, who put a hand on his shoulder. Cody wiped his eyes furiously, his cheeks burning from embarrassment, and refused to look at the unicorn the whole lesson. 

Many students seemed to think Grubbly-Plank should stay as Care of Magical Creatures professor, and didn't care about Hagrid. It made Cody furious. Just because Hagrid didn't show the "pretty" creatures, that didn't make him a bad teacher! Didn't they care about Hagrid? 

"What was that all about?" Hermione asked as she rejoined the boys. Cody had stayed with the Gryffindors, none of which seemed to mind. Cody thought that him kicking Malfoy in the shins in the middle of class might have convinced some of them that Cody was okay. 

Cody scowled. "Malfoy's a...a..." 

Ron supplied a word that Cody would not have said, but it fit a lot better than "jerk." 

Hermione looked perplexed. "But what did he -" 

Harry, who had picked the Hagrid article up from where Cody dropped it, thrust it at her. "Look at this!" 

Hermione frowned a bit and scanned the article, her eyes going wide. "How did that horrible Skeeter woman find out? You don't think Hagrid _told_ her?" 

"No," said Harry. The whole lot were heading into the Great Hall for lunch, and Cody sat between Neville and Ron. He was less than happy with his House at the moment. It was not often that he was so furious with Slytherin House that he refused to sit with them, but this was one of them. Hagrid was one of Cody's best friends in the world, and Malfoy was helping to try and drive him out! Cody's eyes began to leak once more as he thought about the article. 

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were trying to find out how Skeeter had managed to get the information, when Hagrid had not even told his friends, but they came up with zilch. Harry suggested visiting Hagrid and tell them they wanted him back. "You _do_ want him back?" he said to Hermione. 

"I - well, I' not going to pretend it didn't make a nice change, having a proper Care of Magical Creatures lesson for once...but I do want Hagrid back, of course I do!" 

"Why isn't it a proper class unless he teaches us about pretty things?" Cody asked her angrily. "Aren't they magical creatures? Aren't we learning about them?" 

Hermione frowned. "Well...well yes, that's true, it's just that...there's certain ways things are supposed to be done. And Hagrid's classes do get a bit dangerous." 

"Well so what? Quidditch is dangerous, too, and Mandrakes. And Fanged Geraniums." he shuddered. "And jinxes and everything...people just don't like Hagrid's animals 'cuz they're ugly." 

Hermione sighed, and Cody furiously ate his lunch, in a very peevish mood. 

But by that evening, he was no longer angry with Hermione (though he was still angry with Draco) and he and the three Gryffindors tramped down to Hagrid's hut after supper. But Hagrid would not answer. 

For a week, Hagrid was absent, not even sitting at the staff table for meals and the like. Draco would rub it in at every opportunity; to Cody in the common rooms, and to the Gryffindors in class. 


	33. Year 4, Chapter 12: Talking With Neville

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 12: Talking With Neville**

There was a Hogsmeade weekend at the end of that week, and though Cody did not spend it with the Gryffindors, he did meet them on the way back. None of them looked all too happy. "What happened?" he asked, running to keep up with them. 

Harry explained that they had met Rita Skeeter in the Three Broomsticks, and told her off for writing that article about Hagrid. She had gotten less than pleasant with them. "We're going to Hagrid's," he finished. "We're not letting him hide anymore." 

"Good idea! I'm coming, too!" Cody struggled through the snow to keep up with the older students, until at last they stood in front of the door of Hagrid's hut. Hermione took her fist and pounded on the door. "Hagrid, that's enough!" she yelled. "We know you're in there! Nobody cares if your mum was a giantess, Hagrid!" 

"Yeah!" Cody added. "Let us in, else I'm gonna climb down your chimney!" 

"You can't let that foul Skeeter woman do this to you!" Hermione continued. Cody was fairly impressed with Hermione for bossing an adult around, though he fully agreed. "Hagrid, get out here, you're just being -" 

The door opened before she could finish, but it was not Hagrid, but Dumbledore who stood there. "Good afternoon," he said. 

Cody blinked, and Hermione seemed to have lost her train of yelling. "We, er, we wanted to see Hagrid," she said. 

Dumbledore did not look angry, in fact he seemed very amused. "Yes, I surmised as much. Why don't you come in?" 

The four students did walk into the hut, and for a moment Cody giggled at Fang, who had jumped up on Harry to attack him with his tongue. Hagrid, however, did not look good, and when Harry said hi to him, his answer was a very quiet, "'Lo." 

Dumbledore used his wand to conjure a tea tray with some cups and cakes, and asked Hagrid if he had heard what Hermione was shouting. Hermione looked sheepish, but Dumbledore simply smiled at her and went on. "These four seem to want to know you, judging by the way they were attempting to break down the door." 

Harry seemed astonished. "Of course we want to know you! You don't think anything that Skeeter cow -" Cody burst out in a snicker and quickly covered his mouth as Harry looked quickly at Dumbledore. "Sorry, professor." 

Dumbledore looked innocently up at the ceiling. "I have gone temporarily deaf and haven't any idea what you said, Harry." Dumbledore was completely cool. 

"Er...right," said Harry. "I just meant...Hagrid, how could you think we'd care what that - woman - wrote about you?" 

"_I_ sure don't care! She's just a jerk, she even said I wasn't old enough not to wet the bed," Cody said vehemently. 

Dumbledore was still looking innocently at the ceiling, but he spoke to Hagrid. "Living proof of what I've been telling you..." He went on to mention the various letters he had gotten from parents who said that if Hagrid were sacked, they'd have something to say about it. 

"Not all of 'em," said Hagrid. "Not all of 'em wan' me back." 

Dumbledore got quite stern then, said if he was holding out for universal popularity, that he would be in his cabin for a very long time. Said that there were many people who disapproved of Dumbledore's teaching style, and Harry mentioned who _his_ family were - the Dursleys! Dumbledore said that his own brother, Aberforth, was prosecuted for using inappropriate charms on a goat. Cody almost asked, but then decided he was not sure if he wanted to know. 

"Come back and teach, Hagrid," said Hermione softly. "Please come back, we really miss you." 

"Yeah," said Cody. "I even kicked Malfoy in the shins because he was being a jerk about you." 

Dumbledore stood. "I refuse to accept your resignation, Hagrid, and I expect you back at work on Monday. You will join me for breakfast at eight-thirty in the Great Hall. No excuses. Good afternoon to you all." 

Cody grinned widely as Dumbledore left, and turned to Harry. "Dumbledore's awesome! I wish my principal at my old school was that cool!" 

Hagrid burst into tears when the headmaster left, saying over and over what a great man Dumbledore was. 

"Yeah, he is," Ron agreed. "Can I have one of those cakes, Hagrid?" 

"Help yerself." 

Cody went over and hugged Hagrid, who hugged him back. "I missed you," Cody said. 

Hagrid sighed and wiped his eyes, looking at the door Dumbledore had left from. "Ar, he's righ' o' course. Yeh're all right, I bin stupid. My ol' dad woulda been ashamed o' the way I bin behavin'." 

Hagrid showed them all a picture of his dad, and of Hagrid himself when he was almost as young as Cody. Of course he was a great deal _larger_ than Cody, Hagrid's dad was sitting up on Hagrid's shoulder. Cody giggled. 

Hagrid told them about Dumbledore sticking up for Hagrid when his dad died, and got him the gamekeeper job. Said that Dumbledore gave people chances, trusted them, accepted people into Hogwarts if they had talent. That he knew that people can turn out okay even if their families were bad. 

"Yeah, I mean they let Malfoy in, and his dad's a big jerk!" 

"You can say that again," said Ron through a mouthful of cake. Cody looked over at the tray and snagged himself a bit of cake as well. 

But their visit and Dumbledore's words seemed to have helped greatly, for Hagrid's mood had lightened, and Cody was glad to see it. Hagrid was a very emotional man, and he cared about people, and he was easy to care about. Seeing him so miserable made those who did care for him very upset. 

That night, Cody stepped lightly into the common room and told Draco with a smirk that Hagrid would be back Monday morning, and his stupid plan didn't work. And feeling extremely happy at the look of unpleasant surprise on Draco's face, Cody trotted into the dorms. 

--- 

The next morning, Cody wrote a letter to home, filling his mother in on all that had happened since their last communication. He told her about the Ball, and about Hagrid and Rita Skeeter, and that if he ever saw her again he was going to kick her in the shins. Then he wrote a letter to Dumbledore and had Merlin deliver it to him during the morning post. It said 

_ Professor Dumbledore. You are very cool, how you made Hagrid feel better. I wish more of the other teachers were like you._

_ -Cody_

The next morning, he glanced up at the staff table as Merlin delivered his message, saw Dumbledore read it, smile warmly, and look up towards the Slytherin table. Cody grinned a little shyly, and Dumbledore nodded to him, and Cody knew the letter had been appreciated. He was in a good mood the rest of the day. 

After classes that day, Cody met with Neville Longbottom, for some help with Herbology. The Bouncing Bulbs were giving Cody a great deal of trouble and Neville was giving Cody some tips on handling them. "You have to keep a firm hold on them, but don't squeeze _too_ hard, else they squirm free. And then they usually try to hit you in the face, because they don't like being handled." 

"Yeah!" said Cody indignantly. "That's what it did! An' Malfoy was laughing at me all day, too, an' I had a big red mark on my cheek." Cody scowled at the memory. "Stupid plants." 

Neville chuckled. "Well, it couldn't be as bad as I was in Charms today," he said. "We were doing Banishing charms...I kept missing the pillows, and hitting Professor Flitwick!" 

Cody giggled, envisioning the little teacher flying across the room. "Well, maybe he had fun." 

Neville snorted. "Somehow I don't think so. At least he never gets mad, he just has me practice more." 

Cody nodded. "I like him, he's really cool, and he's even shorter than me!" 

At this, Neville chuckled, and teased Cody. "And that's saying something." 

Cody took no offense; it was true, after all! The only students that were as small as Cody were about half the first year girls, and one of the Gryffindor first-year boys Cody had met named Dennis Creevy. 

"Hey Neville," said Cody after a moment. "Could I ask you somethin' kinda personal?" Neville gave a sort of agreeable shrug, and Cody looked up at him. "How come you live with your grandma? I mean she's not very nice to you. What happened to your mom and dad?" 

Such a grim expression appeared on Neville's face that Cody was sorry he had asked, and almost apologized, but then Neville sighed and sat back in the grass. "I'll tell you," he said quietly. "But...but don't tell anyone, okay? Not yet. Okay?" 

His expression serious, Cody nodded. "I swear," he said. "I won't tell anyone." 

Neville took a big breath and spoke in a low tone. "My parents were Aurors. You know what an Auror is, right?" Cody nodded. "When I was really little, after You-Know-Who disappeared...my mum and dad got caught by a group of Death Eaters, trying to find out what had happened to You-Know-Who. They..." Neville's voice trembled a little bit, before he seemed to steady himself. "They tortured my parents for information." 

"D-did...did they get killed?" 

Neville shook his head, looking down at the grass. "No. I...I don't know how long they had my parents captured, I was only two, I think. But they tortured them until it drove them mad. They live in the long-term ward at St. Mungo's hospital. They...usually don't know who I am." 

Cody's eyes got very wide as he stared at Neville in horror. 

"I visit them sometimes," Neville said quietly. "Me and Gran." 

"D-do...do you know who did it to them?" Cody whispered. He was very shaken. 

"I know the names of a couple of them - the Lestranges. They're in Azkaban." 

"Good," said Cody fiercely, clenching his fists. "Those...how could they - just...they deserve the dementors!" 

Neville nodded his head, a look of cold-heartedness on his face that looked completely out of place. "They deserve worse," he said, still in that same quiet voice. 

"Yeah." Cody frowned, and stood, not knowing what to say. What did you say to someone you cared about after learning that his parents had been tortured into insanity? He bit his lip and then said, "If I can ever help you get them...I'll help." It was about the only thing that he could think of to offer comfort. 

Neville smiled, looking a little touched by Cody's protectiveness. "Thanks, Cody," he said. 

That was all that was said on the subject, but it was on Cody's mind for a very long time. 

--- 

During the next Care of Magical Creatures class, Hagrid had captured two unicorn foals, who were a sleek golden color. Hagrid had been continuing Grubbly Plank's lessons on them, and Cody figured that the skrewts were getting too big for even Hagrid to risk trying to teach about them. And that was okay with Cody! The unicorn foals quite kept his attention as he cautiously approached. "It's all righ' Cody, come on up here. The babies don't mind boys so much, and you bein' so young, they'll likely take to yeh all right." 

Grinning in fascination, Cody walked up to one and carefully held his hand out. One of the foals sniffed his hand and snorted, making Cody giggle. He liked unicorn babies very much, and actually paid attention the entire class. 

"Cody," said Harry during class. "I don't suppose you know of ways to breathe underwater, do you?" 

Cody blinked. "Well...one of my uncles likes to scuba dive, an' he uses a big tank that's got air in it, and a mouthpiece -" 

"Yeah!" Ron said, looking down at him. "An Aqua Lung! I _said_ you should try that, Harry!" 

Hermione made an impatient noise. "Except how is he supposed to get one without all the Muggles seeing it, Ron?" 

"Well...maybe if he does it at night?" 

Hermione shook her head. "No, it's too big a risk, he could get into trouble." 

Harry sighed. "I meant magical ways." 

Cody frowned, trying to remember if he had ever heard of a spell that would give a person air, and shook his head. "No, I can't think of anything. Maybe if you got a big tube and kept one end out of the water and put the other end in your mouth?" 

Harry shook his head. "That's a good idea, Cody, but I'll be going down way too far for it to work. If you happen to find anything will you let me know? I've got to find out by February." 

Cody nodded agreeably. "Sure!" 

"Thanks. Because if I don't find a way, I'm going to fail the second task." 

--- 

February, it seemed, arrived quickly; seemed that it was not so long since the Yule Ball. Come the day of the second Triwizard task, Cody almost thought that Harry _would_ fail it, because he was not there when everyone else showed up at the lake. He had looked, but not found anything that would let someone breathe underwater, and figured that it was probably a spell that they had not learned yet. 

It was the day of the second task. The students were nearly all assembled, but Harry was not there, and the champions and judges were getting impatient. But then someone pointed, and Cody saw Harry running full tilt towards the water. "There!" Cody yelled, his face breaking out into a smile. "There he is!" 

Ludo Bagman, who was commentating, looked immesely relieved as he began his announcements. The champions would have exactly one hour to regain what had been stolen from them. Cody watched as Harry stepped into the water and shuddered, for the water had to be frigid cold in the middle of February. Truth to tell, there was not much to look at once the four students were underwater, though Krum transfiguring himself into a shark had been really cool to watch. He spent the time talking with Graham and Neville, who seemed to be getting along with each other just fine. Cody was glad to see it. Cody was bundled up in his warm clothing as usual, and Neville shared his cloak with him. Cody grinned. 

The first champion to surface was Cedric, who had some kind of strange magical bubble over his head, and he was pulling Cho Chang up from the depths of the lake. Next was Krum, who dragged Hermione to the surface in his shark teeth, to the tumultuous applause of the spectators. Cody was a little disappointed that it hadn't been Harry, but was glad Hermione was okay. Next came Fleur, but she carried no one, and was very near to hysterical that she had not been able to find whoever it was that she lost. She was crying, and kept talking in French, seemingly asking something of Madame Maxime. 

It was quite a bit later when Harry surfaced, dragging Ron, and a girl about Cody's age who looked a lot like Fleur. He couldn't hear what was going on down there, but he did see a lot of heads popping up from the water that had wild, green hair and really strange faces. "Are those mermaids?" Cody asked in fascination. 

"Merpeople," Neville said, nodding. "Aren't they creepy? I've only seen pictures." 

"I've never seen them at all! Not like that! They look all weird!" 

"Most the pictures in Muggle books are of mermaids who live in warm water. Sirens, they're called. Cold-water merpeople aren't as attractive." 

There was a lot of commotion down below, before the scores were announced by Bagman, and as it turned out, Harry and Cedric ended up neck and neck. Bagman announced that the third and final task would take place at the end of June. 

--- 

Everyone was talking about the task as they made their way back to Hogwarts, though Cody had thought it was rather boring for those that watched. He wished again that he could have tried for the Tournament, or at least that they could have kept on doing Quidditch. 

Cody always thought that March was supposed to be warm, but in England that seemed not to be the case. The wind howled as March took February's place, and that wind was wickedly cold. Cody longed desperately for the warmth of southern Florida every time he had to go outside. Even inside, in places like the Potions class dungeons, were evilly cold, and Cody wore his winter cloak to class. One day, though, he did not even notice the cold, as he was completely distracted by Rita Skeeter's poison pen. This time it was an article in Witch Weekly called "Harry Potter's Secret Heartache". And from what Cody could tell, it was full of a bunch of mushy nonsense about Hermione toying with Harry's affections. Hermione certainly did not take it seriously, laughing at the ludicrousness of it. 

Though when Snape caught them with the magazine, he read it aloud to the class, to the delight of most of the Slytherins. Hermione and Harry both were quite red by the time Snape had finished. Cody looked at Snape in disgust. "I didn't think that was very nice," he said. To his surprise, Snape said nothing, only went on with class, but afterwards, he held Cody back. Neville shot him a look of sympathy as he and the other students filed out. 

Once everyone was gone, Snape looked down at Cody for a moment without saying anything. Cody looked back curiously, and finally Snape said, "Follow me...I need to speak with you." He turned and left the classroom, and Cody grabbed up his schoolbag and followed, wondering nervously just how much trouble he'd gotten himself in. Snape led the way down into his office, which was just as dreary as his classroom was, and sat behind his desk. "Sit," said Snape, indicating one of the chairs in front of the desk. His tone was not angry, but it wasn't exactly friendly, either. 

Setting his bag on the stone floor, Cody climbed up into the chair and sat on his knees. 

Snape put his fingers together on his desk, and gazed at the boy for a moment, before sitting back in his own chair. "Mr. DeDannan, do you know why you were Sorted into Slytherin?" 

Cody blinked, taken by surprise by the question. "Well, the Sorting Hat said I was clever and determined, and adventurous..." He shrugged. "And every year when it says what the different houses like to see in the kids, it says that Slytherin likes determined people and am..bi...er, well, I don't know that word, but I'm determined I guess." He paused, then grinned, and added, "And I like getting into mischief." 

Snape nodded. "It is true that determination and ambition are two of the greatest attributes that Slytherin expects from its students. But I wonder why you shun the other students from your own House. It looks very bad for Slytherin." 

Cody sighed; he should have expected this talk, especially after last year. He supposed defending his friends in front of Snape had been the last straw. "Well...because most of them're jerks. Especially Malfoy. There's not a rule that says you can't make friends in other Houses, right?" 

"No, there is not." 

"Well...so I did! But most the kids in Slytherin make fun of them and make them miserable and upset them, and I don't like people who're so mean to my friends, it's not right. Malfoy keeps saying that I'm not loyal, but he's wrong. I _am_ loyal, I'm loyal to my friends." When Snape said nothing, only looked at Cody with an appraising expression on his face, Cody went on. "An' Hagrid's one of my best friends in the whole world, and Malfoy's awful to him, an' keeps trying to get him fired! People who mess with my friends, I don't like. An' besides, I _do_ have friends in Slytherin. There's some people that're nice to me, and aren't always so mean to people. An' Graham Pritchard, he's my friend too. An' Kyle Tiller an' Kathy Skinner...but they left last year." 

Snape held up his hand, as if to stem the babble. "I get the idea, DeDannan," he said quietly. "So because you like to spend time with the students of other houses, you refuse to spend time in your own because they don't get along?" 

Cody scowled and stood up, looking Snape in the eye. "No. I don't like to be with most Slytherins, because they're gits. They do things that're wrong, an' they treat people bad. I don't like Gryffindors that act like that either, like Oliver Wood, an' some others I dunno their names. But I got taught what was right an' wrong by my mom, an' if people do stuff I know's wrong, I'm gonna stay away from them. You're like that too, you do stuff that's really mean, too, and I don't like you very much!" 

Snape narrowed his eyes and stood, and Cody winced. Sometimes his mouth was not so easy to control. "And why is that?" Snape asked quietly. 

Well... he asked for it! "Well, first, you're really mean to my friends too, and they don't even do anything wrong. Like Neville Longbottom. He's one of my best friends, an' I like him, when you yell at him an' embarrass him in front of the whole class, don't you know how it feels? He does his best, maybe if you'd help him instead of making fun of him, he's do good in Potions! But you just insult him. An' like today when you read that stupid article that Rita Skeeter wrote, which was a bunch of lies anyway... you didn't have to do that. You just wanted to embarrass Harry an' Hermione. An' it wasn't even them that brought the magazine to class, the Slytherins had it first. And what you said to Hermione about her teeth, that was horrible! Teachers aren't supposed to call kids names an' treat them mean. If teachers in America did that all the time, they'd get fired. They're supposed to teach kids an' make them feel good an' try to help them get better." 

Once done with his rant, which apparently had needed to spill out now for quite a while, Cody took a deep breath and let it out, watching Snape's expression. 

At first he only kept the narrowed-eyed look, gazing cooly at Cody, but then he sat back down. "And I suppose that all the rules that Potter and his friends have broken in their years here are acceptable?" 

Cody blinked, once more taken by surprise. "Well...no. But they're not the only ones that break rules. An' besides, most the time, he's just trying to do what's right, an' what he believes in. If grown-ups would listen to kids more, we wouldn't have to break rules. Grown-ups aren't _always_ right, an' kids are right sometimes too. It's just that grown-ups won't admit it an' get mad when kids try to tell them. Like Professor McGonagall wouldn't listen to Harry an' Ron an' Hermione about the Sorcerer's Stone, an' you _never_ listen to kids if you don't like them." 

Snape stood again, looking angry, but to his credit, he kept his words mostly civil. "I asked your opinion, and so I will let that slide for now. But make sure that you remember to keep your mouth a little more respectful when speaking to a teacher. Is that understood?" 

Cody's first reaction was to scowl, but at least Snape had listened to him, and so he only nodded a bit sullenly. "Yes, sir." 

"Good. Then you are dismissed." 

Cody left the office feeling a little bit shaken, but oddly cheerful. He'd been wanting to tell Snape off forever, and now that he had, he hadn't even gotten into trouble. He was surprised, though, that Snape had not insisted that he quit hanging around with the Gryffindors. He wondered if Snape would actually consider what Cody said. 

He was late for supper, after having put his bags in his dorm, but when he got there, he grinned and waved over at Neville, who had looked up at him. Neville smiled back, and Cody joined his House for dinner. 

"Get told off, did you, Cody?" asked Malfoy smugly. 

"Nope!" said Cody, matching him smug for smug. 

Malfoy frowned a bit, as this was obviously not what he expected. "What did he want, then?" 

"None of your beeswax," said Cody with a grin, not even bothering to look at him. In his peripheral vision, he caught a glimpse of Malfoy scowling, but no more was said. Although he did whisper to Graham what went on. 

"Wow, and he didn't even give you detention?" 

Cody shook his head. "Nope! But I mean, he asked. I guess that's why, because he asked an' I answered." 

Graham grinned. "Wicked." 


	34. Year 4, Chapter 13: Meeting Sirius

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 13: Meeting Sirius**

Cody was running out of Jelly Slugs and Fizzing Whizbees; when came the next Hogsmeade weekend, Cody planned to replenish his supply. Fortunately, there was one coming up quite soon. 

The day before, after Potions, Harry came up to Cody and said quietly, "We're going up to meet Sirius...you're the only other one who knows he's innocent, so we talked about asking if you wanted to go with us. You can if you want." 

Surprised, and pleased, Cody smiled at him. "Okay," he said. "Does he know I won't tell on him?" 

"Well, you were there that night, but he was kinda half mad that night too, so he might not remember. It's all right, we'll let him know." 

Cody nodded. "Okay. I'll meet ya after breakfast then okay? I can get my candy afterwards." 

"We might not have time, but we're gonna be stopping off a few places before then, you can do it then." 

"Okay!" 

And so the next day, Cody met with Harry, Ron, and Hermione as they headed out to Hogsmeade, cocking his head curiously at Harry's bag. "How come you're bringing your books?" 

"They're not books," Harry said quietly. "It's food for Sirius. I don't think he's managed to snag a lot since he's been back north." 

"Ohhh." 

They stopped at Gladrags Wizardwear, where Harry said he was buying socks for Dobby, who had helped him with the Tournament. Cody giggled at the very strange socks they were picking out, thinking that Dobby would just love them. The older three waited for Cody at Honeydukes, while he went in and got himself some sweets, and he hurried so that they wouild not be late meeting Sirius. "I got him some Chocolate Frogs," he said. 

"He'll like that," said Harry. 

Cody looked at the others, who had their cloaks over their shoulders, and then to himself, who still had his on. "You guys're weird," he said as they made their way out of the village proper, and toward the nearby mountain. 

"Why's that?" asked Ron curiously. 

"You've got your cloaks off...I still think it's cold." 

"That's because you're used to insanely hot weather," said Ron with a chuckle. "I dunno if I could live somewhere that gets that hot, even in the winter." 

Cody only grinned. 

At the beginning of the mountain, there was a little gate thing, by which a large black dog stood. He had newspapers in his mouth. "Hello, Sirius," said Harry as they approached. Cody waved. The dog gave Cody a wary look, then looked to Harry. "He's all right, Sirius. He knows you're okay." 

The dog seemed to accept this, as he turned and led the students farther up the hill. Cody followed. The path got steep enough that Cody used his hands to help him walk up it, getting weird looks from his companions. "Well it's easier," he said defensively. "See? Sirius knows." He grinned as the dog gave a chuff that might have been laughter. The older students just shook their heads. 

Eventually they came to a cave with a tiny entrance, and everyone slipped in. (Cody had the easiest time, being the smallest). He blinked upon seeing Buckbeak tethered there, and bowed when the others did. However Buckbeak was a lot more agreeable than the one Cody and Neville had practiced on the previous year, and finally bowed back to them. Hermione ran over to stroke his neck, and Cody cautiously approached. Buckbeak looked sternly down at him, but did not strike when Cody reached out a hand to touch his feathers. "Neat...the one I was tryin' to get to bow when Hagrid had them wouldn't bow back. Me an' Neville kept running from it, and it was laughing at us, too I think!" 

There was a hoarse chuckle where the dog had been, and when Cody looked, Sirius had changed back into a man. He eagerly took the food Harry gave him and thanked him, saying he had been living off of rats, mostly. "Oh! I got you some Chocolate Frogs if you want, too," said Cody, rummaging in his Honeydukes bag and handing Sirius three or four of them. 

Sirius smiled a bit and took them. "Thanks, kid. I never caught your name." 

"It's Cody." 

"Slytherin, eh?" 

Cody stuck out his tongue. "Yeah. It could be worse though. All the kids could be like Draco Malfoy." 

Sirius snorted. Harry asked what Sirius was doing here and he replied he was fulfilling his duty as godfather, and that he had been passing himself off as a lovable stray. Cody giggled and told him he made a cool dog. Sirius chuckled softly and shook his head. "Anyway. I want to be on the spot. Your last letter...well, let's just say things are getting fishier. I've been stealing the paper every time someone throws one out, and by the looks of things, I'm not the only one who's getting worried." 

Harry was less than reassured. "What if they catch you? What if you're seen?" 

"You four and Dumbledore are the only ones who know I'm an Animagus," said Sirius. 

Cody chowed down on a Chocolate Frog himself as Harry looked and murmured over the headlines on the newspapers Sirius had saved. Apparently some were saying that Bartemius Crouch was ill. 

"My brother's Crouch's assistant," said Ron. "He says Crouch is suffering from overwork." 

"Mind you he did look ill, last time I saw him up close," said Harry. "The night my name came out of the Goblet." 

"Getting his comeuppance for sacking Winky, isn't he?" said Hermione. 

"Getting his what?" Cody said through a mouthful of Bertie Botts' Every Flavor Beans. 

"Comeuppance. He got what was coming to him." 

"Oh." Cody swallowed his mouthful and tossed another bean in his mouth, but a moment later he stopped short in his chewing, dashed to the entrance to the cave, and spit the candy out. He came back in looking a little green. 

"Dare I ask?" Hermione said, her eyebrows raised. 

"Um...I think it was vomit." 

And then Hermione looked a little green. 

"Never liked those myself," said Sirius. "But Crouch, he sacked his house elf?" 

Harry nodded told Sirius the story of what had happened at the Quidditch World Cup, and the events that led up to Winky being dismissed by Crouch. Harry and Sirius spoke a few moments about how Winky had saved Crouch a seat at the World Cup then never showed up, and when Harry's wand had gone missing. Harry mentioned that Ludo Bagman kept wanting to help him with the Tournament. Ron mentioned they'd seen Ludo Before they came across Winky, and Sirius asked what Crouch did when he discovered Winky had the wand. 

"He went to look in the bushes, but there wasn't anyone else there." 

"Of course,"said Sirius quietly. "Of course he'd want to pin it on anyone but his own elf...and then he sacked her?" 

"Yes," said Hermione. "He sacked her, just because she hadn't stayed in her tent and let herself get trampled." 

Annoyed, Ron told her to give it a rest with the elf. 

"She's got the measure of Crouch better than you have, Ron," said Sirius. "If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals." Cody stifled a yawn and went back over to pet Buckbeak, who seemed to enjoy the attention, as Sirius continued to ponder. How Barty Crouch had made sure Winky saved him a spot, then never showed up. How he was a judge for the Triwizard Tournament, then topped coming to that. "It's not like Crouch. If he's ever taken a day off work because of illness before this, I'll eat Buckbeak." 

"Eu," was Cody's opinion on this. Buckbeak's snort indicated that he might just agree. 

"D'you know Crouch then?" Harry asked. 

"Oh, I know Crouch all right. He was the one who gave the order for me to be sent to Azkaban without a trial." 

Cody gasped, and Ron and Hermione both cried, "_What?_" 

"You're kidding!" Harry added. 

"No, I'm not," said Sirius, still eating the chicken Harry had brought him. "Crouch used to be the head of Magical Law Enforcement, didn't you know?" Crouch had been in line for the next Minister of Magic. But though he was powerful, he was also power hungry. Very outspoken against the Dark Arts. "But then a lot of people who were against the Dark Side...well you wouldn't understand, you're too young." 

"That's what my dad said at the World Cup," said Ron. "Try us, why don't you?" 

Sirius grinned a bit and nodded. "All right, I'll try you." Pacing, he went on to explain. "Imagine that Voldemort's powerful now. You don't know who his supporters are, you don't know who's working for him and who isn't; you know he can control people so that they do terrible things without being able to stop themselves. You're scared for yourself, and your family, and your friends." Cody thought about how he had worried about his mom and his sister back at the World Cup, and shuddered a bit, leaning against Buckbeak. Yes, he could easily imagine this. "Every week, news comes of more deaths, more disappearances, more torturing... The Ministry of Magic's in disarray, they don't know what to do, they're trying to keep everything hidden from the Muggles, but meanwhile Muggles are dying, too. Terror 's how it used to be." 

"That's creepy," said Cody. 

"You okay with this?" Harry asked him quietly, and Cody nodded. He sat on the floor and opened a Chocolate Frog. 

Sirius continued his story. Crouch had moved up fast within the Ministry, and began ordering harsher measures to be taken with the Death Eaters. Aurors could kill rather than simply capture; the Unforgivable Curses could be used against suspects. More than one person was convicted without a trial. Sirius opined that he became as ruthless as Voldemort's people...and that many people thought he was going about things the right way. And then Voldemort vanished...and Crouch's son got caught with a group of Death Eaters who were trying to find their master. 

"Crouch's _son_ was caught?" gasped Hermione. 

"Yep. Nasty little shock for old Barty, I'd imagine. Should have spent a bit more time at home with his family, shouldn't he? Ought to have left the office early once in a while, gotten to know his own son." 

"Was his son a Death Eater?" Harry asked. 

"No idea. I was in Azkaban myself when he was brought in. This is mostly stuff I've found out since I got out. The boy was definitely in the company of people I'd bet my life were Death Eaters. But he might have been in the wrong place at the wrong time, just like the house elf." 

Hermione asked if Crouch tried to get his son off, and Sirius laughed. "Crouch let his son off? I thought you had the measure of him, Hermione! Anything that threatened to tarnish his reputation had to go; he had dedicated his whole life to becoming Minister of Magic. You saw him dismiss a devoted house elf because she associated him with the Dark Mark again - doesn't that tell you what he's like? Crouch's fatherly affection stretched just far enough to give his son a trial, and by all accounts it wasn't much more than an excuse for Crouch to show how much he hated the boy - then he sent him straight to Azkaban." 

Harry looked a little pale. "He gave his own son to the dementors?" 

"That's right. I saw the dementors bringing him in, watched through the bars in my cell door. He can't have been more than nineteen. They took him to a cell near mine. He was screaming for his mother by nightfall. He went quiet after a few days, though...they all went quiet in the end...except when they shrieked in their sleep." 

Cody's eyes were very wide, and despite the warmth of the cave, he was shivering with chills. He moved over to Hermione, who put an arm around him. Cody imagined a dark, cheerless dungeon, filled with the horrible dementors, where they had dragged some teenager to endure the dementors' bone-chilling feeding, the despair and the fear... 

"So he's still in Azkaban?" Harry finally asked. 

"No. No, he's not in there anymore. He died about a year after they brought him in." 

"He _died?_" 

"He wasn't the only one. Most go mad in there, and plenty stop eating in the end. They lose the will to live. You could always tell when a death was coming, because the dementors could sense it; they got excited. That boy looked pretty sickly when he arrived. Crouch being an important Ministry member, he and his wife were allowed a deathbed visit. That was the last time I saw Barty Crouch, half carrying his wife past my cell. She died herself, apparently, shortly afterward. Grief. Wasted away just like the boy. Crouch never came for his son's body. The dementors buried him outside the fortress; I watched them do it." 

Cody just stared. "H-how...how could the Ministry work with...with things like them? The dementors? How could they?" 

Sirius shook his head. "I don't know. Guess they think they're the only ones that can control the prisoners." He took up the flask of pumpkin juice that Harry had brought him and drank it all. "So old Crouch lost it all, just when he thought he had it made. One moment a hero, poised to become Minister of Magic, next his son dead, his wife dead, the family name dishonored, and so I've heard, a big drop in popularity. Once the boy had died, people started feeling a bit more sympathetic toward the son and started asking how a nice young lad from a good family had gone so badly astray. The conclusion was that his father never cared much for him. So Cornelius Fudge got the top job and Crouch was shunted sideways into the Department of International Cooperation." 

"They shoulda arrested him, too," said Cody quietly. "See how he likes dementors." He couldn't finish, not having the words to describe the horror of what dementors were. 

"Moody says Crouch is obsessed with catching Dark Wizards," said Harry. 

"Yeah, I've heard it's become a bit of a mania with him. If you ask me, he thinks he can bring back the old popularity by catching one more Death Eater. 

"And he sneaked up here to search Snape's office!" said Ron. But Sirius did not think that made sense, asked why if Crouch wanted to investigate Snape had he not come to judge the Tournament. It was the perfect excuse to hang around Hogwarts. 

This sparked off a debate as to whether Snape was innocent or not. Cody rather thought Snape was a jerk, but probably was not a Death Eater. Not anymore. Finally, Sirius asked Ron if he could write Percy and ask if he had seen Crouch of late, and possibly find out if they had any leads on Bertha Jorkins. After a bit of a silence, Sirius asked what time it was. 

"It's half past three," said Hermione. 

"You'd better get back to school," Sirius said, standing up. "Now listen. I don't want you lot sneaking out of school to see me, all right? Just send notes to me here. I still want to hear about anything odd. But you're not to go leaving Hogwarts without permission; it would be an ideal opportunity for anyone to attack you." 

"No one's tried to attack me so far, except a dragon and a couple of grindylows," said Harry. 

"I don't care...I'll breathe freely again when this tournament's over and that's not until June. And don't forget, if you're talking about me among yourselves, call me Snuffles, okay?" 

Cody stifled a giggle at this, but said nothing. 

Sirius accompanied them back down to the village, and Cody pet him here and there as they headed down. He was cooler as a dog than a person, he thought impishly, but did not say so aloud. 

As they approached Hogwarts again, Ron wondered if Percy knew all that about Crouch...but then said if he did it would only make him admire him more. 

"Percy would never throw any of his family to the dementors," said Hermione. 

"I don't know...if he thought we were standing in the way of his career...Percy's really ambitious, you know." 

"I wonder why he got put in Gryffindor," said Cody. "He's more like a Slytherin." He was surprised that no one took offense to that statement, but then none of them really cared for Percy all that much, and Cody was right. Percy made a better Slytherin candidate than Gryffindor. 

Cody had strange dreams that night, and though he could not remember them, he had the sneaking suspicion that there had been dementors in them. He woke feeling very unhappy, and moped around half the day. He was glad of the distractions of lessons on Monday. 

Care of Magical Creatures was fun. Hagrid did not have the unicorn foals, but he did have a lot of furry little things he called nifflers. "Useful little treasure detectors," said Hagrid. Cody giggled as he peered into the crates and saw the fuzzballs. "Thought we'd have some fun with 'em today. See over there?" Cody looked and saw that there was a patch of dirt in front of Hagrid's cabin that had been dug up. "I've buried some gold coins. I've got a prize for whoever picks the niffler that digs up the most. Jus' take off all yer valuables, an' choose a niffler, an' get ready ter set 'em loose." 

"Neat!" said Cody, reaching into a crate and lifting one of the nifflers out. It seemed to be as hyperactive as Cody was, for it jumped up onto his shoulder and began sniffing his hair. Cody giggled as its fur tickled his face. "There are great!" 

Hagrid looked into the crates to see there was a niffler still there, and asked who was missing. It ended up being Hermione...and he asked where she was. 

"She had to go to hospital wing," said Ron, and Harry said they would explain later. Cody assumed he wanted to explain when the Slytherins weren't all eavesdropping. 

Class was quite fun that day. At Hagrid's word, everyone let go of their nifflers, and the little creatures dug into the earth with their spade-like paws, and did the dirt ever fly! It was like water to the nifflers, who dove effortlessly through it. The class was covered in soil within moments. 

Hermione came to class just as the last of the coins was being gathered. Ron's seemed to have the most by that time, and since Hagrid told them the gold was leprechaun gold and vanished within hours, Cody just let his lie on the ground. He did stay behind with Harry and the others, to help get the nifflers back in the crates...it was an opportunity to play with them some more. They were so soft! Hagrid had said that they're homewreckers, tearing up anything to find treasure, but Cody still wished he could have one. 

Hermione's hands were all bandaged, and Hagrid asked what had happened. Seemed Hermione had received a good amount of hate mail from people who had read Rita Skeeter's stupid article about her and Harry. And one of them had sent bubotuber pus in an envelope, which had burned Hermione's hands. 

"Ahhh, don't worry," said Hagrid. Said he'd gotten hate mail also, after Skeeter wrote about him. That Hagrid was a monster and should be put down, and that his mother killed innocent people and if Hagrid had any decency he'd go jump in a lake. 

Cody gasped, and Hermione looked shocked. "No!" she said. 

"Yeah," said Hagrid, taking the last niffler from Cody and setting it in its crate. "They're jus' nutters, Hermione. Don' open 'em, if yeh get any more. Jus' chuck 'em straigh' in the fire." 

It was lunchtime, but Cody spent some time with Hagrid before going up to eat. He hadn't seen a whole lot of him this year. He complained about no Quidditch, and talked about the Tournament, and shared a cup of tea. 

--- 

Hermione got a lot more hate mail in the next week, including several Howlers, to the delight of most of Slytherin House. Cody really did not like Howlers, and hoped he never got any! Eventually it died down, though, and Cody was glad. Hermione really didn't need all that! 

April came and went, and Cody actually went home to spend Easter break with his mother and sister. Having missed them at Christmas, he was wanting to see them at least once before summer. He told them all about his year thus far, and about the nifflers, and about Moody, who still unnerved Cody a little bit. He had gotten on fairly friendly terms with the grim professor since that first class, but he was still creepy. Cody had not forgotten the Avada Kedavra curse, after all. The fact that Moody could do such a curse was just creepy, and he wondered how many of the Hogwarts teachers knew it. 

"I stole his spiders, though," said Cody. "And let them go outside. He wasn't mad though, I think he thought it was kinda funny." he scowled, but a moment later, shrugged. "But that's okay, I guess. And I told off Snape, too, kinda, he took me in his office an' asked why I hang out with the Gryffindors more than the Slytherins, an' I told him because most of them were gits." He took a big breath. "He didn't get mad at me, either, because he asked, and I told him." 

Mom was frowning. "It _does_ seem rather odd that they permit a teacher to act so maliciously towards a student, though, saying what he did to Hermione about her teeth, and insulting the children. I wonder if that's just Hogwarts, or if all the teachers in England are similar." 

"Prob'ly just Hogwarts," said Cody. He couldn't imagine _that_ many teachers being so mean! 

Cody celebrated his birthday while he was home, something he had not done since going to Hogwarts, and vowed to return for Easter each year afterwards. As much as he loved magic, it was nice to have some normalcy! 

Once Easter break was over, Cody returned to Hogwarts to begin the final semester before summer, though he left fairly reluctantly. He left the things he had gotten for Christmas and at Hogsmeade home, so he didn't have to worry about it, and took only the few things he always brought to Hogwarts. 

The first day back, the day before classes started again, Cody had a mock wrestling match with the giant squid, with whom he seemed to have made friends. It was not nearly warm enough to go swimming, but Cody ended up doing it anyway; while talking with Graham, Cody suddenly felt a tug on his leg. Startled, he looked down in time to see a tentacle, before he was hoisted up in the air with a yell of alarm. "Hey! Put me down!" It was apparently the wrong thing to say. The giant squid gladly let go - and Cody fell into the freezing water. 

He came up with a screech, catching sight of a dim, murky, huge face below; and the slap of a tentacle nearby. He could imagine the squid was highly amused - Cody was not! Gasping, Cody paddled to shore and climbed up onto the mud, his eyes still wide from the shock of the cold water. 

Graham looked horrifed. "Are you okay?" he asked after a minute, running to Cody and helping him up. "Did it hurt you? What _was_ that? Was it the giant squid?" 

Cody explained to Graham that the squid was friendly, it just had a really lousy sense of humor. Once Graham was convinced and the shock began to wear off, he started laughing. "It's not funny!" cried Cody. But Graham did not stop laughing; after a bit, Cody laughed, too. 

After going inside to change and warm up, Cody went back outside to enjoy the weather; he stayed away from the lake. 

Spring slowly made its way into summer, and for that, Cody was glad. The weather was warm, the grass soft and green. And although the fourth-years were getting a lot of school work as exams approached, Cody did still find time to visit with people he liked, and to play out on the grounds. 

One day, in the beginning of June, Cody had taken his broom over to the Quidditch pitch to do some practicing, and found with some dismay that it was entirely overgrown! He was sufficiently startled that he landed and put his broom away before seeking out Harry to ask if he knew what was going on. After Care of Magical Creatures, Cody tugged on Harry's robes. "Harry...the Quidditch pitch is all messed up! What're they doing to it?" 

"Oh, that," said Harry. "Yeah, it's all right, we'll have it back for next year. That's going to be a maze for the Triwizard Tournament. We'll all get to go according to how many points we have, and whoever touches the Triwizard Cup in the middle first wins." 

"Oh." Cody was relieved, but still a little indignant. "I don't think the Quidditch pitch likes having a maze grown on it." 

At this, Harry chuckled. "You have an interesting way of looking at things, Cody." 

Cody felt rather complimented. 


	35. Year 4, Chapter 14: Mazes and Chaos

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 14: Mazes and Chaos**

In the days that followed, Cody spent his free time doing one of three things; homework, going outside and playing, or helping Harry practice jinxes and charms. He and Ron took it in turns to be the victim for Harry's Stunning Spells, and Cody decided he did not like them a whole lot. They weren't nearly as bad as a Bludger strike, but they weren't fun, either! They kinda hurt. Still, he didn't mind, as he liked helping his friends with things. 

As June progressed, the weather became hot, in fact hot enough for Cody to be perfectly happy with it. He only wore his robes for class, and ran around in shorts and a ThunderCats T-Shirt most of the time. The general mood around Hogwarts was one of excitement, as the third and final Triwizard task was coming up soon, and the winner would be decided. Cody was excited too, and hoped that Harry would win. 

On the morning of the third task, Malfoy smirked at Cody as they headed towards the Great Hall. "Seems like you made the paper, DeDannan," he said, but he wouldn't say anything more. Cody told him to let him see the paper, but as Malfoy refused, Cody was left puzzled and annoyed. Frowning, he first headed to the Gryffindor table to borrow Hermione's paper, as he knew she had taken out a subscription. 

Ron and Hermione were both reading it, looking grim. 

"No way," Ron was saying, staring at the paper. "Not today. That old _cow_." 

"What?" said Harry. "Rita Skeeter again?" 

"No..." said Ron, stowing the paper under the table. 

Cody turned as Draco called from the other side of the Hall, "Hey Potter! Potter! How's your head? You feeling all right? Sure you're not going to go berserk on us?" 

"Let me see it," said Harry. "Give it here." 

Ron did hand it over, and Harry read it, and Cody took the opportunity to poke his head in and read, also. The headline read: "Harry Potter 'Disturbed and Dangerous'." Cody snorted, but read on. This time Rita had somehow found about what happened to Harry during a Divination class, when he had aparently fallen asleep and had a vision, and wakened with his scar burning. The article was full of innuendos about how Harry could possibly have been addled by the incident that left the scar, or even pretending, to get attention. There was a quote from Draco where he told Rita that Harry could speak Parseltongue, and all about how it was the mark of a Dark Wizard. Draco said how Harry had "set a snake" on another boy, and made friends with werewolves and giants, and how he'd do anything for power... 

"Well that's just dumb," Cody muttered. He rather took the insinuation that werewolves were evil personally, as he liked Lupin very much. 

"Gone off me a bit, hasn't she?" said Harry mildly as he finished the article. "Cody, she's even stuck you in here...she'll try and ruin anyone for a good story, won't she?" 

As Harry and Ron and Hermione began discussing how Skeeter could possibly have found out about what happened in Divination, Cody finished reading the article. At the end, Rita had mentioned Cody's name, and how he was only a nine year old child "being exposed to the dangers" that students routinely encountered at Hogwarts, and how it was yet another of Dumbledore's unwise decisions on whom to allow in the school. There was a bit about how one of the students (Draco, again) said that Cody was only passing his exams because he was a favorite with the teachers, and that he always had to have people help him. Cody growled, and crumpled up the paper, glaring evilly in Draco's direction. Was he trying to get Cody expelled, or what? 

Needless to say, Cody did not return to the Slytherin table that morning, and lagged well behind the class when they went to History of Magic for their final exam. Cody sat in the back of the room, trying to get the humiliated red from his cheeks, as he started the test. The last thing he needed was to fail an exam after a newspaper article claiming that he was no good in his classes... That Skeeter jerk! Trying to make everyone thing Harry was a psycho, and that Hermione was dating everyone in the world, trying to make Dumbledore and Hagrid look bad... 

He took a big breath, scowled darkly at his exam, and began. 

Cody was fairly sure he had passed, possibly even with a fair grade, once he finished the test. Seemed that his anger had helped him focus, which seemed odd to him, but was not complaining. He even thanked Malfoy for getting him all mad, as it helped him concentrate on his test. He felt no gratitude whatsoever of course, but it was worth saying it to see Malfoy's lips get all thin and his eyebrows knit in an annoyed scowl. Cody definitely owed him a knuckle sandwich, or better yet, a Jelly Legs jinx! 

At lunch, he was surprised to see that Bill and Mrs. Weasley had joined the Gryffindors for breakfast! His face lit in a grin and he ran over. "Hi!" he exclaimed, hugging Mrs. Weasley then Bill around the waist. "How come you guys're here?" 

Bill grinned. "We came to watch Harry win the Tournament," he said. "Normally the champions' families come to watch, but in this case, Mum and myself came instead. It's weird being back here at Hogwarts, but it's nice to reminisce. Remember," he clarified, before Cody could ask. 

"Cool! Is Charlie here, too?" 

Bill shook his head. "He couldn't get the time off, unfortunately. But he did ask me to send a message along to you." 

Curiously, Cody cocked his head. "What?" 

"He says that you haven't written him in months and that you owe him a nice, long letter." 

Cody blinked, and then laughed and put his hands over his mouth. "Oops. I kinda forgot...there's been tons of stuff going on this year! I'll write to him after the task tonight!" 

Bill chuckled and patted Cody's head. "That's a good idea. Well, let's get some food in us, eh?" 

Cody nodded and sat down beside Bill, at the Gryffindor table. He turned around and stuck his tongue out at Draco every once in a while, but mostly just talked with his friends. Ginny and the twins joined them as well, and Cody enjoyed lunch very much. 

He spent supper at the Slytherin table, as he got the idea that Graham might have felt a little left out when Cody sat with the Gryffindors. Cody did show him the Daily Prophet article, though, and the two boys talked for a while about what a jerk Draco was. 

Everyone was excited as they traipsed out to the Quidditch field to watch the final task, although Cody did hear several grumbles from Quidditch players of various houses about the overgrown pitch. But overall, the mood was high-spirited and excited. Cody had his Omnioculars from the Quidditch World Cup with him as he sat with Hermione, Graham, and the Weasleys. The stands were raised high so that the spectators could see a bit into the tall maze. 

At first, not a whole lot happened. Cedric and Harry got to go in first, as they had the most points. Then Krum, and then Fleur. There were various gasps and cheers from the crowd as the champions got past the various obstacles in their path. Graham yelled and pointed as Cedric was nearly nailed by one of Hagrid's Blast-Ended-Skrewts. "Holy cow, I'm glad we don't have to work with _those_ anymore!" Cody exclaimed. 

"_Those_ are the skrewts?" Graham asked in disbelief. 

"Yeah! But they weren't that big last time I saw 'em!" 

The first champion to send up red sparks, or so it appeared, was Krum, and they had soon removed him from the maze. That left only Harry, Cedric, and Fleur there to compete. And Cody had not caught sight of Fleur just yet. "I wonder if she's okay," Ron mused. 

"I'm sure she is, she's just somewhere we can't see yet," Hermione assured him. "But look, there's Harry, there. He seems to be doing all right!" 

"He's not met a lot of things," Ron said. "He must've gotten lucky and chosen a clearer path." 

Cody's eyes got big, and he focused his Omnioculars down on the maze. "Whoa! Lookit, is that...is that a sphinx?" he passed the Omnis around so that everyone could look, and Hermione confirmed that yes, it was. "Neeeat," Cody whispered, talking back the Omnis and peering down. He never thought that he would ever see a real one of those, they were in all kinds of old tales that Cody enjoyed hearing! 

Harry was talking to it, and after a moment, the sphinx smiled and let Harry pass. Cody cheered. "He's gonna make it!" 

"Unless Cedric makes it first!" Graham cried, pointing. 

And it was true. From their vantage point, the spectators could see that Harry and Cedric had both entered the clearing in which the Triwizard Cup sat almost at the same time. As everyone watched, many holding their breath, the two students sprinted for the plinth on which sat the Cup...but something else was there, too. Cody heard Ginny gasp as what looked like a giant spider crept into the clearing, going after Cedric. Harry yelled a warning, and Cedric turned, trying to stun the thing. "Acromantula! I can't believe they brought an acromantula!" Hermione cried in disbelief. "That could kill them! Those things're dangerous!" 

"It's got Harry!" Bill Weasley yelled in alarm. Mrs. Weasley stood, her hands over her mouth. But then Cedric hit the thing with a Disarming spell, and it actually worked! Harry was knocked from the spider's grip as if he were just an oversized wand! Cody laughed in relief as Harry and Cedric faced the spider once more. In unison, they both cried, "Stupefy!" the same charm that Cody remembered from the World Cup and that Harry had practiced on him and Ron, and the spider fell to the ground. There were cheers and yells from the crowd. 

Harry and Cedric stood still for several moments after defeating the spider, and Graham asked what they were doing. Cody shook his head, as the Omnioculars did not let him hear things, only see them. "Talking, it looks like." 

And talking they were. But after a moment, both boys approached the Triwizard Cup and grasped it. 

They disappeared. 

"What the - !" Ron exclaimed, as the audience erupted in a chorus of bewildered yells and talk. "Where are they? The Cup's gone too, was it a portkey?" 

"I-I dunno!" Cody exclaimed, standing up to see, as many others had stood also, blocking his view. It was a sudden uproar. The adults that had prowled around the maze were now rushing in, blasting down the hedges and ridding the maze of its spells and enchantments. Fleur was found unconscious and brought out, and Hagrid was called in to contain his beasts. It was very obvious that this was not supposed to happen the way it had. 

"Let's go down there," whispered Graham. "Maybe we can see what happened!" 

Cody glanced once at Ron and Hermione, who both looked apprehensive. "I dunno," said Hermione. "I think we should stay here until we're told what's going on." 

"Oh, go on, Hermione," whispered Ron. "I'll bet we can find out more down there than up here." 

"Well, all right. But quietly...we don't want all the adults asking us where we're going!" 

The four youths slipped away from the general crowd, heading for the stairs that led to the Quidditch stands, and began climbing down them. It was a bit of difficult going, as half the school seemed to have the same idea, and there was a good deal of yelling and pushing and talking. 

It had been a good idea, but unfortunately it was just as chaotic on the ground as it had been in the stands, if not more so. Cody had to duck people running around everywhere, and had to work hard to keep from being separated from his friends. "The teachers don't know what happened either," said Hermione worriedly, pulling Cody back by his robes in time to prevent him getting run into by a teacher whose name he did not know. "I've got a bad feeling about this." 

"Where do you think that Cup went?" asked Cody. 

"I dunno," said Hermione. 

"Well let's see if we can get to where the Cup was," said Ron. "Maybe when it returns, it'll return to the same place!" 

"Do portkeys work like that?" Graham asked. "I mean, do they return, or are they just one way?" 

"I think they can be done both ways," Ron said. "I dunno, I never made one before. You usually have to have a permit, or permission or something to make one." 

Getting to the center of the maze (which was now less than six inches high) proved to be quite difficult, and Cody ended up finally getting separated from his friends as they tried. And even then, Cody spent a good while making his way there. For once his small size was to his advantage as he weaved in and out of the mass of bodies, most clothed in black school robes. "Does anyone know what's happening?" a Hufflepuff girl asked him at one point. 

Cody shook his head helplessly. "No! I dunno even if the teachers know...I mean...I guess the Cup was a portkey!" 

The girl frowned, and looked worriedly around. "The prefects are starting to get people organized, I'm gonna go rejoin my house over there. I've never seen Dumbledore look worried before..." Frowning, the girl ran off. 

This alarmed Cody considerably as well, as he knew if _Dumbledore_ was worried, there was cause to be worried! All of a sudden, he did not really want to be away from his friends. "Graham!" he called as loud as he could, but his voice was lost amid the noise. "Ron? Hermione?" Frustrated, Cody wished he were as tall as Hagrid was! In fact Hagrid was the only one he could make out, as he stood towering above everyone, on the very far end of the field. A loud explosive sound told Cody he was dealing with the skrewt. 

The center of the maze was swarmed with people, mostly teachers, and the judges from the Tournament. Cornelius Fudge, who had sat in for Crouch as the final judge, was there as well. A handful of students milled about, but were being told to stay back. 

And then it happened. 

Out of nowhere, a shape began to appear where the Triwizard Cup had been, and within five seconds, that shape had become the Cup, Harry...and Cedric. Only Cedric was not awake. Harry clutched the older boy desperately around the waist as they landed hard on the ground, looking as if he had been in a fairly severe fight. Cody slipped in between two teachers to better see, and apparently Harry and Cedric's appearance was sufficient distraction that no one told him to go away. 

He could not get close enough to know exactly what was going on but the message came back to him anyway, and a horrid chill went through his body. "Diggory's dead!" Cody stared in horror at Cedric's limp form, and clenched his teeth against the sudden urge to cry. 

Dumbledore helped Harry to his feet, and Fudge was insisting that he go to hospital wing, that Mr. Diggory was running up, and shouldn't Dumbledore tell him before he saw his son? Cody heard someone scream behind him, and more than one person sobbing at the news that someone had died. Moody was clunking through the crowd to get there, and Dumbledore turned toward Amos Diggory, who had a look of horror on his face. 

It was this distraction that let Moody through, where he gently took Harry's hand, and began to lead him from the crowd. Dumbledore spoke with Amos Diggory as the agitated man ran forward, demanding to know what had happened to his son, what Potter had done to him, why in the blazes had they not told anyone the Triwizard Cup was a portkey... Dumbledore was trying his best to calm the man, and Fudge was helping... 

And no one had paid attention just then to where Harry had gone. Cody frowned, seeing that Moody had taken Harry nearly to the castle, and realized that this was not a fantastic idea. Swallowing hard, Cody darted between the milling people to reach Dumbledore's side, yelling his name and tugging frantically on his robes. Cornelius Fudge seemed about to say something angrily to Cody, but Dumbledore looked down at him and frowned. "Harry!" Cody said. "He's at the castle almost, Professor Moody took him there!" 

A look of alarm passed Dumbledore's face, and Cody saw him turn and look, and scan the crowd. Then he turned back to Cody. "Get Professors McGonagall and Snape, tell them to join me at Moody's office! Now!" 

"Yes, sir!" 

"Hurry!" 

His heart taking a painful leap of grim excitement, Cody ran off to where he had last seen Professor McGonagall, as Dumbledore turned urgently to Fudge and Diggory. Trying not to look at the body of Cedric as he passed it, Cody dove in and between legs and bodies, looking for the people he needed. "Where's Professor McGonagall?" he asked anyone he passed. "Where's Professor Snape?" 

Most did not answer, but some did, and it was McGonagall he encountered first. She was quite nearby, trying to reach Dumbledore herself. "Professor!" Cody yelled, grabbing her robes. Yanking on people's clothing seemed to be the only way he could get people's attention. She looked down, distracted. "Professor Dumbledore! He wants you to meet him at Moody's office, quick!" 

She blinked, slightly surprised, but nodded, and ran toward where Dumbledore was trying to get away from Diggory and Fudge - Amos Diggory had just seen his son's body. 

Biting his lip hard, Cody ran off to find Snape. 

As it turned out, Snape was not difficult to find, either, as none of the teachers were too far away. Cody ran up to him, a little out of breath, and panted, "P-professor Snape! Professor Dumbledore wants you an' Professor McGonagall to go to Moody's office with him! He's-got Harry-and I don't think he's supposed to!" 

Snape's eyes narrowed for a moment, looking at Cody as if suspecting he might be lying, but after a moment seemed to decide he had not. He finally nodded, and ran off in the direction McGonagall had. After a moment's hesitation, Cody also followed. 

Dumbledore, having left Fudge for the moment to deal with Amos Diggory, was running for the castle with McGonagall not far behind. A bit behind the other teachers, Snape looked angrily down at Cody as he ran. "Stay back there!" 

But Cody was determined. "Harry's my friend!" 

He was almost afraid that Snape would lose his temper, but was surprised when all he did was stop for the briefest of moments. He grabbed Cody's shoulder and looked him in the eye. "Can you handle this, DeDannan?" 

Cody nodded solemnly. 

"Very well. Stay behind us, and if I tell you to do something, you do it, understand?" 

"Yes sir." 

Snape took off once more, and running as fast as he could, Cody followed after. 

Dumbledore and McGonagall had stopped in the entrance hall to let Snape catch up, when Cody caught up behind, panting for breath. McGonagall gave him a surprised look, but Dumbledore did not seem to be all that taken aback. "DeDannan -" McGonagall began, but Snape cut her off. 

"He won't be in the way." 

She looked a bit taken aback, but said no more. 

"Follow me," said Dumbledore tersely, and the three teachers hurried into the castle. "That is not Alastor Moody," he explained to Snape and McGonagall as they ran. "Moody would never have taken Harry from my side... I don't know who he is, but we must get there quickly. Now certainly he will have locked the door, so I want you to have Stunning Spells ready to blast the door open, and be ready to Stun the impostor as well." 

Snape and McGonagall acknowledged, and Cody marveled at how well they worked together when it really counted. He had never seen his teachers in anything but a mentor role, except for briefly the year before when Harry and Hermione had gone back in time to save Sirius and Buckbeak. Dumbledore's face was grim and determined, McGonagall's was fierce and resolute. Snape's expression was not all that different than normal, but Cody could tell that anyone who crossed him now would regret it. 

Snape turned to Cody as they approached the door to Moody's office, where Cody could hear Harry and Moody's voice both. That was a good sign, it meant that Harry was still awake and alive. "Behind me," Snape said to Cody, and he halted as the three teachers approached the door. Trying to catch his breath, Cody watched as all three raised their wands. 

Dumbledore quietly said, "On three... One...two...three!" 

Three voices cried into the still hallway: "Stupefy!" And the door to the office splintered into a hundred pieces. Cody ducked as several came his way. 

There was silence for a moment, as the teachers all poured into the office, and Cody crept forward to peer inside. His eyes widened and he drew back a bit as he saw the look on Dumbledore's face; it was frightening. 

The room was full of strange gadgets and magical items, but Cody did not notice any of this. He was more distracted by Moody's unconscious form on the floor, of Harry's anxious expression, of Snape's anger, and McGonagall's worry. She tried to lead Harry from the room, but Dumbledore would not let her. He said that Harry needed to understand what had happened to him and why. 

Figuring that it was safe to do so, Cody crept into the room and stood in the corner, near a large mirror-like thing. "Moody..." Harry was saying. "How can it have been Moody?" 

"This is not Alastor Moody," said Dumbledore, repeating what he had told the others before they arrived at the office. The headmaster bent and retrieved Moody's hip flask and a set of keys, then issued two very strange instructions. He asked McGonagall to go to Hagrid's, where she would find a large dog in the pumpkin patch, to bring him to Dumbledore's office and tell him he would be with him shortly. Sirius, Cody thought. Snape was asked to get his strongest truth-serum, and then to bring a house elf named Winky from the kitchens and bring her up to the office. Both teachers left to do as they had been asked. 

Dumbledore did not seem to worry about Moody wakening, as he took the keys, and went to the trunk in the office. Cody very nearly asked him "What if he wakes up?" but Dumbledore was still looking sufficiently alarming that he wasn't feeling quite brave enough to speak up. Cody's presence seemed to be unnoticed, and for now he preferred it that way. 

He watched as Dumbledore fit one key into one of seven locks into the trunk and opened it, revealing some spell books inside. Then he closed it...and fit the second key into the second lock. Cody gaped as when he opened it this time, the contents were different! He did this until he hit the last lock, and opened the lid. 

Harry made a noise of amazement, which piqued Cody's curiosity enough that he crept forward and looked in. He gasped; the trunk was a pit! As if it were a trapdoor into a cellar! And there was a man down there that looked just like Professor Moody, except that he was missing his leg, and likely his eye. Harry and Cody exchanged a look of disbelief. 

Dumbledore jumped down into the trunk and examined who Cody realized was the real Moody. "Stunned. Controlled by the Imperius Curse. Of course they would have needed to keep him alive. Harry, throw down the impostor's cloak, he's freezing. Madame Pomfrey will need to see him, but he seems in no immediate danger." 

Cody suddenly felt like he needed to sit down and did so, sitting where he was, right on the floor. Dumbledore took Moody's hip flask and dumped its contents on the floor. "Yuck," Cody whispered. Whatever was in it was thick and gloppy, and looked altogether disgusting. Polyjuice potion. Dumbledore explained that the fake Moody had been using Moody's hair to make the potion all year, and taking it every hour on the hour. 

Cody stared at the impostor, then glanced at the trunk in which the real Moody lay. He realized with a shiver that he had been taking classes from a man who kept a person imprisoned and probably unconscious for months... He shivered and pulled his robes tightly around him. 

No one said anything as they waited for Snape and McGonagall to return...but before they did, the impostor began to change into who he really was. He was tall and skinny, and Cody had no idea who it might have been. But Harry seemed to know. 

Cody jumped about a mile in the air when a squeaky voice right behind him exclaimed, "Crouch! Barty Crouch!" Snape stood in the doorway, a look of utter shock on his face. Winky and McGonagall were with him. Cody was confused, it didn't look like Crouch to him! 

The house elf's eyes went very wide on seeing Crouch's face, and when she began to wail that they had killed Master's son, Cody understood that this was Crouch's son, the one that had gotten sent to the dementors. But had he not died in Azkaban? 

He watched Snape and Dumbledore administer the truth serum that Snape brought, and watched Dumbledore wake the man up, and ask him how he escaped Azkaban and came to Hogwarts. And between Winky's frantic protests, the man told his story, in a dead, emotionless voice. 

It seemed that Barty's mother had saved him. She was dying, and had convinced Barty's father to save him as a last favor to her. Barty and his mother had drank Polyjuice Potion with each others' hair in it, and taken on each others' visages... The dementors of Azkaban were blind, so could not see what happened; they sensed a healthy and a dying person arriving...and a healthy and a dying person leaving. Barty's mother had died in Azkaban, still looking like Barty, and buried under his name. Her death was staged once they got home, and Barty was kept at home, under the Imperius Curse, for all he thought of was returning to his master, whom Cody assumed was Voldemort. But Winky would take care of him while he was imprisoned in the house, took pity on him, did what she could to make him comfortable. Upon Dumbledore's query, Barty told them that Bertha Jorkins had discovered him there at his house when she came to get some papers signed, and confronted his father when he got home, the elder Crouch put a Memory Charm on her so that she would forget. 

Winky had been the one to convince Crouch elder to let his son attend the Quidditch World Cup. The boy had loved Quidditch, and Winky convinced his father that his mother had not saved him for a life of imprisonment. And so he agreed to let his son go, as long as he stayed under his Invisibility Cloak, and under the influence of the Imperius Curse...but during the match, Barty was able to break the Curse's hold on his mind. Later, Winky had tried to drag Barty away, binding him to her with her magic and running into the woods. But Barty had Harry's wand, and he shot the Dark Mark into the air, angry at seeing all those free Death Eaters out there, making sport of Muggles, while none of them had tried to find their master. 

But when Winky was discovered, she was Stunned, and Barty was broken from the bond she had put on her. His father had found him, and gotten him back under his control, and fired Winky for having let him escape. But soon thereafter, Voldemort had come for Barty in the arms of Wormtail. Cody hissed angrily at this mention, but said nothing. 

Voldemort told Barty that he had met a Ministry witch, Bertha Jorkins, and tortured her for information, and she told him of the Triwizard Tournament. She told him that Moody would be teaching that year. Voldemort had tortured her until he broke the Memory Charm put on her, and found out that Barty had escaped Azkaban, and was imprisoned by his father...And when Voldemort arrived, it was now Crouch elder who was being controlled by the Imperius Curse. And Barty was ready to serve his master. He kidnapped Moody and took his place in the school while Wormtail kept Crouch senior imprisoned, and under the Imperious Curse. But eventually, Crouch fought the curse so much that they had to keep him at home, conducting his business in the Ministry through Percy Weasley. But Crouch managed to escape, had come to Hogwarts, tried to tell Harry what happened. But when Harry had run into the school to get Dumbledore, Barty took the opportunity to deal with his father. He stunned Viktor Krum, and killed his father. 

"You killed your father..."Dumbledore said softly. "What did you do with the body?" 

"Carried it into the forest. Covered it with the Invisibility Cloak." He had watched, using Harry's Marauder's Map, and waited until everyone had left the area, then Transfigured his father's body into a bone, and buried the bone in front of Hagrid's cabin, where Hagrid had hid the coins for the nifflers to find. 

"And tonight?" Dumbledore asked. 

Barty Crouch kept speaking in the same dead tone. "I offered to carry the Triwizard Cup into the maze before dinner. Turned it into a portkey. My master's plan worked. He is returned to power and I will be honored by him beyond the dreams of wizards..." He smiled, and Cody shuddered at the lack of sanity in the expression, and the cold-heartedness of everything that he had just heard. He was almost wishing he had not come along for the ride. 

Poor Harry, Cody thought, glancing from him to Crouch. He bit his lip as Dumbledore told McGonagall to keep guard over Crouch, while he took Harry up to his office. He told Snape to get Madame Pomfrey down to take Moody into the hospital wing, then to get Cornelius Fudge and bring him to the office to question Crouch. 

Snape nodded, and started to go, then turned to Cody. "I have something for you to do," he said quietly, as Harry was led from the room by Dumbledore. 

Startled, Cody blinked. "Wh-what?" 

"Go down to Hagrid's hut and find the...the bone that is buried in the earth there and bring it here. Can you handle that?" 

Cody swallowed hard, but he stood, and nodded shakily. Snape nodded in return, and swept from the room. Cody looked at Professor McGonagall, who gave him a sort of encouraging smile, then took a big breath, and headed out of the office. 


	36. Year 4, Chapter 15: Cody's Task

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 15: Cody's Task**

Cody did not run into any students on the way to Hagrid's hut, for which he was very glad. He didn't think he could take explaining to anyone what had happened. He knocked on Hagrid's door, but got no answer; Hagrid must still be helping the other teachers, or still dealing with the creatures that had been in the maze. He was kind of glad, he didn't want to explain to him just yet why he was digging up his front lawn. 

It did not take long for Cody to find what he was looking for. Though it was buried fairly deeply, the newly dug earth where the nifflers had searched for gold was not a very large area. Cody nearly cried out in revulsion when his fingers brushed the hard surface of the bone. It was not a huge bone, perhaps the size of a small adult's forearm. Cody stared at it for a good long while, realizing that this bone was someone's body. That it had been the body of someone he had met before, had listened talk to Mr. Weasley about flying carpets... 

Cody closed his eyes tightly and tried very hard to think of anything else but that, else he would never get up the courage to touch the thing. He clenched his teeth and grabbed the bone before he lost his nerve, and ran full tilt towards the castle. 

When he burst into Moody's office, he stopped short, for a startled Professor McGonagall spun toward the door, and Cody found himself facing the business end of her wand. And _that_ was an intimidating sight. His eyes widened and he stopped in his tracks, highly relieved when she took a big breath and lowered it. "You surprised me, Mr. DeDannan," she said quietly. 

"S-sorry," said Cody, walking into the room. Shivering a bit, he put the bone he held down on Moody's desk and walked away from it. "I didn't wanna hold it longer than I had to." 

"I understand." McGonagall had gone back to holding her wand on the dazed Barty Crouch. 

"Is Harry gonna be okay?" Cody asked. 

McGonagall sighed. "He's been through a trying ordeal. He saw another student killed. He saw...He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named come back. That's going to affect him. But he's a strong boy, and I think that he will be okay." 

"I hope so. All this bad stuff always happens to him, then people are mean to him, too! That is really unfair." 

"It is," said McGonagall quietly. "Unfortunately it is difficult sometimes to make things fair in life." 

"I know." Cody looked at her for a moment and smiled. "Thanks for letting me stay an' help." 

"You're welcome. Professor Snape seems to have faith in your ability to handle things, and I trust his judgment, even if perhaps we don't see eye to eye on many things." 

Cody was quiet then, thinking about this. Did she really trust Snape? Even though he was a jerk? He wondered that while maybe Snape would not lie to a teacher, or a Slytherin, if he would lie to someone else. It was hard to know who was okay to trust and who was not sometimes. 

Feeling suddenly restless, Cody began brushing off the dirt and he had gotten all over his robes and his hands. And then he paced the room, glancing at Barty Crouch every once in a while. This of a man who had probably killed many people, and who was responsible for everything that had happened that night. He stuck his tongue out at him, then looked down at the wooden leg and magical eyeball that sat on the floor nearby. "Did they get the real Moody out?" he asked. 

"Yes, Madame Pomfrey came and got him up to hospital wing." 

false "That's good, I bet that was horrible, being in there all year." Cody could not imagine lying in a trunk for _months_ on end. He looked down at the leg and picked it up, also setting it on Moody's desk, figuring he might as well put all the stuff together that might be needed. But when he picked up the magical eye, it spun around in his hand, making him yell in surprise and drop it, backing away a step. Professor McGonagall actually smiled a bit at the look on Cody's face. "It moved!" 

"It is magical, and it moves on its own." 

"Y-yeah..." He had noticed this fact! He took a big breath and moved forward, picking it up again, but keeping a tighter grip on it. It was warm and solid, and felt a little like living glass. "Creepy." He set the eyeball on the desk as well, where it turned around to peer at him. "I wonder if he can see through this eyeball if he's not wearing it." 

"I don't believe so," said McGonagall. "It would have to be -" 

But she did not get a chance to finish her sentence. The door opened then, and Cornelius Fudge stepped in, but that was not all. Cody let out a scream and backed away, running into the corner of the room and gaping in horror, for Fudge had with him a dementor of Azkaban. McGonagall seemed to be quite at a loss for words at first, as the dementor glided in, dousing the room in a horrible cold as it bent low over Barty Crouch, and lowered its hood... 

Cody didn't want to see. Whimpering, he shut his eyes and pulled the hood of his school robes over his head, as he crouched behind Moody's trunk. He had an idea of what was happening, and after a few moments, heard McGonagall yelling at Fudge at the top of her voice. He thought he heard Snape's voice among the angry shrieks, but he was not sure. He did not look up until he felt the soul-numbing cold leave. Only then did he peer above the chest to see that the dementor had been sent off, and McGonagall was reading out Fudge in spades. 

Finally, Fudge puffed up and declared that he would see the headmaster now, and headed out of the room. McGonagall, seething, followed. 

Professor Snape was indeed there, and was looking after Fudge with an expression of dislike, then he shook his head and looked at Cody. "Well, come on, if you're going to accompany us," he said. "That addle-brained fool." 

Trying not to look as scared as he felt, Cody left his hiding place and followed Snape out of the room. Fudge and McGonagall were not difficult to follow; their voices were both loud and angry as they argued, all the way up to the hospital wing. 

"Regrettable," Fudge was saying as he and McGonagall stepped into the hospital wing. "But all the same, Minerva -" 

"You should never have brought it inside the castle! When Dumbledore finds out!" She had completely lost her temper, and it was not something Cody was accustomed to seeing. Normally, no matter what happened, McGonagall was very calm and in control. But then she did not normally encounter such blatant displays of cowardice and stupidity from grown men, either! 

Harry Potter was sitting up in bed, putting on his glasses, and Ron, Hermione and Bill Weasley were standing there. Not caring that he was in a hospital wing, Fudge demanded loudly to be told where Dumbledore was. Snape entered the room looking grim, and Cody came in behind him. 

"He's not here!" said Mrs. Weasley. She looked almost as angry as Professor McGonagall did. "This is a hospital wing, Minister, don't you think you'd do better to -" 

"What has happened?" came a stern sounding voice, and everyone turned to see Dumbledore walking in, with his usual sense of impeccable timing. "Why are you disturbing these people? Minerva, I'm surprised at you. I asked you to stand guard over Barty Crouch." 

"There is no need to stand guard over him anymore, Dumbledore! The Minister has seen to that!" 

"H-he brought a dementor," Cody said. 

Dumbledore frowned at this information, and Snape spoke up. "When we told Mr. Fudge that we had caught the Death Eater responsible for tonight's events, he seemed to feel his personal safety was in question. He insisted on summoning a dementor to accompany him into the castle. He brought it up to the office where Barty Crouch -" 

"I told him you would not agree, Dumbledore!" said McGonagall. "I told him you would never allow dementors to set foot inside the castle, but -" 

"My dear woman!" Fudge sputtered. "As Minister of Magic, it is my decision whether I wish to bring protection with me when interviewing a possibly dangerous -" 

But McGonagall was not listening, and simply talked angrily above him. "The moment that - that thing entered the room, it swooped down on Crouch, and - and -" Cody was shaking as he thought of what it had done, and how glad he was he had closed his eyes. How horrible could it be to have one's very soul removed, what made a person what they were... He clenched his teeth to keep them from chattering. 

"By all accounts, he is no loss!" said Fudge. And while that might be true, it seemed fairly cold-hearted to speak so about death (or worse), no matter who it was. "It seems he has been responsible for several deaths!" 

Dumbledore looked Fudge in the eye, and spoke quietly. "But he cannot now give testimony, Cornelius. He cannot give evidence about why he killed those people." 

"Why he killed them? Well that's no mystery, is it? He was a raving lunatic! From what Minerva and Severus have told me, he seems to have thought he was doing it all on You-Know-Who's instructions!" Cody rather thought that the Minister of Magic should not be afraid to say someone's name, but wisely kept quiet. 

Dumbledore's answer nearly made Fudge faint. "Lord Voldemort _was_ giving him instructions, Cornelius. Those people's deaths were mere by-products of a plan to restore Voldemort to full strength again. The plan succeeded. Voldemort has been returned to his body." 

Fudge was silent for several moments. And then: "You-Know-Who...returned? Preposterous. Come now, Dumbledore." 

Dumbledore told him that they had heard Barty Crouch confess under Veritaserum, but Fudge was in no mood to listen. Said that perhaps Crouch _believed_ he was taking the instructions of You-Know-Who... He had a strange little smile on his face as if Dumbledore were playing a grand joke on him. Dumbledore said that Harry Potter had seen it for himself, but that Fudge could not question him just yet. 

Fudge was still smirking. "You are...er...prepared to take Harry's word on this are you, Dumbledore?" 

Sirius (still in dog form) all but snarled at Fudge, and Cody scowled. Dumbledore, ever calm, said he did indeed believe Harry, and that his story explained everything that had happened since Bertha Jorkins disappeared over the summer. But Fudge did not seem to be listening. "You are prepared to believe that Lord Voldemort" (at least he said the name) "has returned on the word of a lunatic murderer and a boy who...well..." 

From behind them all came Harry's quiet voice. "You've been reading Rita Skeeter, Mr. Fudge." 

"And if I have?" came the defensive retort. Fudge's face was a bit red, but his stubbornness could have easily rivaled Cody's at his worst, and that was saying something. "If I have discovered that you've been keeping certain facts about the boy very quiet? A Parselmouth, eh?" 

"That doesn't mean -!" Cody began, but Snape's hand clamping on his shoulder caused him to break off into a frustrated growl. 

Fudge seemed not to have heard, anyway. "And having funny turns all over the place?" Dumbledore asked if he referred to the pain in Harry's head where the lightning-shaped scar was. And Fudge seemed to think that this perhaps caused him to have nightmares or hallucinations. 

"Listen to me, Cornelius," said Dumbledore, stepping forward, and Cody edged towards Harry's bed. He didn't like when Dumbledore looked like that at all. "Harry is as sane as you or I. That scar upon his forehead has not addled his brains. I believe it hurts him when Lord Voldemort is close by, or feeling particularly murderous. 

"You'll forgive me, Dumbledore, but I've never heard of a curse scar acting as an alarm bell before." 

"Look, I saw Voldemort come back!" said Harry angrily from his bed, where Mrs. Weasley was trying to prevent him from getting up. "I saw the Death Eaters! I can give you their names! Lucius Malfoy!" 

"Malfoy was cleared!" said Fudge. "A very old family - donations to excellent causes -" Cody let a very audible snort. 

"Macnair!" 

"Also cleared, now working for the Ministry!" 

"Avery - Nott - Crabbe - Goyle!" Cody recognized most these surnames as belonging to kids in his House. 

It was then that Cody truly disliked Cornelius Fudge. "You are merely repeating names of those who were acquitted of being Death Eaters thirteen years ago! You could have found those names in old reports of the trials! For heaven's sake, Dumbledore - the boy was full of some crackpot story at the end of last year, too! His tales are getting taller, and you're still swallowing them. The boy can talk to snakes, Dumbledore, and you still think he's trustworthy!" 

Cody clenched his fists angrily. This jerk was refusing to believe the truth just because he was too stupid to listen to reason! 

"You fool!" said McGonagall. "Cedric Diggory! Mr. Crouch! These deaths were not the random work of a lunatic!" 

"I see no evidence to the contrary! It seems to me that you are all determined to start a panic that will destabilize everything we have worked for these last thirteen years!" 

"Harry's not a liar," said Cody. "How come you won't believe him? Are you that scared?" 

"You cannot possibly know what you're talking about, child. You are far too young!" 

"But I know what truth is!" 

"Voldemort has returned," said Dumbledore. He told Fudge that if he would accept this, that they could take measures to save the situation. Such as removing the dementors from Azkaban. Fudge seemed to think this the most ludicrous thing he had ever heard, said that "half of us" slept soundly only because the dementors were there. And Dumbledore said the rest of them slept _less_ soundly knowing that Azkaban was in the control of creatures who were loyal to Voldemort. As Fudge sputtered, Dumbledore said to him that they must send envoys to the giants...before Voldemort did. 

Fudge was beside himself. "If the magical community got wind that I approached the giants...people hate them, Dumbledore! End of my career!" 

Dumbledore's voice was strong and sure, but Cody had the idea it didn't really matter. "You are blinded by the love of the office you hold, Cornelius!" said the headmaster. "You place too much importance, and you always have done, on the so-called purity of blood!" He said that the dementor had destroyed the last member of a pure-blood family, and look at the path he had chosen... Said that if Fudge took the precautions Dumbledore suggested and he would be known as the greatest minister England ever had. Or he could step aside and be known as the man who let Voldemort return. "If your determination to shut your eyes will carry you as far as this, Cornelius, we have reached a parting of the ways." 

Cody shivered; there was something so final, and frightening about those words. Everyone there knew that this moment, at this place, was the beginning of something big. It all started here. 

Dumbledore went on. "You must act as you see fit. And I - I shall act as I see fit." 

"Now see here..."said Fudge, waggling a finger as is Dumbledore were a wayward child. "I've given you free reign, always. I've had a lot of respect for you. I might not have agreed with some of your decisions, but I've kept quiet. There aren't many wizards who'd have let you hire werewolves, or keep Hagrid, or decide what to teach your students without reference to the Ministry. But if you're going to work against me -" 

"The only one against whom I intend to work is Lord Voldemort. If you are against him, then we remain, Cornelius, on the same side." 

There was a shocked silence for a very long time, before Fudge said plaintively, "He can't be back, Dumbledore, he just can't be..." 

Disgusted, Snape strode forward and thrust his arm forward, pulling up the sleeve of his robe. Cody's eyes widened as he looked at the black mark on Snape's skin there, like a tattoo, or a brand. It was the same mark that had been shot into the sky at the World Cup. He peered at it in morbid fascination as Snape spoke. "There. There. The Dark Mark. It is not as clear as it was about an hour ago, when it burned black, but you can still see it. Every Death Eater had the sign burned into him by the Dark Lord. It was a means of distinguishing one another, and his means of summoning us to him. When he touched the Mark of any Death Eater, we were to Disapparate and Apparate instantly at his side. This Mark has been growing clearer all year. Karkaroff's too. Why do you think Karkaroff fled tonight? We both felt the Mark burn. We both knew he had returned. Karkaroff fears the Dark Lord's vengeance. He betrayed too many of his fellow Death Eaters to be sure of a welcome back into the fold." 

Fudge looked like a horrified child as he backed away. Told Dumbledore that he didn't know what he and his staff were playing at, but Fudge had had enough. And that he would be in touch with Dumbledore the next day to discuss the running of Hogwarts. Then, quite unceremoniously, he dropped the bag of Galleons on Harry's desk that he had won from the Tournament and left. 

"There is work to be done," said Dumbledore once Fudge had left. Cody again got the shaky, excited feeling that he was truly watching the beginning... "Am I right in thinking that I can count on you and Arthur?" he asked Mrs. Weasley. 

"Of course you can. We know what Fudge is." 

"Yeah, a prat," Cody said quietly. He wasn't sure if anyone heard, but if they did, they didn't argue. 

Mrs. Weasley continued. "It's Arthur's fondness for Muggles that has held him back at the Ministry all these years. Fudge thinks he lacks proper wizarding pride." 

"Then I need to send a message to Arthur," said Dumbledore. "All those that we can persuade of the truth must be notified immediately, and he is well placed to contact those at the Ministry who are not as shortsighted as Cornelius." 

"I'll go to Dad," said Bill. "I'll go now." 

"Excellent. Tell him what has happened. Tell him I will be in direct contact with him shortly. He will need to be discreet, however. If Fudge thinks I am interfering at the Ministry..." 

"Leave it to me." Bill pulled on his cloak and clapped Harry on the shoulder. He kissed Mrs. Weasley on the cheek, and gave Cody a brief hug, then hurried out of the room. 

"Bye..." said Cody a little forlornly. 

Dumbledore sent McGonagall to go get Hagrid, and Madame Maxime if she would come, and have them meet Dumbledore in his office. He asked Madame Pomfrey to go and get Winky from Moody's office and see what she could do for her, and take her back to the kitchens. "But first, if you could get a little chocolate out for Mr. DeDannan?" 

Cody went a little red in the face as Madame Pomfrey nodded her head and got a slab of chocolate out from her office, and handed it to Cody. He thanked her and took a bite, and felt a shot of warmth go through his body. He had forgotten how much chocolate helped after one had encountered a dementor. He wondered, vaguely, why he never got embarrassed when he called attention to himself on purpose, but got all shy when someone else did. 

He yawned, and was a little startled when Mrs. Weasley picked him up and set him on the bed next to Harry's. He rubbed his eyes. "You look very pale," said Mrs. Weasley quietly." Are you okay?" 

Cody nodded. "Y-yeah...I'm okay. Just...I don't like...dementors." 

Mrs. Weasley smoothed back his sweaty, tousled hair, and he smiled at her while he ate his chocolate. 

Dumbledore, meanwhile, had firmly shut the door and looked to those who remained. He said that it was time for two of their number to recognize each other, and asked Sirius to resume his normal form. And he did. 

Mrs. Weasley screamed and leapt back. "Sirius Black!" she cried. 

"Mum, shut up, it's okay!" Ron said. 

Eyes wide, Cody looked back and forth between those present, and was actually frightened of the look on Snape's face. It was ugly. "Him!" Snape growled. "What's he doing here?" 

Dumbledore gave them a stern look. "He is here at my invitation, as are you, Severus. I trust you both. It is time for you to lay aside your differences and trust each other." As Snape and Sirius were glaring evil daggers at each other, Cody didn't think that would happen any time soon. Dumbledore showed the smallest bit of exasperation then. "I will settle, in the short term, for a lack of open hostility. You will shake hands. You are on the same side now. Time is short, and unless the few of us who know the truth stand united, there is no hope for any of us." 

Another chill went down Cody's spine, but that was okay. He really felt like he was a part of something, something important. He watched Snape and Sirius shake hands, and let go quickly, as if each thought the other might have cooties. The idea of Snape being afraid of cooties made Cody want to giggle, and it was only with great effort that he did not. 

Dumbledore was satisfied, and told each he had a job for them. "Sirius, I need you to set off at once. You are to alert Remus Lupin, Arabella Figg, Mundungus Fletcher - the old crowd. Lie low at Lupin's for a while; I will contact you there." 

Harry did not seem to want Sirius to go. "But -" 

Sirius promised that Harry would see him soon, and said that he had to do what he could. And Harry said he understood. 

Dumbledore turned to Sirius and said that he knew what he must ask him to do. "If you are ready...if you are prepared." 

"I am," said Snape. Cody looked at him very closely, and thought that he just might be scared. It was a strange thing to see. 

"Then good luck." 

Snape nodded, and turned briefly to Cody before leaving. "You did well tonight, DeDannan," he said, and strode out. 

Cody blinked and was silent for several moments as he watched the door close. "Thanks..." he finally said in a dazed sort of voice. It was not often that he got a compliment from Snape; even among his own House he did not often hand them out. Cody had the clear intuition that Snape at least understood him a bit now, and no longer thought Cody a traitor. 

At least he hoped so. 

Finally, Dumbledore said that he had to leave, and told Harry to take the rest of his potion. 

When the headmaster left, Mrs. Weasley fussed over Harry a bit, urging him to take his potion and to think what he would do with his winnings. "I don't want that gold," said Harry, and he looked like he was about to cry. "You can have it. Anyone can have it. I shouldn't have won it. It should've been Cedric's." 

Cody bit his lip and felt himself begin to cry, himself, but he didn't really care who saw it. Seeing others cry usually did that to him. 

"It wasn't your fault," said Mrs. Weasley. 

"I told him to take the Cup with me..." 

Mrs. Weasley finally held Harry to her and Harry let her. Cody was glad. It wasn't like Harry had a mom to hold him when he needed it; all he had were those horrible jerks that he had to live with. He rubbed his eyes, and looked around to where Hermione had gotten to, but a loud slam made him jump violently and very nearly fall off the bed. Had Ron not caught hold of him, he would have. Eyes wide, his breathing a bit accelerated, Cody spun around to stare at Hermione. "Sorry," she said softly. Her fist was closed, as if she'd just caught something small. Cody took a big breath and began looking around on the floor for his heart, because he was sure it had fallen out. 

Mrs. Weasley gave Harry the rest of his potion then, and Cody watched him drift off. He was not finished yet with his chocolate, and turned to look at Hermione. "What's that?" he asked in a whisper, pointing to her hand. 

"I'll tell everyone later," she whispered. "Once I'm sure of it." 

Puzzled, Cody shrugged, and finished his chocolate. He was too tired to argue, and after a moment, he curled up under the covers and closed his eyes. He could go back to the dorms tomorrow. 


	37. Year 4, Chapter 16: Until We Meet Again

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 16: Until We Meet Again**

The next morning, the Diggorys came in to talk to Harry, and Cody wished then that he _had_ gone back to the dorms last night, even if he did have to share the dorm with Malfoy. He stayed under the covers and pretended to be asleep as Harry talked to Cedric's parents, and did not come out until well after they left...and Cody had stopped crying. He didn't understand how older boys kept from crying, even if they really wanted to. He rather thought that it would make a person explode. 

When he did get out of bed, he had given Harry a hug and gone to breakfast, still in the clothing he had worn the night before. It was a little dirty and rumpled but he didn't care. He avoided Malfoy and his gang, but was nearly run down by Graham, asking if he was all right. Cody nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay," he said. 

"What happened?" asked Graham, his eyes wide. "We all went down last night, and then we lost you and we didn't know where you went, and then Diggory..." 

Cody sighed and took a piece of sausage in his hands. "A lot of stuff happened. Cedric..." He stopped and frowned, noticing that there were a few people listening in that Cody didn't really care to hear the story. "I'll tell you the rest later...somewhere else," he said to Graham. 

The older boy nodded. "Good idea." 

While the school ate breakfast, Dumbledore stood up to announce to them that they needed to let Harry be and not badger him into telling the story of what happened. Later that day, after lunch, Cody told Graham a lot of the story. He left Harry mostly out of it, feeling it was his story to tell if and when he felt like it, but he did tell Graham a good deal of it. He told him how they'd caught Barty Crouch, and how he had killed his own father and how he was a Death Eater. And how Voldemort was back. 

At first, Cody didn't think that Graham would believe him, especially seeing the shock on his face. But then he only nodded. "You know...my mum said that he'd be back. She actually works in the Muggle world, even though she's a wizard, she works with orphaned kids." 

Cody blinked, and then grinned. "I wanna meet your mom sometime. People who help orphans are good." Graham knew that Cody had been one himself for the first seven years or so of his life. 

"We could do that, maybe this summer! Anyways, she meets loads of people and hears a lot of stuff. And people have been talking about strange things happening, and a lot of people've had the feeling something big was going on for a while now." 

Cody shivered a bit, and grinned. "Creepy, isn't it?" 

Graham nodded. "Yeah, it is." 

"It's kinda cool in some ways. But really bad in others." 

"Yeah. It means You-Know-Who is back." 

"Yeah...and we're in Slytherin." The two boys exchanged a rather grim look. Cody nodded. "Yeah. And lots of their dads are Death eaters. Like Draco, and Gregory, and Crabbe, and Nott." He sighed, and then scowled. "An' I gotta share the dorm with them!" 

"I wonder if any of the first years have parents that're Death Eaters." 

Cody shook his head. "I dunno. We gotta be careful though. And...don't tell anyone about this stuff, okay?" 

Graham nodded. "I won't. That'd be a bad idea." 

--- 

Cody spent a lot of his last week at Hogwarts with Harry and the others, usually trying to make Harry laugh. Sometimes it even worked. When he wasn't with the Gryffindors, he was enoying the twins' company, visiting Hagrid in his hut or helping him with his ground keeping duties. Graham had begun visiting at the same time, and Cody thought that he and Hagrid might just be friends eventually as well. Cody was glad. He wished more people knew that not all the Slytherins were like Draco. 

On the day of the Leaving Feast, Cody began packing all of his things that were scattered around the dorms and the common room back in his trunk. Another goodbye. He never did like saying goodbye, even if it wasn't for good. He spent the day playing with Graham; swimming in the lake (and on occasion wrestling with the giant squid) and climbing trees, and playing the sort of tag that turned your hair different colors. And once their hair was their normal color, (brown and sandy blond) they went to the feast together. 

The colors of the House that won the House Cup were not up in the Great Hall, and Cody was not even sure who _had_ won. He didn't much care. Instead, a set of black drapes had been hung behind the staff table. Cody wasn't sure why, but he assumed it was something to do with the events of the night of the Triwizard task. 

The real Alastor Moody sat at the staff table that night looking very nervous, and Cody didn't blame him. He tried again to think what it was like to be held a prisoner down in that pit for nine months, and couldn't imagine it. Mad-Eye, he thought. Cody wondered what he was really like. 

He glanced over at the Hufflepuff table and nearly cried, as the whole lot looked pale and unhappy. He was suddenly glad, once more, that Graham was in Slytherin House. He was glad he had a friend there at the table with him. 

As the students ate, Dumbledore stood and addressed them. Everyone went quiet. "The end of another year," he said quietly. "There is much that I would like to say to you all tonight, but first I must acknowledge the loss of a very fine person who should be sitting here, enjoying our fine feast with us." Cody put his piece of ham down, no longer feeling remotely hungry. He wiped his eyes as Dumbledore continued. "I would like you all please, to stand, and raise your glasses, to Cedric Diggory." 

Cody bit his lip and stood on the bench, taking a hold of his goblet and imitating what the other students were doing. He raised his goblet of milk as the student body said solemnly, "Cedric Diggory." He sat down and began to cry as Dumbledore began telling the school what kind of person Cedric had been. 

"Cedric was a person who exemplified many of the qualities that distinguish Hufflepuff House. He was a good and loyal friend, a hard worker, he valued fair play. His death has affected you all, whether you knew him well or not. I think that you have the right, therefore, to know exactly how it came about." 

Cody felt a hand grip his arm and blinked, looking at Graham, and giving him a grateful smile. Graham looked upset, too, but the upset turned to shock at Dumbledore's next words. "Cedric Diggory was murdered by Lord Voldemort." 

Cody's eyes went fairly large as well, as he gaped at the staff table. The last thing he expected was that Dumbledore would tell the whole school, just like that. 

"The Ministry of Magic does not wish me to tell you this. It is possible that some of your parents will be horrified that I have done so - either because they will not believe that Lord Voldemort has returned, or because they think that I should not tell you so, young as you are. It is my belief, however, that the truth is generally preferable to lies, and that any attempt to pretend that Cedric dies as the result of an accident, or some sort of blunder of his own, is an insult to his memory." 

Cody looked at the rest of the Hogwarts students. Nearly every single one had his or her eyes glued to Dumbledore, and nearly all of them looked frightened to some degree. 

And then Dumbledore told the school that Harry had risked his life to bring Cedric's body back to Hogwarts, that he had seen Voldemort returned, and shown more bravery than most people who ever faced Voldemort. And then he stood and raised his goblet to Harry, too. Cody did, and Graham did, along with about a fourth of the Slytherins...but most of them remained in their seats. Cody curled his lip in disgust. Even now, when such dire things were happening, they refused to act like decent people. 

Cody used his robe's sleeve to wipe his eyes as he slumped back onto the bench. Dumbledore said that the Triwizard Tournament's aim was to bring people together among the magical world, and that now that Voldemort was back, those ties were more important than ever. "Every guest in this Hall will be welcomed back here at any time, should they wish to come," he said, looking at those from Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. "I say to you all once again, in the light of Lord Voldemort's return, we are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided. Lord Voldemort's gift for spreading discord and enmity is very great. We can fight it only by showing an equally strong bond of friendship and trust. Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and out hearts are open." 

No wonder everyone thinks Dumbledore is such a great man, Cody thought. He spoke so well, and you could tell he meant every word of it. And he was wise. Cody admired him very much. 

"It is my belief," Dumbledore added gravely, "and never have I so hoped that I am mistaken, that we are all facing dark and difficult times. Some of you in this Hall have already suffered directly at the hands of Lord Voldemort." Cody glanced over at Harry, and then Neville. "Many of your families have been torn asunder. A week ago, a student was taken from our midst. Remember Cedric. Remember, if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort. Remember Cedric Diggory." 

That was all that Dumbledore said that night, but his words had deeply affected most of the students in the school. Cody saw he was not the only person, or even the only boy who was crying. He saw many faces whose expressions were stunned or scared... 

And then there were people like Draco, who only looked contemptuous. 

--- 

Cody and Graham boarded the Hogwarts Express together the next day, and ended up sharing a compartment with the Weasley twins. "You doing okay, kid?" asked Fred, helping Cody stow his gear. 

Cody nodded. "Yeah...it's just...I mean Cedric, an' Voldemort..." The twins flinched, "...and all that. It's just...scary." 

"I know what you mean, mate," said Fred, giving Cody a bit of a squeeze. The twins had been acting more like big brothers to Cody since the World Cup, and he was both flattered and pleased by it. They could be nice when they wanted to! 

"And Harry...he saw the whole thing. That had to be horrible. He's my friend, I don't like my friends unhappy and stuff." Cody was not crying, but he looked like he might be thinking about it. 

"And Cody's my friend," said Graham. "And I don't like seeing his friends unhappy, either." 

Cody smiled at Graham, who smiled back. 

"Is Harry doing all right, then?" George asked as the train began to move. 

"Well, I mean as okay as he can be. I think he's down the corridor if you wanna go check on him." 

The twins looked at each other, and George shrugged agreeably. "Can't hurt, can it?" 

"And look, there's Malfoy, heading that way," added George, glancing out the window. "Reckon we ought to see what he's up to." 

And so the foursome made their way down the corridor, just in time to hear Malfoy's smug, drawling voice from Harry's compartment. All four boys scowled. "You picked the losing side, Potter! I warned you! I told you you ought to choose your company more carefully, remember? When we met on the train, first day of Hogwarts? I told you not to hang around with riffraff like this!" 

Cody scowled darkly as he followed the twins toward the compartment, and glanced Graham's way. Graham's expression was one of shock, as if he were really seeing for the first time what kind of a person Malfoy was. 

Draco's mouth ran on. "Too late now, Potter! They'll be the first to go, now that the Dark Lord's back! Mudbloods and Muggle-lovers first! Well...second - Diggory was the f -" 

Draco did not get to finish the sentence he was going to finish. There were several furious cries, and flashes of curses from wands. Had the twins not been in Cody's way, his own wand would have been out, trying to curse Draco with the worst he could think of... 

Cody figured that those in the compartment must have struck also, for when the light and smoke was gone, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were all unconscious on the floor, looking fairly grotesque. "Thought we'd see what these three were up to," said Fred. He stepped right on Goyle as he entered. George stepped on Malfoy as he went inside. Not to be left out, Cody stepped on Malfoy, too. 

"Interesting effect," said George. He asked who had used the Furnunculus Curse, and Harry said it had been him. Apparently with George's Jelly-Legs curse, Crabbe had sprouted tentacles all over his face. 

"Yuck," said Graham. "He's even uglier than normal." 

"How can you tell?" said Fred with a snicker. 

Malfoy and his thugs were all manhandled outside the compartment and left lying in the middle of the floor. Cody wondered what would happen if any of the prefects saw them, and thought that they likely wouldn't do anything unless they were Slytherin. Most the prefects probably hated them too. Cody and Graham followed the twins inside the compartment and sat down. It made the compartment quite full, but no one minded. He gave Graham, who was looking a little uncertain, a reassuring look. 

"Exploding Snap, anyone?" Fred asked. 

Everyone agreed to play; Cody particularly liked this game because it was loud and it exploded...a bit dangerous, perhaps, but fun. "Hermione?" he asked as they began to play. 

"Yes?" 

"What were you trying to catch that one night in the hospital wing? When you scared me out of the bed?" 

A rather triumphant smirk came over Hermione's face. "Rita Skeeter." 

Cody blinked. "_Huh?_" 

Hermione chuckled, and took the card that was dealt her, and explained. "Rita Skeeter...she's an Animagus. An _unregistered_ Animagus." 

A look of comprehension dawned on Cody's face. 

"But - that's illegal!" Graham said. 

Hermione nodded happily. "Yes, it is! That's how she kept sneaking onto the school grounds and getting interviews with that prat outside the door and his thugs. That's how she found out about Hagrid's mum, and about Harry's scar hurting. She can turn herself into a beetle. I've got her in a jar in my schoolbag." 

Cody began giggling, finding this idea extremely funny, and saw that Graham was laughing, too. "Awesome! That big creep...that'll teach her!" 

Hermione nodded. "I've told her that unless she wants me to tell the authorities that she's an unregistered Animagus, that she'll keep her stupid quill quiet for an entire year. I'm letting her go once we reach London." 

Feeling extremely happy, Cody went back to the game, and lost the hand in a most spectacular fashion. He blinked as his cards blew up, covering his face and front with soot. "Nuts." 

George grinned and clapped Cody on the shoulder. "It's a good look for you." 

Cody blew a raspberry his way and sat back to watch the rest of the hand. 

He did find something else out interesting that afternoon. When Ron finally asked the twins who they had been blackmailing (this was news to Cody), they finally told what was going on. Seemed that when the twins won the bet at the World Cup, Bagman had paid them with leprechaun gold. Thinking it had been a mistake, the twins had written him, but Bagman kept avoiding them, no matter how hard they tried to get their money. He finally told them they were too young to gamble, and that he wasn't giving them anything. But when they demanded their money back, he refused. 

"No way!" Cody exclaimed. "Isn't that illegal?" 

"Probably," said Fred. "But we can't prove it." 

"Anyway," said George. "Lee Jordan's dad had problems getting money off him, too." Seemed that Bagman had borrowed a lot of gold from the goblins, a group of which had cornered him at the World Cup and taken all the money he had. And even that wasn't enough to pay off his debts. And he had been trying to help Harry with the Tournament all year because he placed a huge bet on Harry winning it... But he bet Harry would win outright, when he had really tied with Cedric. Bagman had ended up running for it after the third task. 

"Man, I'd run for it too, if goblins were after my head," said Cody. "They're scary!" 

They spent the rest of the trip playing Exploding Snap, and then simply talking. The train was warm, and the sun was shining, and the company was good. Cody felt very content. 

But all too soon the trip ended, and it was time to say goodbye. Ron helped him get his trunk and Merlin's cage from the train, and Cody looked dismally around the platform, at the train and its students. Hogwarts really was like a family. And leaving it in three years would be very hard. Biting his lip, he hugged Ron then Hermione. "I'm gonna worry about you guys with that big jerk back now, write to me, okay? So I know what's happening?" 

"Absolutely, runt," said Ron with a chuckle, earning an indignant look. 

They looked up as Harry and the twins came out, and Cody hugged them, as well. "I'm gonna miss you guys." 

"Hey, you'll see us in a couple of months," said Fred. "You just make sure and cause mischief during the holidays." 

"I will." 

"You'd best! We'll be quizzing you on it after the holidays." 

Cody laughed as the Weasleys headed off to meet their mother, and Harry walked off with his Uncle Vernon. Cody turned then to Graham, who was looking kind of shy. Finally, the two boys hugged each other at the same time, and laughed. "I'm glad I met you," said Cody. 

"I'm glad I met me, too," said Graham with a grin, and laughed when Cody slugged him in the arm. "Naw...I'm just kidding. I'm glad I met you, too." 

"Maybe my mom'll let you visit us this summer if you can! I could ask her." 

Graham grinned, and nodded his head. "Okay! My mum could bring me through the Floo network, I think the Ministry has a department that takes care of travel and stuff, and they have Floo travel over the oceans. She could bring me through that, maybe." 

"Cool! You could come like the last few days before Hogwarts, then we could go to Diagon Alley an' all." 

"That'd be great..." Graham looked up as a slim, plain woman with brown hair approached. "Mum! Hi! This is Cody DeDannan, he's in my House." 

The woman had an open, friendly smile that Cody found himself liking immediately. "It's nice to meet you. Another first-year?" 

Cody shook his head. "Well no, ma'am, I'm a fourth-year." 

"Long story, Mum," said Graham as his mother blinked. "I'll tell you it later...and do I have something to tell you about what happened this year! But anyway, Cody says he's gonna ask his mum if I can come visit him the week before next term. Maybe you and his mum can talk, and I can go visit?" 

Graham's mother seemed to be a bit surprised by the influx in information, but she seemed agreeable enough. "I don't see why not, as long as I can meet her beforehand." She smiled at Cody. "How are you getting home?" 

"Oh, I take the Knight Bus." 

"Oh, goodness...my condolences." 

Cody giggled; this was not the first time he had heard this. "Thanks. Anyways, I gotta go. I'll write to you when I get home, Graham, okay?" 

"Okay!" 

Waving, Cody dragged his trunk toward the end of the platform and drew his wand from his pocket (his robes were in his trunk). He held out the wand hand and winced as the Knight Bus BANGed onto the platform. Cody boarded, paid his fare, and sat down to enjoy the trip home. And as Graham had said: did he have a story to tell! 


	38. Year 5, Chapter 1: Floo Travel Agency

**HIDDEN HERITAGE**

--- 

_Author's Note: This adventure is loosely based on a plotline that was run in a roleplaying game that I play; White Wolf Changeling. My character in that genre is a seven-year old boy named Cody DeDannan, who had an adventure in a realm that is based on what people dream. In this realm, he found Hogwarts Castle, and was able to go through the first two years of it, along with the students from the Harry Potter stories. (We haven't gotten to the other years, yet!) And so, that inspired me to write this._

_This story contains the HP stories seen through Cody's eyes. Please realize that as this takes place in the same time frame as Harry's years at Hogwarts, this fanfic involves a great deal of direct quoting in order to show things through the main character's eyes. Any descriptions, I have put into my own words, but a great deal of the dialogue is quoted._

_Furthermore, that which I have directly quoted, I lay no claim to whatsoever, and the same goes for any characters that are taken from the books. My original creations (that is, my character concepts, which I use in other capacities), however, I do claim. No one may use them without my permission._

**And so I come to my plea: Ms. Rowling (and those associated with her), please don't sue me! I claim nothing that came from you, whether it be a scene, a character, a place, or a story. I have written this fanfiction because, frankly, it's what I always wished would happen. (Yes, I am a 28 year old adult.) I have written this fanfiction because I love your world and want to be a part of it, and so I made my character in order to enjoy it. : ) I certainly make no money with this, only the enjoyment of sharing my imagination with others.**

**Oh, and to all you who might live in the U.K.: In trying to keep the whole setting accurate, I have done a lot of research online, as well as asking my dad (who is from England) and my friend (who lived in England for a year) about things like slang, terms, weather, and the like. So if I screw something up, please don't lynch me! :grin: Though if anyone does spot that kind of mistake, feel free to let me know!**

_Note: The first two years are not my best...but come third year I started getting a little more comfortable with my main character; I get to know him a little better and things start to flow a bit more. The first two years are still good; I just think the later ones are better! And don't worry, I don't make any ridiculous changes in the storyline!_

_And so, with that, I invite you to enjoy this story!_

**YEAR FIVE**

**Chapter 1: Floo Travel Agency**

Cody had to give Mom credit. Even though she worried about Cody, especially after fourth year, she did not forbid him to attend Hogwarts, and was actually very impressed with Cody's role in things. "It took a lot of courage to do what you did," she'd said to him when tucking him in that night. She stayed with him a while, for which he was very glad. "I'm proud of you. I miss you, you know. But I believe that you've found where your talents can best be used in the world." She hugged him, and he sighed, curling up next to her. Mom chuckled. "And I'm glad that old grouch that's Head of your House had lightened up a bit." 

Cody giggled at this. "Well...he might not with the Gryffindors. But at least he doesn't think I'm a traitor anymore." 

"That's good," said Mom, smoothing back Cody's hair. "That made me so mad, when you wrote me about him!" She cocked her head at Cody's giggle. "What's so funny?" she asked curiously. 

Grinning up at her, Cody said, "Just, you said 'mad.' That means crazy, in England." 

Mom laughed, and shook her head. "I see. It means crazy here, as well, you know, ya little twerp." She ruffled his hair. "It's just that it also means angry." 

Still chuckling, Cody nodded. "I know. It's funny when I say 'mad' there. Someone like Fred or George Weasley always says that I _am_ mad." 

"It must be very strange, being in a different country like that." 

"It is! An' everyone says it's weird having an American person there too. It's really fun though. Did you ever go to another country?" 

"Well, I have been to Mexico once, a long time ago. But that's the only one." 

"I bet Mexico's warmer than England! Bleh." 

Mom chuckled. "It is definitely warmer than England. All right, kiddo. Bedtime for you." 

Yawning, Cody did not argue. After four years of being able to go to bed whenever he wanted during the school year, staying up late was not such a novelty. And he was accustomed now to going to bed when he was tired. "Will you stay here a while?" 

"Absolutely." 

Content, Cody curled up on the bed and covered himself with his sheet. 

--- 

The next day, Cody told Mom about Graham, and asked if Graham could come and stay with them in the days, maybe week before term. "His mom said it'd be okay as long as she could meet you first, an' everything." 

"I don't see why not," said Mom. "I haven't met many of your friends from Hogwarts." 

Cody grinned. "Awesome! We should write them then, an' tell them what day and stuff we can get them." 

"Hmm. Maybe I'd better slip in a letter as well, to Graham's mother. He could come over, say five days before start of term, perhaps a week if you like, and you can go to Diagon Alley together." 

"Okay! We can send it today. Merlin can take it just as long as he's careful. He knows not to let anyone see him. Thanks, Mom!" 

"I'll write up a note after breakfast, then," said Mom. "But for now...downstairs! I've made some bacon and eggs." 

"Mmm!" Cody needed no further urging as he nearly flew down into the kitchen. 

--- 

After breakfast, Cody brought his ink and quill and some parchment into the living room and wrote a letter while Samantha watched him. Cody was getting quite good with the ink and quill method of writing. 

_ Graham - guess what? Mom said you could come! She's sending a note to your mom with my note. She said you could come over five days or a week before the next term starts and we can go to Diagon Alley together. We could pick you up in the place you guys are at when you use the Floo...I dunno where there's a place here that people can use to go over the ocean. I'm gonna ask Tony, he's a wizard here. He'll know!_

_ -Cody_

Mom's note said to Mrs. Pritchard that she would be glad to have Graham stay a few days, and that they would have to make arrangements to meet here in America once they found out where the nearest travel depot, or similar was. Cody stuffed both letters into an envelope, thought a moment, and then sat down to write another one. He never did write to Charlie after the third task of the Triwizard tournament; the events of the night naturally drove it from his mind. And so he wrote a nice, long letter to him and apologized for not writing to him before, because he always forgets. 

This, too, was stuffed into an emvelope, and both were tied to Merlin's foot. Cody opened the door for the bat to fly out, then ducked back inside. 

After that, Cody spent the day with his mother and sister, whom he had missed a great deal. "I wish you guys could be at Hogwarts with me, too," he said. 

Mom chuckled. "I dunno, Cody. I can't see me being too adept with magic." 

"Awww, you'd do okay. It's not as hard as it looks!" 

"I will take your word for that," said Mom. "I'll leave the spells to you." 

"Tomorrow can I go visit Tony?" he asked. 

"I suppose so. Do you know where he lives?" 

Cody blinked. "Er...well he lives close, I think. I can send him a letter, though an' ask! Besides I gotta ask him about how Graham and his mom'll get here, and I wanna ask him about Voldemort an' everything." 

"Hmm. Do you know if he has followers in this country? Voldemort, I mean?" 

Cody shook his head. "I don't know. But I bet Tony'd know." 

That afternoon, when Merlin had returned, Cody sent a letter to Tony asking him if they could meet and talk. Tony said that if Cody's mom didn't mind, he could just come over to Cody's house and talk. Cody asked, and got permission to invite him over. He waited for the following morning to send Merlin out, however, and so it wasn't for a couple of days that Cody got to talk to him. 

Mom was at work, and Cody was looking after Samantha when Tony arrived. The boy let him in and they both sat in the living room with glasses of lemonade and a cupcake each. Samantha came in the room, asked if she could have a cupcake too, and Cody said that yes, Mom had said they could have one. When the little girl returned and sat next to Cody on the couch, he smiled and hugged her briefly. 

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Tony asked once they had gotten halfway through their cupcakes. 

"Well, I just wanted to ask you some stuff. Well, first, my friend from Hogwarts is gonna visit me before the term starts in fall, he and his mom are gonna use the Floo network, I guess. I guess there's travel places for that that wizards can use." 

Tony nodded. "You're right, there are, actually. Travel agencies that deal with wizard kind." 

"Oh! Okay good. Well, I gotta know where there's one close so I know where to tell them to go, and so my mom knows where to go so we can meet them." 

"Well that's no biggie, there's one not ten minutes' drive from here. I can give your mom the address." 

"Oh! Cool! Also I was kinda wondering...do you know who is Voldemort?" 

Tony sat up a bit straighter, and his expression became serious. "I do know." 

"Did he ever come here?" 

"Well..." Tony sighed, took a sip of lemonade, and sat back again in the plush chair. "We don't know for sure. I don't think that he himself ever came here. What do you know about him, first off?" 

"I know he was the worst bad guy in England that was a wizard in a really long time, an' he had loads, er, lots of people that followed him. Death Eaters. I know that he did tons of stuff to himself that changed what he looked like, an' he and the Death Eaters killed and tortured a lot of people." He bit his lip and watched Tony's reaction. "But then he tried to kill Harry Potter, and the spell bounced off of Harry and hit Voldemort instead, so he almost died." 

"Well, yes. We didn't hear a lot about that here in America, but we knew that the wizards in the British Isles were in deep trouble. Although I will say that the bast--well, that he had some supporters here as well. I don't know if the people here actually had connections with him or not, but they called themselves Death Eaters, and called Voldemort their master. There was a whole organization of them at one point. Still is, I suppose, though they've not shown themselves now for years. Not since Voldemort disappeared. Don't know if that's a good sign or if they're just planning...and waiting." 

Cody looked down at the reamining bite of his cupcake and downed it, frowning. "Well, he's back." 

"He's...who's back?" 

Cody looked up. "Voldemort." Tony blinked. "He is, I swear. Harry...you know, the one that Voldemort tried to kill. Well, it's a really long story, but Harry saw him come back. Voldemort...k-killed...he killed one of the kids, a teenager named Cedric. If we have like Magical Law Enforcement here...we...we should tell them. 'Cuz if the people here who're Death Eaters find out..." 

Frowning, Tony nodded slowly, absentmindedly eating his own cupcake. "Well, yes, we have Law Enforcement among the local government. I'm not sure if they're gonna believe them if I tell them a nine year old kid told me that one of the most evil wizards in the world has returned from the dead though." 

Cody scowled. "I'm ten!" 

Tony sighed. "Still. I'm gonna have to be careful how I go about it. Perhaps phrase it as a rumor...just so they're on their guard. Calm down, kid. Did I say _I_ didn't believe you?" 

"Well, no." 

"That's how a lot of adults are, you know that." 

Cody snorted. "I sure do! Like Cornelius Fudge!" 

The look on Tony's face was one of disgust. "I've never met him...he's Minister now, isn't he?" Cody nodded. "But I've heard of him, and he's a total and complete idiot, in my opinion." 

Cody nodded. "When Harry got back, an' told everyone, Fudge wouldn't believe him. And they even had a Death Eater who said he'd been working for Voldemort! Fudge just thought that he was crazy." 

"The Death Eater or Harry?" 

"Both." 

Tony made a sound of disgust. "Like I said, he's an idiot. He can't face facts, so he makes up excuses as to why the facts can't possibly be true. I guess it's easier in America to believe it because we weren't so badly affected by Voldemort and what he did. His name doesn't carry quite the weight here as he does in England. Still, he _was_ quite powerful, had a lot of bigwigs here worried." 

"Big wigs?" 

"Yeah, the people in power, the government." Tony sighed. "I work in the Department that deals with magical creatures, but I know a lot of others in other departments I can pass the word along to. Some'll listen, some I'll have to be careful around." 

Cody nodded. He felt better, knowing that the wizards here would soon know about Voldemort. "He...he's already killed people this time too," he said quietly. "So...be careful, okay?" 

Tony nodded, standing up. "You be careful too, Cody. You're the one who's actually going back there." 

"Yeah...an' one of the Death Eaters doesn't like me very much. Draco's dad. But it's okay. Dumbledore's in England, too! And Voldemort's scared of him." 

Tony smiled at this. "I know of Dumbledore. Most wizards say he's probably the most powerful wizard in the world. He'll go down in the history books, I think. Anyway. I'm gonna head out, kiddo, talk to some people. See what they've heard. Thanks for the heads-up. I'd rather the good guys know as soon as possible." 

"Yeah, I bet the bad guys already know!" 

"It's possible, which could be inconvenient." Tony smiled and clasped Cody's shoulder. "If you hear anything else, pass it along to me, okay?" 

Cody nodded. "Okay." 

He saw Tony out the door then returned, feeling oddly tired. He saw his sister looked a little uncertain,and hugged her. "It's okay. I don't think he'd come here. He's too busy being a jerk in England." 

The little girl giggled a little bit and asked Cody if he wanted to play Go Fish or War. He said yes, but they had to wash their glasses and dishes first. 

And so they did. 

--- 

Cody did not hear much over the summer, it turned out. He had gotten letters from Ron and Hermione, but neither of them said much. They said that they were fairly busy over the summer, but could not say anything in a letter in case it got intercepted. Cody had the idea that he should try and find his Harry Potter book and refresh his memory, but it was conveniently not possible to find. Again,Cody figured that was how the magic worked, but it was working against him this time. He wondered if his mom remembered the books or not. 

Harry wrote him too, and said that Ron and Hermione had not told him much. Cody said they had not told him much, either, and told Harry about the conversation he'd had with Tony. 

He had correspondences with Neville, as usual, and he thanked Neville again for his help in Herbology, as his exam grade had been a good deal better than it had the year previous. He wrote to Kyle and Kathy, and brought them up to date about what had happened at Hogwarts while they were gone. He told them that if they knew anyone that wasn't a dork like Fudge, to tell them about Voldemort. He had a letter from Flint, who told Cody he had finally made Reserve Chaser for a team called the Falmouth Falcons. Cody sent back a letter congratulating him, telling him that was great! He would have to look them up in the library once he got back to school, see what kind of team they were. 

He got a few letters from Lupin, about which he was very happy. He did tell Cody that he was helping Dumbledore deal with the "situation" but he could say no more, as it was all top secret. And he could not risk the owl being intercepted. Cody grumbled and went to look up the big words before writing back. He said that he missed Lupin and that he should come and visit him sometime. Lupin wrote back saying that he would like that very much if he was able to manage it. And Cody had no doubts that Lupin meant it. Cody wished again that he could have Lupin for a father and wondered if he would see him any time soon. He did tell Lupin that he had told his friend Tony here in America about what happened during the school year. He tried not to be too obvious about it. 

He wrote Hagrid, but only got once response, right up near the end of summer. Apparently it had been very difficult to reach him. Hagrid was even more enigmatic than Ron and Hermione had been! Apparently he was in France, but he would say little more. Cody vowed to get the story out of him at Hogwarts. 

He talked with Graham,and said that they had made arrangements to arrive at the place Cody had given them. Said that the Floo journey was all planned. Cody couldn't wait! 

Cody had some work to do over summer vacation, which he put off until the end of July, but then figured he should get it done and over with. That way he had plenty of time to enjoy the rest of the break. Not to mention the rest of the warm weather! 

He talked again with Tony shortly before Graham was to visit, and it was a fairly serious conversation. Tony waited until Mom was at work, and Samantha was spending the night at a friend's house before he visited. Cody let him in, but he did not stay long. "I wasn't sure whether to come and tell you this stuff, Cody, as young as you are. But frankly you're best suited to use the information, since you're a sort of link between America and England. And you know some of the most powerful wizards around. But I've been doing a lot of asking around...and there's been some strange things going on. A lot of secrecy among wizards on the street, rumors of secret meetings and the like. So I think you might be right in that the Death Eaters here are getting restless. I dunno if they know of Voldemort yet, but I'm hoping not. Once you get back to England..._don't_ risk Owl Post for this...tell Dumbledore what I've told you. And tell him that while I don't think that the doings here will affect them in England, he should be aware of it, anyway. We can probably provide help, but we might also be providing more to contend with if we try to help." 

Cody nodded. "Okay. I can tell him that." 

Tony sighed, and leaned back on the couch. 

"Tony? Do they have Quidditch here?" 

Tony blinked at the question, so different from the conversation they had just finished. "Well, yes," he said. "Taxas has a league team, as well as Massachusetts, I believe. I think a couple of other states have professional teams as well. Quidditch isn;t nearly as popular ehre as it is in England, though. What we play ehre, mostly, is Quodpod." 

Cody blinked. "Quodpod?" 

"Well, it stems from Quidditch, It involved throwing around an enchanted Quaffle, called a Quod, towards the goal, passing from player to player, but the quirk it, you must get it in the goal before it explodes." He chuckled at the surprised look on Cody's face. "Yep, explodes. If someone still holds the Quod when it explodes, that player must leave the field, and a new Quod is used. Each goal gives you a point." 

Cody laughed. "Weeeird! I wonder if Ron and Harry know about it..." 

"I'm sure they do; it's played in England, though not nearly as extensively as is Quidditch." Tony sighed, and stood up, stretching. "Well, I've got to head off, kiddo. Have a good term, let me know if anyhting unusual happens...and be careful." 

Also standing, Cody nodded emphatically. "That I'll definitely do!" 

"Good. Well, have fun with your friend, kiddo. And keep in touch while you're at school, okay?" 

Cody promised, and Tony left. 

--- 

When came the time to drive down to the Travel Agency, Cody was finding it quite impossible not to fidget. Mom finally got exasperated. "Cody! Will you _please_ sit still? You cannot power an automobile with hyperactive energy!" 

Cody giggled and grinned at his mother, but did try and settle down a bit. They were on their way to the Floo travel station to meet Graham and his mother. Samantha was in the back seat for now, since Cody and Graham would sit in the back on the way home. "I can't help it," he said. "This is gonna be great! I can show him the playground, and the woods, and the park pool! An' maybe Tony'll visit and he can meet him too." 

Mom shook her head but she chuckled. "I never knew a ten minute drive could take so long." 

The travel station looked a whole lot like a normal travel agency, and when the DeDannans walked in, Cody wondered if they had the right place. A man in casual attire stood up as they entered, and smiled at Mom. "Good morning! How can I help you today, ma'am?" 

"Well..." At a bit of a loss, Mom looked down to Cody. 

Cody thought for a moment, before saying, "Er, well...we're meeting my friend who's gonna be here at ten." 

The travel agent narrowed his eyes as if trying to figure out what Cody meant. "Meeting?" 

"Well yeah, he's gonna...he's gonna arrive here." Frustrated, Cody looked all around and found the place empty besides them, before turning back to the man. "_You_ know... Floo!" he figured that if this guy was a wizard, he would know, and if not, he'd just think Cody was crazy. 

It turned out to be the former. A look of comprehension came over his expression. "Ahhh, I understand, young man. Please follow me." 

Cody followed after the man, hearing Mom and Samantha's footsteps behind him. 

The agent opened a door in the back that looked like it led to some offices, but there was yet another door in the far wall. After making sure they were alone, the agent took out a key ring and unlocked the door, ushering the DeDannans inside. 

Cody blinked when he walked inside, and then grinned. This was definitely a place of magic! The room was a big, long one, whose far wall was lined with about a dozen fireplaces. There were at least as many people in the room, most dressed in light robes. Some were short-sleeved and short on the bottom, for the hot weather. Cody stared in fascination; he had never seen American wizards before, except for Tony! "Weird..." he whispered. 

"What is the name of your party?" the agent asked Cody, as he was obviously the one who knew how things worked. 

Cody looked at him blankly. "Party? Er, we're not having a party, he's just coming to visit me before we go back to school." 

The agent chuckled. "No, you misunderstand me. Your party...a party of people simply means a group. In this case, your party is the people you're meeting." 

"Oh! Weird! I wonder why they call it a party. Um, his name's Graham Pritchard. I dunno what his mom's name is, though." 

"That's all right, all I needed was a last name." The man looked up on what looked like a transparent green blackboard on the wall above the fireplaces, on which slightly glowing words were written. "Pritchard...Pritchard..." 

Meanwhile, Cody took the opportunity to look around the room. There was a desk in front of each fireplace, full of parchments and booklets and travelogues, and the like. Aside from the "chalkboard" on the wall above the fireplaces, a huge map resided there, full of little glowing dots. Everything looked to be in a complete disarray, which was okay with Cody. That made things more fun, after all. A witch in a hot pink robe sat on her desk, watching her fireplace...for an arrival, Cody assumed. Her attire was short-sleeved and ended just above her knees in the back, but above her navel in the front. A pair of white shorts and a pink, pointed hat completed the ensemble. 

There was a whooshing sound in the room, and suddenly a disheveled looking wizard in what looked for all the world like denim robes came whirling into the pink witch's fireplace. The man looked faintly green in the cheeks. "Trey Sanchez, 9:50 AM," the witch said, using her wand to mark it off on the board that hung on the wall above the fireplaces. 

A bored looking wizard of nineteen or so stood at the far desk, half asleep at his desk. There was one wizard in light, white robes cleaning out his fireplace, and a witch who was replacing the supply of Floo powder in the urn next to hers. 

American wizards seemed to be a lot different, at least in how they dressed, than English wizards were. Cody tried to imagine seeing someone in England in a neon pink robe and giggled at the thought. Even funnier was the idea of seeing someone like Professor McGonagall in such attire! 

As a group of three people arrived at one of the fireplaces, the travel agent Cody had spoken to exclaimed, "Aha! There they are. Party of two, arriving at fireplace six from London, England, in five minutes. If you'd just wait over there..." 

Grinning, Cody nodded and led Mom and Samantha over to the fireplace with a silver-colored "6" over it, to wait for his friend. The three people that had just arrived (two girls and a woman) were being greeted by who Cody assumed was the father. 

A moment later, there was a whoosh of green fire from fireplace six, and the form of a woman and a boy began whirling into view, along with a trunk and a suitcase. Cody's face split into a delighted grin as he saw Graham stumble out of the fireplace, dragging his trunk behind. "That's horrible, that is!" the boy exclaimed as soon as he was on solid ground again. 

"What is?" asked Cody as Graham's mom came from the fireplace in a decidedly more dignified manner. 

"Floo powder! I'm never using Floo powder this far again!" 

Cody giggled. "I dunno, it looks fun to me! Maybe yer just too little to take it." 

Graham gave Cody a look and slugged him in the arm, but Cody only laughed, then hugged him. "I'm glad you're here!" 

"Me too! I've never been to America before!" 

Cody looked up at Graham's mother and smiled. "Hi...um, well, this is my mom, and my sister Samantha." Cody looked up at his mother and sister as he introduced them. "And this is Graham's mom." 

Mom smiled at Mrs. Pritchard, and extended a hand. "Nice to meet you." 

Mrs. Pritchard shook Mom's hand. "It's my pleasure," she said. "I've heard a lot about your son from Graham here. He was quite excited to come here." 

"Well, we're happy to have him," said Mom. 

The travel agent came over then, having marked off the Pritchards' arrival on his board. "Now, if I read this right...one of you will be going _back_ through the Floo network?" 

Mrs. Pritchard nodded. "Yes, I came here to see my son off, that's all." 

"All right, then, let's see...same fireplace. And nothing between now and then. That's cool then, I'll be back when it's time for you to leave." 

Mrs. Pritchard smiled. "Thank you." 

"It's really hot out," said Cody. "Didn't you guys bring stuff for summer?" He looked at them in their robes, and cocked his head. "Do you have Muggle clothes on under the robes?" 

"Well no," said Mrs. Pritchard, looking surprised. "I was not aware we'd need them. Do you live in a Muggle area, then?" 

Cody nodded. "Yeah, well my mom and sister are Muggles." 

"Oh yeah," said Graham. "I forgot to tell her that." 

"Muggles..." Mrs. Pritchard looked a bit baffled. "But how could they be? I thought Slytherin only let in pure-bloods. Oh, not that it matters,"she added quickly, looking up at Cody's mom. "I certainly don't hold with that nonsense about 'pure-bloods.' I'm just very surprised that Slytherin accepted a Muggle-born student." 

"Cody is adopted," said Mom fondly, putting an arm around her boy. "Both my children are. We're not sure who his birth parents were, the orphanage didn't have records on it." 

"Oh! Well that is wonderful. I actually work with Muggle orphans in England. Needless to say there are wizards and witches who think this is a rather unworthy profession." She made a noise of derision. "I often wondered why Graham got sorted into Slytherin." 

"Cody wondered that as well," said Mom. "But he seems to be doing all right in it." 

Graham rolled his eyes as the two women talked. "They always talk as if we're not there," he whispered to Cody. 

Cody nodded. "Grown ups are like that. Anyways, this is Samantha...Samantha, this is my friend Graham, he goes to my school." 

Samantha smiled shyly and waved at Graham. "Nice to meet you," said Graham. "So you really live with the Muggles?" 

Cody nodded. "Well yeah, I didn't know I was a wizard until I was seven. And Mom and Samantha aren't. Well at least if they are, they don't know it yet, either." 

Graham looked down at himself. He was in long gray robes. "I don't have Muggles clothes." 

"That's okay, you can use some of mine. I think I have stuff that'd fit you." 

Graham grinned. "Okay! Wow, it's gonna be weird,wearing Muggle stuff. I know we were supposed to at the World Cup, but we kinda didn't." 

Cody grinned. "Me neither! Well not all the way. I had jeans an' a T-Shirt on, but I also had my winter cloak. It was cold!" 

The two families talked for a few minutes more, until the travel agent came up and told Mrs. Pritchard that it was nearly time for her departure. "All right," she sighed, kissing Graham on the cheek. "You behave now, understand? Send me an owl when you and Cody head for Diagon Alley, so I know what's going on. You've got your school letter, and everything with you, right?" 

"Yes, Mum," said Graham. 

"All right." She hugged him briefly, before stepping up to the fire. The travel agent tossed a handful of Floo powder into the flames, which turned a lurid green. Mrs. Pritchard stepped into the flames and whirled out of sight. 

Mom turned to the three kids. "Well, let's head home, then. Have you ever been to the beach, Graham?" 

As they followed Mom out of the room, Graham shook his head. "No, ma'am. Well, I went once when I was a baby, so my mum says. They went to Italy on holiday, but I don't remember it." 

"Ah, well I figured if you boys wanted we could go down to the beach tomorrow and spend the day there. I know Cody's got some swim trunks he can loan you." 

The two boys exchanged a glance and a grin. "That'd be great, Mrs.DeDannan!" Graham said. "Thanks!" 

"You're welcome. We live quite close, and so we get to go there often." 

"That must be great." 

Cody nodded. "Yeah! I like the beach and I like swimming, too. I've got a big raft that's shaped like an alligator and it's got handles on it and stuff, so we can go out on the water. And there's no squid at this beach!" 

Graham laughed. "Okay! This is gonna be fun." 


	39. Year 5, Chapter 2: Summer in Florida

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 2: Summer in Florida**

Graham and Cody talked the whole way home about the beach and what it was like to live among Muggles. "It's not weird. Really," said Cody. "I mean...I'm used to it. It's most the wizard stuff that's weird!" 

"See that's just normal, to me." 

"Well, it's more normal now than it used to be." 

When they got to Cody's house, Graham looked around for a few minutes, a look of interest on his face. "It doesn't look _too_ weird. We live in a place that's mostly wizards. And a lot of the houses look kinda the same at these. Older, though. Blimey, it's hot!" 

Cody grinned. "No way, this is just right! It's gonna be hotter tomorrow, though, this was a really hot summer. That's what the news guys said anyways." 

Mom unlocked the front door and opened it to let the children in, and Cody nearly dragged Graham upstairs. "This is my room. You can share my bed if you want or I can get the cot out of the garage an' use it and you can have my bed." 

Graham looked around Cody's room and grinned. "I don't mind sharing," he said. "You don't snore, do you?" 

"I don't think I do, but Draco says I talk in my sleep." 

"Yeah? What do you talk about?" 

Cody shrugged. "I dunno...I'm asleep! Hey, if I talk in my sleep while you're here, tell me what I said, okay?" 

Graham laughed. "All right then." 

"Okay. Let's go get your trunk an' suitcase, you can keep it over there by my toy box." 

The two boys did just that, and then spent the next ten minutes or so going through Cody's dresser, looking for summer clothing that Graham would fit into. "Here!" said Cody triumphantly, holding up a pair of blue shorts that he always had to pull up when he wore them. "I bet these'd fit.You're almost as little as me." He rummaged around and produced a few shirts that were a little big as well. "I think I've got other shorts, but you can wear these today if you want. 

Graham laughed, and took the shorts. "This is gonna be so weird." 

"You can change in the bathroom if you want, it's that door." Cody pointed at the bathroom door, which was slightly ajar. 

Graham nodded and took the clothing, disappearing into the bathroom. He came out a few moments later with the clothing on, frowning. "They're not very comfortable,are they, Muggle clothing?" 

Cody blinked, and then clapped a hand to his mouth to stifle his giggling. "Um, you've got them both on backwards," he said. The shorts had elastic, so he supposed it was easier to get them the wrong way, but it was still funny. Cody stood up and pointed to the tag peeking up from the neckline of the shirt. "That goes in back. They won't feel as weird when they're on right." 

Looking sheepish, Graham disappeared again and came back out, this time with everything on right. "That right, then?" 

Cody nodded. "Yep! And they fit!" 

"Yeah, it's still weird, though! I mean, they're like pajamas, or something. I never wore anything that had legs like this, except my pajamas and my pants." 

Underwear, Cody thought. "It's a lot easier to run and stuff, though. I know what you mean though, when I wear my Muggle stuff at school, I get a lot of weird looks." 

"Well, you're weird, is why." 

"Normal's boring, anyway. Come on, you wanna go down to the playground?" 

"Okay!" 

After letting Mom know where they were going and being reminded to be back in time for lunch, Cody and Graham headed outside, toward the nearby school playground. There were already a few kids there, but no one that Cody knew. "There're playgrounds in England, right?" said Cody. 

Graham laughed. "Of course there are. A lot of kids my age, though, don't go on them. They don't want to look babyish." He shrugged. "I don't care much myself." 

"Me neither," said Cody. "Even when I'm a grownup, I'll play on playgrounds!" 

"Yeah, me too!" 

Cody ran over to the ladder to the slide, which was a long, steep one. It was his favorite, after the swings. "I like slides...there's a park at the beach that's got water slides, those are awesome! They've got this huge, long one, and there's even an escalator so you don't have to climb all the stairs to get there." 

Graham looked up as he followed Cody up the ladder. "Water slides?" 

"Yeah! Er...do they have those in England?" 

Graham nodded. "Yeah, I've just never been on one before." 

"I'll ask Mom if we can go on them tomorrow when we go to the beach." 

"Okay! Hey..." he said in a lower voice. "Don't you carry your wand with you?" 

Cody blinked and looked down at his pocket. "Well no. I can't use it outside of school anyway." 

"What if something happened? I don't ever go anywhere without it." 

"Oh. I'm always afraid that I'll accidentally do magic, or break it, or something. So I just leave it." 

"Oh. Well I've got mine, so it's okay, I just wondered." 

The boys had played hard for about an hour, when Graham tapped Cody on the shoulder and pointed over towards the woods. "D'you know that bloke over there?" 

"What bloke?" Cody looked at where his friend was pointing, and then frowned, as he saw a figure standing by the trees, looking in their direction. "Oh...no, I don't think so." He was far away, but he didn't look like Tony, or any of the people that Mom knew. And even as they two boys watched, the figure slipped back into the woods. "Creepy! Should we go see who he is?" 

Graham frowned. "No, because what if he's a wizard? What if he's not alone? Maybe I'm paranoid because of You-Know-Who, but..." 

"Yeah, you're right." Cody frowned, as he gazed at the woods, then shrugged. "Maybe it was just one of the other kids' parents or something." 

"Maybe. What time is it?" 

Cody pointed distractedly at the school building, which had a clock on it, encased in wire mesh so no stray sports equipment smashed it. "There's a clock there." 

"Half past eleven; let's head inside, anyway, Cody. I'm really hot, and it's almost lunchtime." 

Cody nodded. "Okay. I'll write Tony then, and ask him if he knows about any wizards that looked like that guy. Tony's a wizard here, he works with magical creatures." 

At Cody's house, Cody took out his parchment and wrote a letter to Tony,describing the wizard and asking him if he knew who it was. 

_ I don't know if he was watching us or not. But he was kinda creepy. If I see him again I'm gonna go home and tell Mom. Maybe we should call the cops? He could just be a Muggle kidnapper, and the cops could get him. Or, he could be some kid's dad or something too. He had on boots, and a shirt without sleeves, like you see all the mscle guys wearing on TV. And he had pants, too. The American kind. Anyways. Graham says hi._

_ -Cody_

He sent Merlin out with the letter and headed down for lunch. 

That night, Cody and Graham lay in bed seeing who could creep the other out more. They were close to tied, for both boys were thoroughly creeped. Naturally enough, this kind of talk led to Voldemort, of whom they spoke in hushed voices. "I wonder what he looks like," said Graham. "I heard he looks like a snake, but I dunno if that's just exaggeration or whatever." 

"I dunno," said Cody. "He did all sorts of magical stuff to himself though. Maybe he does look like a snake." 

Graham made a face. "Why would anyone want to make himself look like a snake? I mean...I like snakes well enough, but I wouldn't want to look like one." 

Cody giggled. "I dunno you might make a cuuute snake." 

Graham snorted and slugged Cody lightly in the arm. "I don't think my dad and mum'd be too thrilled." 

"Prob'ly not." Cody yawned. "I'm probably gonna dream about Voldemort now." 

There was a pause, and then: "Cody...why d'you call him by his name? I mean, most people are afraid to say his name." 

"Well, I dunno. I guess I'm not afraid of his name. Just him. Saying his name can't bring him here, can it?" 

"I don't _think_ it can." 

"I don't think so, either. So I say Voldemort, instead of You-Know-Who. Go on...try it." 

There was silence for a moment, and then a sort of timid, "Voldemort." 

Cody grinned. "See?" 

Graham sounded pleased with himself. "Yeah... Voldemort. You're right! It's not as scary once you say it." 

"It's kinda fun to say it to Ron Weasley though. His face kinda goes all pale and he tells me off." 

Graham laughed. 

Nodding, Cody curled up under his blanket and closed his eyes. He hoped he didn't dream about him; while he was not afraid of the name, Voldemort himself scared Cody a great deal! 

--- 

When Cody awoke the next morning, he was glad to not have dreamed of Voldemort, or anything at all, for that matter, that he remembered. Graham was up already, working on an essay on Potions he had to complete over the summer. He was sitting on Cody's floor, his parchment out in front of him. 

"You guys got work too, huh?" said Cody. "We got some work, too, but I did mine already." 

Graham looked up. "Yeah, but this is all I have left, and it's pretty easy. I like Potions." 

"I like it okay. It's kinda hard though, and Snape's really mean to my friends, especially Neville and Harry. We have it with the Gryffindors." 

Graham nodded. "We do, also. There's this Gryffindor, Dennis Creevy, who's really annoying. He's Muggle born, and Snape's pretty mean to him in class. He still does well though. Doesn't really care what Snape says. But he's still annoying. He talks all the time." 

"I think I met him, he's got a brother in fourth-year this year. They're okay, I guess. But anyway, we're going to the beach!" 

Graham grinned, finished the sentence he was working on, and stood up. "Great!" 

Once the two boys had dressed, they went downstairs for breakfast. Mom had cooked (American!) pancakes, and served them with butter and syrup. "Can we go to the water park while we're there, Mom?" Cody asked. 

"I had planned on it," said Mom with a wink. 

Cody and Graham exchanged an excited look. "All right!" Cody exclaimed. "Thanks!" 

Mom smiled. "You're welcome. I've not been there in a while, myself, and Samantha has been wanting to go. So, once you two are eating, go up and pack a bag to take. I'm bringing towels and sunscreen. You guys need to bring trunks, and whatever toys you'd like to take. Make sure it's something you'll not easily lose." 

"I'm gonna bring my alligator raft," said Cody. "Is it in the garage?" 

"I think it's on the shelf over by my gardening supplies." 

"Cool." 

Cody and Graham must have set a speed record for eating that day, for five minutes later, they were back in Cody's room getting ready for their trip. Cody was wearing a pair of swim shorts of neon green, and a T-Shirt on top. He handed Graham two other pairs of trunks, and said he could use one of them. Graham chose a plain red pair, over the other, which was black with a bright orange stripe on the left side. He put on a blue T-Shirt, and they went down to get Cody's raft. 

Soon, all three kids were packed up in the car, along with a cooler with drinks and a big bag with Cody's raft, the towels, and various other things. There was an inflatable ring for Samantha to play with in the ocean, and some books for Mom to read. 

And then they were off. 

"I wish you'd come visit more," said Samantha as they drove. She was up front with Mom, while Cody and Graham sat in the back. 

"Why's that?" Graham asked curiously. 

"'Cuz then I get the front seat all the time." 

Graham chuckled, and shook his head. "I see! Well tell Cody to let you have the front seat more often." 

"Yeah!" said Samantha. "See?" 

"Thanks a lot!" said Cody. "Whose side are you on, anyway?" 

Graham only grinned. 

The water park was noisy and busy, as it was one of the hottest days of the year. "All right, kids," said Mom when everyone had been paid for and admitted. "Let's find a place to park on the beach, we'll get some sunblock on you guys, and then I'll turn you loose on the unsuspecting world." She winked at them, and they all made their way to the sand. 

The park was not huge, but it did have a lot of cool water slides, and a huge, man-made pool area on an actual beach. There were fountains to play in in the water, and platforms to jump off of, and diving boards in the deeper parts. One whole side of the park was dedicated to slides, including four super-slides, which were very steep and high. The rest were less steep, but full of twists and turns, and there was one where you were supposed to use big, round raft to go down. 

Cody couldn't wait to get started! 

Mom handed over the sunblock, telling the boys to make sure they got their arms, and neck, and legs and chest. She put the lotion on their faces and back, and then set them loose. "Be careful!" she said. "We'll meet here for lunch around noon, okay?" 

"Okay!" they said together. 

The first thing they did was go into the water for a swim, and ended up spending an hour diving and jumping, and playing in the water. The sun was hot, and the water cool, and Cody could have stayed there for a whole week! 

"Aren't people supposed to get cramps after eating?" Graham asked. 

"My mom says it's just a myth." His tone indicated that if his mom said so, it was true. 

"Well, I'm not gettin' any so I guess it is!" 

Eventually, they did go play on the water slides, and Graham ended up loving the twisty ones. The super-slides, he said, were a lot like a dive on a broomstick, but the curved ones were awesome. Cody found that he was right, the super-slides were fun, but the ones that curved and twisted were better. You couldn't really get the same effect on a broomstick! 

Cody and Graham spent the entire day at the water park, and only showed signs of tiring as the sun began to set and the park began to close down. Tired and happy, Cody squeezed his mom tight around the waist and thanked her. Shyly, Graham thanked her as well. 

"You are both very welcome," said Mom, kissing the top of Cody's head. "Let's get home and get some supper, eh?" 

"Good idea," said Cody, who was very hungry by this point. 

"I think I got sunburned," said Graham, looking at his shoulders. 

Mom looked at Graham's skin, which did look a little pink. She gently pressed a finger onto his shoulder and observed the white finger-mark that was left. "Looks like you got a bit of the sun," she agreed. "I should have put some more sunblock on you halfway through the day. I'm sure you're not used to such heat." 

Graham shook his head. "No, ma'am. It doesn't get this hot in England, at all, really!" 

"Well, we'll put some ointment on it at home, keep it from blistering or anything. It should be fine by the time you two go to school." 

--- 

The week went by very quickly, and the visit cement the boys' friendship. 

During the week, on Cody's request, Mom very carefully drilled a hole in the handle of his wand and affixed a clip to it so that he could carry his wand on his belt loop. Cody had already asked Tony if this would ruin the wand, and he said that so long as it was only the handle and he was careful not to drill the wand itself, it should not affect it. Tony also said that he did not know who the person was that they had spotted at the playground that first day, but he could look into it. And in the meantime to be careful. And to remember to give Dumbledore his message from a few weeks earlier. 

Graham borrowed Merlin to write his mom, telling her that the next day they would be going to Diagon Alley, and that they would meet her there after lunch. Cody was going to spend the night at Graham's house, and then his mother was going to take them to King's Cross Station to catch the train to school. The trip to Diagon Alley might well be the last Cody saw of the Knight Bus! Mom said she would look into using the Floo network to travel from then on, and Cody was all right with that! After the novelty of the Knight Bus had worn off, the jarring ride got quite tiresome. 

The next day, Cody's and Graham's school things were packed in their trunk, and Cody's normal action figures and books were crammed in as well. "Mum gave me fare for the Knight Bus," said Graham, looking a little nervous. "Is it true that the driver's mad, and drives up on sidewalks, and lawns, and everything?" 

At this Cody laughed quite hard, which made Graham a bit nervous. "Well...yeah," he said at last, not making Graham feel any better. "I mean I dunno if he's really mad or not, but he sure drives like he is! But it's okay, he never hits anything. Everything jumps out of his way." 

"Who...is it that drives?" 

"His name's Ern," said Cody. "That's all I know." 

"Great." 

Cody's mother saw the boys off after breakfast, telling Cody that she would miss him, and to be careful. "Especially so this year, now that miserable jerk is back," she said, smoothing back Cody's hair. "_Both_ of you be careful. Cody says that half the Slytherins' parents are Death Eaters...so just be careful." 

"We will,"said Cody, hugging his mom, and then Samantha. "I'll see you Christmas!" 

"All right, baby. Go on. And be good!" 

"I will!" 

--- 

Graham was not in any way impressed with the Knight Bus. He said that it might almost be fun, if he didn't keep slamming against the walls and the windows. He had taken to hunkering down in one of the armchairs so he had padding. 

Cody shrugged, turning his face into the gray sky above Diagon Alley. "Well...do you like Floo powder better?" 

Graham made a face. "Not quite. I think I prefer a broom to anything else." 

Cody grinned. "Me too! Not for over the water, though. What if the broom broke down?" 

Graham gave Cody a _look_. "Brooms don't break down," he said in a tone that indicated that he thought Cody was being a dork. "I mean unless something's gone wrong with the flying charm, but that rarely happens, even in a very old broom." 

"You never know! It _could_ happen. Anyways. I gotta get my robes let out a little bit at the bottoms. I grew some. Not enough," he grumbled. "But some. And...I need Potions stuff, and parchment and some ink. And the new spellbooks. Got...Standard Book of Spells, Grade Five, and...okay this one looks boring. Defensive Magical Theory." He stuck his tongue out. "That's Defense Against the Dark Arts, I guess." 

"I wonder who it's gonna be this year," said Graham. 

"I dunno! I remember after Lupin had to leave, that Dean Thomas said maybe we'd get a vampire." Graham snickered. "But probably not. Have you ever met a vampire?" 

As the boys walked down the street towards Madame Malkin's, Graham shuddered. "No way. And I don't want to, either. I mean werewolves are only dangerous once a month. Vampires are always dangerous." 

"Are they all evil?" 

"Well, I dunno. I thought so. But before I met Lupin, I thought all werewolves were, also." 

"Yeah. It's hard to tell sometimes, huh?" 

"Yeah." 

After dropping off Cody's robes for alterations, they headed for the Apothecary for postions supplies, then Flourish and Blotts for ink and parchment, and schoolbooks. "At least you don't have to get Lockhart's books for Defense Against the Dark Arts," said Cody. "Those were stupid." 

"Yeah...but at least they were funny," said Graham, paging through his book. It looked as boring as Cody's, only written for second-years. "It's just...laws and what's illegal and all that. It tells how to do some defensive spells, but there's not a whole lot else." He frowned. "I think I woulda liked Lockhart better." 

"Good point." While useless, at least Lockhart you could laugh at. The stuff in this new book would just about put Cody to sleep! It _might_ even be worse than Binns! 

"Okay," said Graham. "I just have to get a new set of dragon-hide gloves. I melted my last set last year in Potions." He scowled in annoyance as Cody miserably failed at trying to stifle a snicker. "It wasn't funny, that really hurt! Remember when I was in hospital wing that one time, when I burned my hands?" Cody nodded. "Well that's because...I dunno what I did! Something really wrong in the way I prepared my potion, got some kind of acid or something. Melted my gloves to my hands." 

Cody shuddered. "Wow. That must've been something really bad, to melt dragon-hide gloves!" 

"Yeah. Professor Snape said if I could remember what I did wrong, they could probably find a really good use for the stuff!" 

They both laughed at this, and went to get Graham's gloves. 

"Okay," said Cody. He looked at the cart they were sharing, which was laden with their luggage, Merlin's cage, and their new purchases. "Let's get lunch and some ice cream. Your mom's gonna meet us at the Leaky Cauldron pretty soon." 

The suggestion of ice cream was agreed to quickly enough, and the two Slytherins pushed their cart towards the nearest ice cream shop. 

On the way there, they came across a wizard that Cody would rather have not met; Lucius Malfoy. Cody blinked, having stopped just short of ramming his cart into Malfoy, who'd walked right in front of the boy without even looking. At the sound of Merlin's cage nearly falling, and Cody scrambling to catch it, he did look around and his face twisted into a derisive snarl. "How I look forward to the day when people like you will be put where they belong," he said softly to Cody. He glanced once to Graham, and his disgusted expression seemed to intensify, before he swept off, his royal looking maroon robes swishing behind him. 

Unnerved, Cody looked after him with wide eyes, until he was out of sight, then looked to Graham, who looked equally anxious. "That's Draco Malfoy's dad, isn't it?" Graham asked. 

"Yeah,"said Cody softly. He took a big breath and pushed his cart out of the road. At the realization that Lucius, at that very moment, was in the service of Lord Voldemort, Cody shivered. 

"What d'you suppose he meant?" 

Cody shook his head. "I dunno," he said, scowling a bit. "He probably thinks that I'm a traitor too. Or maybe it's that my mom's a Muggle." He dropped his voice to a whisper as Graham helped push the cart toward the nearest ice cream vendor. "I wonder where he thinks we belong." 

"Maybe dead," said Graham. Cody gave him a sharp look, but seeing how pale Graham looked, didn't say anything. "Didn't...didn't you say that half the Muggles that they...you know...killed and stuff was done just for fun?" 

Biting his lip, Cody nodded. "Yeah. I'm gonna write my mom once we're done here." 

Cody almost didn't want to eat anything after that, but he did, and found that a big double scoop of strawberry ice cream helped to dispell some of the unease. And when they met Graham's mom at the Leaky Cauldron shortly thereafter, he had nearly forgotten the encounter. 

"Hello, Cody," said Graham's mom as she approached them. 

"Hi!" said Cody. 

She hugged her son and asked, "Did you boys have a good time?" 

"Yes, ma'am! We went to a waterpark and I showed Graham the waterslides and stuff." 

"And it was _hot_," Graham added. "I got a sunburn, even though his mum had put sunblock on us." 

"Oh my. At least you had fun. Well, come on, let's go on home. We'll get your stuff into the Leaky Cauldron, and travel from there by Floo powder." 

Cody looked interested. "Floo? Awesome! I've never done it before, but I've seen people do it." 

"Well it's not too difficult. You just have to make sure that you speak clearly, else you can either end up at the wrong fire, or stuck between fireplaces, and we'd have to get someone from the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad here to help get you unstuck." Noting Cody's alarmed visage, she chuckled and patted his shoulder. "It's all right, Cody, that happens seldom. Now I'm going to give you our address written on a card here, so you can say it aloud once you step into the fire. I'll have Graham go first." 

Cody nodded nervously as they lugged his and Graham's things inside. Cody waved distractedly to the barkeep, and headed for the fire, outside which was a pot of Floo powder. Graham sighed, stepped up to the fire, and tossed a small handful of powder into the flames. They turned green and he stepped into them, announcing his address. He whirled out of sight with his trunk. 

"All right, Cody," said Mrs. Pritchard, smiling. "Go ahead and throw some powder in...that's it. Now go ahead and step inside." 

Cody gulped, and spent a few moments trying to convince himself to do it. His instincts seemed to be against stepping into a fireplace full of flames. But strangely, they did not burn him once he stepped in, and he supposed that the Floo powder prevented that. He squinted at the address then said it aloud, as clearly as he could. 

He yelled in startlement as he began to whirl, faster and faster, and he clutched his trunk and Merlin's cage tightly. All sound and sight were caught in a swirl of confusion for nearly a minute before he suddenly stopped, and tumbled out onto a stone hearth. Merlin's cage clattered on the floor, and his trank landed heavily beside him. Dazed, he began to stand, and felt someone helping him up. 

"You okay, mate?" 

Cody laughed, simply amazed that he had made it through his first Floo journey with only a couple of bruises. "Y-yeah! Wow...that was fun!" 

Graham shook his head. "You're mad. Look out, here comes Mum." 

Cody moved aside and righted Merlin's cage, getting a very dirty look from the bat inside. "Sorry," he told Merlin. "I tried to keep you from gettin' banged around." 

Mrs. Pritchard smiled as she saw Cody had made it. "Welcome to our home, Cody." 

"Thanks." 

"Why don't you go ahead and leave your school things down here, both of you, so that we can just head out to the station in the morning. We're using the car to get there. And then Graham can show you his room." 

Cody nodded, as he looked around. The living room, where the fireplace was, was a big,open area with some comfortable looking brown couches and chairs, and a round table in the middle. Large windows looked out onto the lawn, and there was a big, glass door that led into the back. There was a hallway Cody assumed led into the kitchen, and and set of stairs, leading up. The room was all wood paneling. 

"C'mon, Cody! I'll show you my room." 

Cody nodded, and followed the other boy up, after setting Merlin's cage on his trunk. Once they got to Hogwarts, he would have to let him out to fly around a bit. 

"That's the loo," said Graham, pointing to a shut door. Cody blinked, and asked what a loo was. "Loo, you know, a bathroom...haven't you ever heard that before?" 

Cody blinked, and then giggled. "No, I never heard of it. Loo. That's weird." 

"It's what my mum calls it. Anyway, that's the _bathroom_, and that's my mum and dad's room, there. You'll meet Dad tonight. And this one's mine." He opened a door to reveal a room that was done in the same wood paneling as the living room, and with the same big window. But that's where the similarities ended. The room was full of moving posters of actors and Quidditch players. There was a bunk bed along one side, painted a dark aqua color. A dresser nearby was the came color, but the bookshelves were a normal wood color. "Cool room!" said Cody. "You even got a bunk bed." He was staring in fascination at the posters, as he talked. By this time he had seen many moving pictures, but it was still strange to see them on the wall. 

"Thanks!" said Graham. "I figure we can play some chess or Exploding Snap, or something until dinner." 

"Let's play Snap," said Cody. "I don't like chess, it's kinda boring an' I'm no good at it. Last time I played, Ron beat me in three moves." 

"Ha! Either he's really good or you're really bad," Graham teased. 

"I think it's both." 

"Ah, that's okay. Chess isn't for everyone." Graham pulled out a well-used pack of Exploding Snap cards,and settled on the rug in the middle of the floor. 

Cody won more than half of the rounds, something that he wasn't accustomed to. He made sure to be smug for a little while about it. 

At supper, Cody met Graham's father, who had returned from work. He was a short, stout man with a moustache and a Scottish-looking, plaid wizard's hat. He was a friendly little man, and Cody liked him. "So, you're really in fourth year, Cody?" 

"Yes sir. And yeah, I'm ten, I'll be eleven in March, though." 

"That's pretty impressive, lad! That doesn't happen often, does it? Younger students being allowed in?" 

Cody shook his head. "Ron Weasley's parents say it's happened, but it's rare." 

"Ah, the Weasleys. I know Arthur in passing, he works in...Muggle relations?" 

"I think so." 

Mr. Pritchard nodded. "A good man from what I've heard. I work in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, myself. Goblin liasion." 

"Neat! I've met goblins, when I get my money from Gringotts, they're creepy." 

Mr. Pritchard chuckled lightly. "They can be. They're not creatures to mess with, o' course. Ah. But now you're to be in fifth-year, right?" 

Cody nodded. 

"That's O.W.L. year." Cody's eyes widened in alarm. "I remember when I took my O.W.L.s, half the kids in my year had hysterics at least once during the school year because of the stress. Ah, but I wouldn't worry. You must be smart if they let you in so early. I'm sure you'll do fine." 

Cody was a little bit dazed during the entire meal, realizing Mr. Pritchard was right. O.W.L.s were very important exams! 

The two boys went into Graham's room to hang out before they were to go to bed. "I forgot about O.W.L.s!" Cody said to Graham, a trace of panic in his voice. "I'm not that smart, and those're important! What if I fail them?" 

Graham, who was looking amused, was trying to calm him down. "It's okay, Cody. I've heard that fifth-year's a lot of work. But the exams aren't _that_ bad. Just...make sure you know all the stuff you've learned, and you'll be okay." 

Cody was not convinced. "I-I dunno, Graham. I dunno why they let me in so early, I'm not really that smart... I mean I do okay, but you should see me in Herbology! And I suck in History of Magic, I hate that class! I mean..." 

"Well, what do you want to do when you graduate?" 

"I-I dunno! I mean I won't be a grown up! I'll only be..." He thought for a moment. "Thirteen! And kids aren't grown ups until they're eighteen in America. I mean..." He sighed and sat on the floor, against the bed. "Maybe...I dunno. Maybe I won't get a job as a wizard." The idea seemed depressing. 

A little concerned, Graham sat next to Cody on the floor. "C'mon, mate, you're only ten. It's okay. You don't have to decide your future yet. You don't even have to decide what O.W.L.s to take, you take the tests of the classes you take. So just do your best. And then you'll have plenty of time to decide what you want to do!" 

Cody looked at Graham, took a big breath, and finally smiled. "Thanks," he said gratefully. 

Graham smiled back. "No problem. Now come on, I've got a round of Exploding Snap to win." 

Cody snorted. "No way." 

And so they played. 


	40. Year 5, Chapter 3: Catching up

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 3: Catching Up**

On the train to Hogwarts, Graham and Cody got a compartment to themselves, way on the far end of the train. Cody had looked for his friends, but did not catch a glimpse of Ron's flaming red hair, and so they stayed alone for the time being. 

They actually didn't see the Gryffindors until they disembarked that evening, the chilliness making Cody mumble churlishly about stupid cold weather. "See, now, I like this weather," said Graham. 

"It's evil. Hey! There they are! Ron! Hi, guys!" Cody waved enthusiastically as they approached the group. Cody blinked as he saw they were with some Ravenclaw girl he had seen once or twice, who wore her wand behind her ear. At the moment she was wearing a necklace of butterbeer corks. "Er, hi." 

"Hi," said Ginny Weasley. "Oh, this is Luna Lovegood." 

Cody's mouth thinned a bit as he tried not to laugh. Luna was the name of one of the villains on his favorite show, ThunderCats. And she was a screechy, two-foot tall, trollish villain, at that. "Hi, I'm Cody," he finally said. 

"You're young," said Luna, who seemed to have a knack for stating the obvious. 

"Nah...I'm really an old man. I just look young for my age," said Cody, his expression serious. She simply looked at him for a moment then went back to reading a magazine...upside down. Graham snickered, and Cody finally grinned. "Nah, I'm ten." 

"You must be very smart." 

"Not really. Just lucky." He looked to Harry and the others. "We'll see you guys at the feast, okay?" 

"All right mate," said Ron. "Good to see you again! And we've got loads to tell you, too!" 

With a grin of anticipation, Cody nodded. "Okay! Maybe this weekend, or after classes or something!" He waved, as he and Graham made their way to the carriages. 

"Can _you_ see those?" Graham asked, pointing to the front of the carriage. 

Cody looked, as three Hufflepuff second-years piled in with them. "Er...see what?" 

"Those winged horses." 

Cody frowned, looking at Graham. "Er...no." 

"I do. It's weird. I've asked people and found just a couple who have seen them." 

"I see them," said one of the Hufflepuffs. 

"Yeah? D'you know why?" 

The girl shrugged. "I dunno. Ask one of the third-years, they take Care of Magical Creatures." 

Cody nearly said that he was a fifth year, but as he figured he would not be believed, he decided not to. At least he could pass for a very small eleven. A lot of eleven-year olds did look quite young. He was sick of being asked why he was at Hogwarts. Especially since he didn't know for sure. 

"Where's Hagrid?" Graham asked as the carriages headed off towards the castle. 

"I dunno! I guess he's not here yet, or something. I gotta tell Dumbledore something this week, so I can ask him then." 

"I'm kinda afraid of Dumbledore," Graham admitted. "I mean he's brilliant, and powerful, and...and I'm just me!" 

"Well I'm just me, too. But I talk to him anyways. He's really cool, he doesn't treat kids like they're stupid or whatever like some teachers do. An' if a student wants to talk to him, he will talk to them. I like that about him. My principal in my old school wasn't quite like that, he was kinda a jerk. Thought kids should learn their place..." 

"...and that place wasn't the equal in any way to adults," Graham finished with a knowing nod. "I know those kinds!" 

"Some adults sure are stuck up." 

"Tell me about it!" 

Cody pulled his robes about him as the carriages stopped, and all the students began to pile out to go inside. The Great Hall was half full when Cody and Graham got to it, and headed for the Slytherin table for the feast. Cody stood on a bench and scanned the Great Hall for people he knew, shouted "Hello!" to a few Ravenclaws he knew from Astronomy, and waved at some of the Gryffindors. He pounced on George Weasley's back as he came into the Hall, making him yell in startlement. Giggling, Cody dropped down to say hello to him. 

"You mad little git!" George exclaimed, rubbing his neck. And then he laughed and roughly mussed Cody's hair up. 

"Good to see you, kid,"said Fred. "Though you could have chosen a more civilized way to say hello!" 

"Yeah, but it wouldn't have been as fun." 

"I dunno if 'fun' is the word!" said George. He shook his head, gave Cody a quick squeeze, and told him they'd see him later. 

"Yeah, we'll let you try our newest creation," said Fred, as the twins headed for the Gryffindor table. 

Cody snorted and said to Graham, "Yeah, right! Don't ever agree to try their stuff, it's dangerous!" 

Graham grinned. "I've heard of the stuff they do. I wish I could do some of that stuff! It'd be great for when Draco's being a jerk, or some of the other first, er, second-years are bein'gits." 

"They're gonna make a lot of money if they sell that stuff," said Cody. 

"Uh..." said Graham, sitting down. "Who's that?" 

Cody looked up at the staf table and saw what looked rather like a pink toad, sitting on the seat and talking to Professor Dumbledore. She had a bright pink sweater and hairband on, and a horrible pink face to match. Cody's lip curled in an expression of instant dislike. "I dunno. But I hope she's not one of my teachers!" 

"Me too. Sheesh, she looks like a toad." 

As that had been Cody's first impression, he laughed. "Well, maybe she's nice." 

"Yeah...and maybe not." 

But then the frightened first-years came in, looking about the Great Hall for the first time, ready to be Sorted into their houses. But first, came the Sorting Hat's song. And it sent chills through Cody's body. 

The song told of the beginning of Hogwarts; of how the four founders had been the best of friends. How Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff had been as sisters and Gryffindor and Slytherin had been as brothers. Half the Slytherins were exchanging glances with each other. Cody did not think most of the students would have ever thought that the founders of the Houses that fought most often could be good friends. 

Slytherin, said the Sorting Hat, chose to teach those whose ancestry was purest, while Gryffindor taught the bravest. Ravenclaw prized those of the highest intelligence, and Hufflepuff taught the rest. 

But then the founders began to fight among themselves, and the bonds of friendship began to sever. The Houses,which once had been the stablity and support of the school, began to weaken, and Hogwarts seemed to be fated to an early end. But finally Slytherin left, and the school was left with three. 

The Sorting Hat's entire job was to Sort students into their respective Houses, but he told the assembly this: it was wrong. The song ended with these three verses: 

_Though I must fulfill my duty_   
_And must quarter every year,_   
_Still I wonder whether Sorting_   
_May not bring the end I fear._

_Oh, know the perils, read the signs,_   
_The warning history shows,_   
_For our Hogwarts is in danger_   
_From external, deadly foes._

_And we must unite inside her_   
_Or we'll crumble from within._   
_I have told you, I have warned you..._   
_Let the Sorting now begin._

The students applauded, as usual, when the Hat finished its song, but people were turning to talk to their neighbors, wondering at the rather grim mood of the Sorting Hat's song. 

"It didn't sing that stuff last year, when I got Sorted!" Graham said wonderingly, as Cody sat in his seat. 

"I know...not the last four years, either! Weird...and creepy, too!" 

"I wonder if he means...about You-Know-Who." 

"I bet he does," Cody said quietly. "The Sorting Hat's smart, an' he hangs out in Dumbledore's Office a lot. I bet he knows all about it." 

"I don't think it'll happen though. There's too many people in the school, in _all_ Houses, that are gits." 

Cody sighed quietly and glanced down the table, where Draco and the other fifth-years were sitting. And he thought about Oliver Wood. "Yeah. You're right." 

The new Slytherin students came to join them once the names had been called, and the feast began. Hungry, Cody devoured two helpings of everything before deciding he was satisfied. "Boy, no one goes hungry here!" Cody said. 

"You can say that again," Graham groaned, sliding back in his seat with a look of contentment on his face. "I'm stuffed." 

And as everyone else began to finish, Dumbledore stood up to give the start-of-term notices. Cody liked start-of-term notices a lot better than end-of-term. It meant he had a whole, entire year ahead of him. And there were no unavoidable goodbyes in the near future! 

Dumbledore gave the normal notice about the Forbidden Forest, and how first years should be aware it was out of bounds. And how a few older students should know by now too. Cody snickered. He reminded them (for the four hundred and sixty-second time, according to Filch) that magic was not to be used in corridors between classes, and that students should be aware of all forbidden objects. Cody never did go and look at the list last year! 

He introduced Professor Grubbly-Plank, who would be taking over Care of Magical Creatures again...(Cody grumbled) and Professor Umbridge, who would be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. (Cody and Graham both groaned.) But in the middle of Dumbledore's sentence concerning Quidditch tryouts...the toad woman stood and cleared her throat in a thoroughly irritating fashion. "Hem, hem." Cody, and many students from all four Houses, were giving the woman a strange look, as it had been exceedingly rude just to cut Dumbledore off like that! The other teachers did not seem impressed. 

"Thank you, Headmaster, for those kind words of welcome." 

Cody shuddered; she talked like a Snarf! Worse than a Snarf! Her voice was high-pitched and kind of whiny, as if she thought she was some kind of cutesy cheerleader or something. "Gimme a bloody break," Cody heard one of the older Slytherins mutter. And for once, Cody agreed. 

The woman cleared her throat, and continued her speech. "Well, it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say! And to see such happy little faces looking back at me!" 

Cody blinked, and his face looked anything but happy. A look of purest disgust was painted all over it as he gaped at the woman and her simpering, fawning manner. Did she think this was wizard kindergarten, or what? Cody was the youngest person in the Hall, and even he thought her condescension was revolting. 

"I am very much looking forward to getting to know you all,and I'm sure we'll be very good friends!" 

At this, Cody snorted. 

"Right," Graham muttered. "Right after Dumbledore joins up with You-Know-Who." 

And then, to make matters worse, she began to drone on as if she were reciting from a brochure on the art of magic, how the education of young wizards and witches was so important. She said that while progress was needed to prevent stagnation - 

"Prevent what?" Cody asked. 

"Getting stale,"Graham answered. 

"Oh." 

- that progress for progress' sake should be discouraged, because the old traditions were tried and tested. This teacher seemed to think that she would help the school enter a new, shining area of old a new traditions mixed in a wonderous, happy world. She said that new practices would be embraced, and old ones that no longer worked would be pruned. Blah, blah, blah. 

And just for good measure, some _more_ blah! 

Cody, while he normally would have been bored to tears and fidgeted through the entire thing, tonight he simply sat still and stared. There was something about this woman that got all his natural instincts in an uproar. She was bad, this one. Cody did not clap when she was finished, instead exchanging a somber glance with Graham. 

"What's she on about?" he asked angrily once Dumbledore had been allowed to continue his announcements for Quidditch practices. "Who does she think she is, coming in and messing with our school?" 

"I dunno," Cody said. "I wonder where Dumbledore found her." 

"We should ask. I'll ask my dad...you ask Ron, his dad's in the Ministry too, right?" 

Cody nodded. "Yeah, and they know some of what's going on. I'll ask them tomorrow, then. I've got Potions with the Gryffindors, though I don't think I'll ask then. I'll ask in Defense, where it's just me and the Gryffindors." 

"Okay, I'll write Dad and ask, too. And maybe see if he knows anyhting more." 

"Good idea!" 

When Dumbledore dismissed the students, Cody yawned and headed for his dorm. He said good night to Graham, who headed for the seond-year dorm, then drawled into his bed. His trunk and Merlin sat there, and Cody spent a bit of time feeding his bat and playing with him, before drifting off to sleep. 

--- 

Potions could have been worse. But then it could have been a whole lot better, too. Snape embarrassed Harry in front of the class, as usual, and Neville's Draught of Peace looked like cement. Cody's potion was not as bad as it could be, in fact it looked almsot exactly as it should, and he was pleased with it. He did groan at an evil assignment of a report on the properties of moonstone and how it was used in potions, though. "Homework, already," he grumbled. "And a whole foot!" 

"A foot of parchment," Neville sighed. 

"Yeah, all because he doesn't like Harry. Goyle's was loads worse. His exploded and set himself on fire! Too bad they got it put out." 

Neville snickered. "Yeah, well. I don't reckon it woulda mattered much. He's too thick to feel much pain." 

Cody, eager not to have Potions homework hanging over his head, did it as fast as he could after lunch, and before Study of Ancient Runes. He wrote a bit large, but he did manage to get it done. It was only barely legible, but at least it was there. It was easy to find books on moonstone - with Madame Pince's help, at any rate. Too bad Hogwarts didn't believe in card catalogues; he knew how to use those! 

After lunch was Defense Against the Dark Arts. Cody sat himself down and unclipped his wand from his belt loop beneth his robes. He fidgeted restlessly until Umbridge came into the room, looking as ugly as before. "Well, good afternoon!" she chirped. The class gave a less than enthusiastic response. She made a "tut tut" noise, and said, "That won't do, will it? I should like you please, to reply, 'Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge.' One more time, please. Good afternoon, class!" 

Cody was again reminded of his kindergarten and first-grade classes as he mouthed the words along with everyone else, and felt a high degree of irritation at how she was treating them. 

She smiled at them, revealing teeth like a cannibal's. "There, now. That wasn't too hard, was it? Wands away and quills out, please." 

Perfect, Cody thought. And now we get to take notes. He sighed and clipped his wand away, and brought out his bright orange quill and a length of paper. He watched the woman tap the blackboard, and watched the words "Defense Against the Dark Arts, A Return to Basic Principles" appear on it. 

Umbridge went on to comment on how fragmented their learning had been, and how they would be glad to know that this would be rectified. They would be following a Ministry-approved course! Oh lovely! Cody thought with extreme sarcasm. I just can't wait! She asked them to copy down what she put on the blackboard. 

Cody sighed. Understanding the principles...knowing when magic can be legally used...using defensive magic for... He didn't know a few of the words but he copied them down with bright green ink, anyway. The students were told to open to page five and begin reading, and that there would be no need to talk. 

Wow, Cody thought as he read, trying desperately to force his easily-distracted mind to concentrate. Concentrating was not easy for him to begin with, without reading something as desperately boring and pointless as this. It seemed to be a book filled with how certain magic is used, and what theories were behind it, and how according to this book, people weren't supposed to use any of this stuff unless the whole world was going to end! At least that's what it seemed like! 

A few minutes into this silence, Hermione Granger raised her hand, and after a lot of annoying condescension from Umbridge, asked why there was nothing about _using_ defensive spells. 

Umbridge seemed astonished that she would have to ask such a silly question. Surely she did not expect to be attacked during class! 

Cody gaped at her. "No, but we could be attacked somewhere else, shouldn't we know how to defend -" 

"We're not using magic?" Ron said loudly, cutting Cody off. Cody glared, but saw that Ron probably hadn't even heard Cody, as he had the same look of astonishment on his own face. 

Umbridge looked at the both of them sternly. "Students raise their hands when they wish to speak in my class, Mr..." 

"Weasley," said Ron. 

Cody scowled, as the woman looked at him, and finally told her his name. She looked at him for several moments longer, before turning back to Hermione, and ignoring Ron completely. Ooohhhh, Cody thought, seething. Is she ever a big, fat... He could see right away that this woman was going to push every temper button Cody had! 

Hermione asked if the point of the class was to practice defensive spells. 

"Are you a Ministry-trained educational expert, Miss Granger?" Umbridge cooed patronizingly. 

"No, but -" 

"Well then, I am afraid that you are not qualified to decide what the 'whole point' of any class is. Wizards much older and cleverer than you have devised our new program of study." 

Cody's scowl deepened at this slight to Hermione, and he stared as various people in the class tried to figure out why in the world they would not be practicing defense! And Umbridge's infuriating remarks were along the lines of, "Surely you don't expect to be attacked in my class." That this was school, not the real world, as if school were some fantasy place where everyone was safe and happy. Whe Harry asked if they weren't supposed to be prepared for what's out there...she said that there _was_ nothing out there. There was a reason that she didn't want them learning magic, and Cody was baffled as to why. 

"Who do you imagine wants to attack children like yourself?" asked the woman, her voice sweet, high, and patronizing. 

Harry, whose temper was about at its end, said "Hmmmm, let's think. Maybe Lord Voldemort?" 

Cody raised his brows. His and everyone else's eyes were on Umbridge...and the old toad took ten points from Gryffindor! 

"Now let me make a few things quite plain. You have been told that a certain Dark Wizard has returned from the dead." 

"He wasn't dead," said Harry. "But yeah, he's returned." 

"Mr. Potter, you have already lost your house ten points, do not make matters worse for yourself! As I was saying, you have been informed that a certain Dark Wizard is at large once again. This is a lie." 

"It is NOT a lie! I saw him, I fought him!" 

"Detentnion, Mr. Potter! Tomorrow evening. Five o'clock. My office. I repeat, this is a lie. The Ministry of Magic guarantees that you are not in any danger from any Dark wizard. 

Cody snorted, unable to keep silent any more. "That's because all the people at the Ministry are too scared to believe the truth." 

Umbridge turned to glare at him at this insult to the Ministry. "Twenty points from...Slytherin, is it? Yes, twenty from Slytherin, Mr. DeDannan, and if you speak once more out of turn, you will also receive detention." While Cody seethed, his fists clenched, fighting tears of helpless fury, Umbridge went on. "If you are still worried, by all means come and see me outside class hours. If someone is alarming you with fibs about reborn Dark wizards, I would like to hear about it. I am here to help. I am your friend. And now, you will kindly continue your reading. Page five, Basics for Beginners." 

Harry Potter stood from his seat. "So," he said loudly. "According to you, Cedric Diggory dropped dead of his own accord, did he?" 

Umbridge was not amused. "Cedric Diggory's death was a tragic accident." 

Cody wondered if she truly believed that. 

"It was murder," said Harry furiously. "Voldemort killed him, and you know it." 

Cody was certain that Potter had just gotten himself into deep trouble. But for now,all that happened was that Umbridge put on her sick smile again, and said, "Come here, Mr.Potter, dear." She gave him a pieve of revoltingly pink parchment and told him to take it to Professor McGonagall. Harry snatched the parchment and left, slamming the door. 

Cody looked around the room; Hermione looked anxious,and Ron seemed torn between anxiety and fury over Umbridge's unfairness. Cody's own expression was sheer fury. 

"Now," said Umbridge, her simpering smile back on her fat face. "You see what happens when people tell fibs? I see many angry, upset faces... I tell you again, there is no need to worry." 

Cody took a very big breath and closed his eyes for several seconds. He managed not to cry, and felt somewhat proud of himself for that,enough that he could open his eyes agian without having to fight losing his temper. He raised his hand. 

"Yes, Mr. DeDannan?" 

"Are you saying that there's no Dark wizards in England?" 

She smiled sweetly. "That is what I'm saying." 

"Okay...so...Dark wizards are the only ones who do bad things? I mean kids in America get taught not to talk to strangers, and stuff because there's a lot of bad peoiple that attack and hurt kids just because they want to." 

Umbridge smiled in what Cody assumed she fancied a reassuring way. "Well now, that's what the Ministry is for, isn't it? To protect children! Now, back to your reading, please." 

Either she was really stupid, or she was deliberately lying, and either way, Cody felt she should not be a teacher! Fuming, he slammed his book open and pretended to read. 


	41. Year 5, Chapter 4: Ministry Meddling

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 4: Ministry Meddling**

That night, Cody fumed and ranted to Graham about Umbridge, and he seemed as astounded as the fifth-years had. "She is not going to let you do magic." 

"Nope." 

"She says you should be able to pass your O.W.L.s just by learning the theory." 

"Yep." 

"No!" 

"Yep." Cody scowled darkly and crossed his arms. 

"You've got to be joking! Did you find out why she's here?" 

Cody shook his head. "No, I didn't get to talk to the Gryffindors much today. But we've got Care of Magical Creatures tomorrow. Maybe I can ask them then." 

"And she took points off you?" 

Cody snorted. "I said something bad about the Ministry. I guess that's against the law." 

Graham frowned. "Sounds like something Hitler woulda done...punished someone for speaking against the government." 

"Yeah, well, they just don't want everyone to find out what a stupid prat Fudge is," Cody grumbled darkly. "And he's a coward, too. Bet he wasn't in Gryffindor when he went here." 

Cody did manage to talk with Harry and the others a bit during Care of Magical Creatures, though they didn't have the chance to talk a whole lot. They were studying bowtruckles, and had to make a drawing of one. This Cody actually enjoyed. He did find out, however, that Umbridge worked for the Ministry of Magic. This was something that Cody was less than pleased to hear. "That old cow," he growled in a low voice. "I can't beleive what she...the way she was - I mean..." Cody let out a growl as he failed to find the words the described the foul woman. 

"I know what you mean," said Harry quietly. "She's a right old cow. Actually she's worse than that, but I'm trying to be civil for now." 

This actually made Cody giggle, putting him in a bit of a better mood. 

But his next period managed to chase away the good mood quite nicely. Herbology, normally not fun to begin with, got him feeling quite nervous,as Professor Sprout also spent the whole first part of class talking about how important O.W.L.s were. Not only that, she assigned them an essay to do. Cody hated essays. 

Cody saw very little of his friends from Gryffindor the rest of the week. Between all of his work, and choir and Quidditch practice, Cody was very busy. He did not even have a whole lot of time to spend with Graham, which he didn't really appreciate much. 

To his annoyance, Goyle replaced Bole as Beater, since last year had been Bole's seventh. But at least it hadn't been Crabbe. Montague was the new Captain, and they'd gotten a third-year to replace Flint as Chaser. At least Cody and Goyle got along well enough at practice, and seemed to work fairly well together. Even Malfoy didn't bug him as much as he could when they were playing Quidditch. 

That weekend, Cody spent some time with the Gryffindors, getting caught up on all that happened. Ron had made prefect! Not only that, but he had tried out for, and gotten, the position of Keeper on the Gryffindor team, since Wood had gone. "Wow, awesome!" Cody exclaimed at the news. "I sure am glad that Wood's gone, he was kind a git." The four students were walking around the lake, and watching the giant squid's tentacles breaking the water every once in a while. 

"Yeah, well, he was a good Keeper." 

Cody shrugged. "Okay so he was a good Keeper and a good git." He grinned as Ron rolled his eyes. 

"So what's the Slytherin lineup look like?" 

Cody shrugged. "Pretty much the same. Got a new Chaser, I dunno who he is though. Goyle's the other Beater. He's not bad." 

"Bet you're better, though," said Ron. "I mean, you don't need a diagram to find the Bludgers, at least." 

Cody's eyes widened, and he covered the snicker that escaped his mouth, and then shook his head. "Thanks. Still, he's strong, so when he hits the Bludgers, they really go flying. I wish I could hit them that hard. I still owe George a Bludger." 

"So what do you think of that Umbridge woman?" Hermione asked. 

Cody's lip curled almost of its own accord. "I think she's dumb. And mean. And how she treats people is awful! She acts like we're in preschool or something!" 

Hermione nodded. "Yeah. She's from the Ministry, you know. I'd bet anything she's spying for Fudge. You remember him last year, what he said in the hospital wing when Dumbledore told about You-Know-Who. Thinks that Harry was lying, and that Dumbledore's gone off the deep end." 

"Plus what he's been having the Prophet say about Harry," Ron growled. 

Cody frowned. "What's the Prophet saying?" 

"You probably don't get the Daily Prophet there, huh?" Cody shook his head. "Well they've been spending all summer slipping in snide little comments about Harry being some kid who wants people to think he's a hero, so he makes up all these stories." 

Cody gaped, his mouth open in a gesture of sheer astonishment. "What? But...but he's not! He was telling the truth! Is that what the Ministry does, is lie about people? Lie about _kids?_ I thought grown-ups were supposed to help kids, not try and make fun of them!" 

"Fudge is so desperate not to believe that You-Know-Who is back, and to keep his stupid job, that he'll do anything,"said Hermione disgustedly. 

"He's just afraid," said Harry. "I can't believe that this is the man that's in charge of the wizarding governments. Yeah, I feel real safe with him in charge." 

Cody stomped the ground in frustration. "And since they got all the power, there's nothing that anyone can do! Fudge makes friends with Death Eaters, but makes fun of the people that'll help against the bad guys!" 

"That's _exactly_ what he's doing," said Hermione. "And if he doesn't wise up soon, You-Know-Who's going to be back to full power again, and..." she trailed off, but the look in her eyes was fearful, and Cody knew what she was thinking. He had heard the stories of what it was like with You-Know-Who around. 

Harry told Cody how Dumbledore had been sacked from his positions in the Wizengamot and International Confederation of Wizards...seemed that Fudge didn't care whose life was ruined, so long as he came out looking good! Seemed that it just kept getting worse and worse! 

Ron told Cody about how Percy had left home, how he had had a fight with Mr. Weasley, saying that Percy's loyalty was with the Ministry, not his own family. Cody was shocked at this. "He doesn't believe about You-Know-Who either?" 

"No." Ron sighed. "You're kinda lucky. You don't have to worry about You-Know-Who in America." 

"Well...there's a wizard in America I talk to a lot, his name's Tony," Cody said. "He said that there were Death Eaters in America, also. No one knows if they were really with You-Know-Who, you know, if they'd ever even met him, or if they just liked his way, and started their own group. But...he says that there's been word from the wizards in America of something big happening." 

This seemed rather unnerving to the Gryffindors, and Cody didn't blame them. "There's Death Eaters in America?" Ron said faintly. 

"Don't tell me he's got support in other countries!" said Harry in astonishment. 

Cody shrugged. "I dunno. They might just be copycats. I hope so, anyway. Oh!" Cody's eyes widened, and he clapped a hand over his mouth. "I almost forgot, I gotta talk to Dumbledore! I'll do that at supper. Anyways, what happened over the summer with you guys?" 

And so Cody was told of the happenings of the summer, of the dementors that had attacked Harry right in his own neighborhood, and how the entire wizard court tried him for his use of magic against them, and how Fudge had tried very hard to get Harry expelled. Cody sputtered angrily at the unfairness of the whole thing. "I can't believe that...that the grown-ups in...in charge are doing this! Don't they know that it hurts people when they do that?" 

"I don't expect they care,"said Harry wearily. "Just so they get what they want." 

There was little to say after that, because there weren't words for how wrong people were acting. 

Eventually, though, the mood turned, and they did get into a friendly argument about who was gonna win the first Gryffindor/Slytherin match. Cody was thoroughly outnumbered but that didn't stop him from happily predicting a spectacular win on Slytherin's part. 

Harry and Ron had practice that afternoon, so Cody spent it with Graham, and that night at supper, he ate his meal quickly and went up to the staff table. Very carefully not looking at Professor Umbridge, he stood on his toes and whispered in Dumbleore's ear, asking if they could talk privately. Dumbledore surprised Cody by saying that yes, they could. They could go right then, if he wanted. But then as smart as Dumbledore was, he probably knew that it was important. 

Cody nodded. "Yeah, that'd be cool. Thanks." 

Dumbledore smiled, and stood from his chair. "I shall return," he told the staff gathered there, and led Cody from the Hall. Cody glanced back and saw an ugly look on Umbridge's face. He gave her a cheery smirk, then left the Hall. 

Once in Dumbledore's office, Cody found himself feeling slightly intimidated, as always. Part of this was the pictures of all of the Hogwarts Headmasters and Headmistresses, looking down on him. A private chat with Dumbledore didn't feel so private, even though he knew that the portraits certainly wouldn't go blabbing. 

He looked up and caught a glimpse of Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix, and smiled. "Hi, Fawkes," he said. He was struck, as always, by the phoenix's beauty, and smiled when the bird let him stroke his feathers a couple of times. 

"What did you have on your mind?" Dumbledore asked the boy, his tone as warm and calm as ever. 

"Well...okay. You know I live in America, right?" Dumbledore smiled a bit and nodded. "Well there's a wizard there, his name's Tony Barado. And I talk to him a lot and we talked about Voldemort and Death Eaters." As Dumbledore listened, Cody told him of the conversation he and Tony had had over the summer, about how there was possible Death Eater activity in the States, and how it was possible that Voldemort has support there. "Tony doesn't know if they're just copycats or not," said Cody. "But they _could_ be, you know, in contact with Voldemort. Tony says that there's a lot of wizards in America who can help England if that kinda thing happens. An' Tony said that I was kinda a link betwwen them and England so he wanted me to tell you because you're one of the most powerful wizards in the world." 

Dumbledore smiled at this, and nodded his head. "I am honored by your praise, Cody," he said quietly. Cody flushed a little, but smiled. "This is indeed something that could complicate matters further. You know, of course, of the difficulties that I have encountered concerning Lord Voldemort?" 

Cody nodded. "Yeah, the Ministry is being a bunch of, er, well...you know," he said, faltering. His face turned yet redder as he thought about what he had nearly said in front of Dumbledore. 

Again, Dumbledore's eyes crinkled in a smile. "Yes, I do mean that. The Ministry refuses to acknowledge Voldemort's presense, much less are willing to help. We may need all the assistance we can get. Please go ahead and write Mr, Barado tonight, and be _very_ careful of your wording, but let him know that I have received his message, and to thank him for the information." 

Cody grinned. "Okay! I can do that tonight." 

"Now, I have something to tell you. Be careful. I know that Dolores Umbridge disapproves of a child as young as you being at Hogwarts period, much less in the fifth year, and I fear she may try to get you kicked out." At Cody's look of alarm, Dumbledore grasped the boy's shoulder. "That will not happen so long as I am Headmaster. But should anything happen, be prepared." 

"She can't kick me out!" Cody cried, dismayed. "I passed all my exams, an' helped with bad guys, an' am learning all the magic,an' even got a really high grade in Astronomy, all four years! Just 'cuz I'm ten, I mean...I can handle this stuff! I'm tough!" 

Dumbledore closed his eyes and reaised his hands. "Please, calm yourself, Mr.DeDannan. As I have said, as long as I am Headmaster, you are welcome in this school. But I want you to be aware." 

The headmaster was very good at calming people down, and Cody found that his words were very reassuring. "Okay," he finally said. "But...but why is she like that? I mean..." 

Dumbledore stood with a small sigh, and steered Cody toward the door. "I don't know. I only know I must do all I can to try and get the Ministry to see the light, else once Voldemort returns..." 

Cody understood quite well. 

--- 

That night, he wrote the following: 

_ Tony - I gave your message, and he says thanks, and that he got your message. Hope everything's okay. Can you watch my mom and Samantha? And tell Samantha I said she's a twerp? Thanks!_

_ - Cody_

Cody looked it over, decided it was safe, and went to see if Merlin was up to taking a letter. He was sleeping in his cage, and so Cody decided to send the message with one of the school owls. 

He had never actually used a school owl before, and had to ask a sixth-year boy from Hufflepuff that he met in the corridors where the Owlery was. Once he found his way there, he looked up in fascination at how many there were. "Neat." 

He went over to the nearest owl, a big brown one, and was relieved when it stuck out its leg without any fuss. Cody didn't know how to work with owls. He tied the letter to its leg, told him it needed to go to the Owl Post Office to send it, and watched it fly away into the night. Yawning, he made his way back down to the dorms. 

Cody did not know it then, but he had spoken with Dumbledore just in time, for after that weekend, that kind of secret talk would become increasingly more difficult. 

--- 

Having slept in a bit late the next morning, everyone was already in the Great Hall when he came in. He glanced over at the Gryffindor table and noticed that his friends there looked less than pleased, and that was a gross understatement. His curiosity getting the better of him, he wandered over, rubbing his eyes of sleep. "What's going on?" he asked, walking over to where Hermione was apparently reading the paper. 

"This," she said grimly, handing Cody the Daily Prophet. 

Cody blinked, and then his eyes widened. "High Inquisitor? What -" 

"Just read on," said Hermione. 

Cody did, his eyes narrowing as he read all about the supposed "failing standards" at the school, and how Dumbledore's questionable decisions included the hiring of Hagrid, and Lupin, and Mad-Eye Moody. Percy Weasley was mentioned in there, and Cody hissed at his name. 

"She's got some sort of problem with part-humans," Harry growled. "I guess she passed some kind of law that made it impossible for Lupin to get a job." 

Cody's eyes widened and he began to shake with anger. "So she makes life as miserable as she can for them?" 

"That's about it." 

Cody scowled deeply, going back to the article. "So she gets to...inspect teachers an' make sure that they're talling the same lies that the ministry is, is that it?" Cody said. 

"Shh!" Ron hissed. "Keep your voice down!" 

"Fair ev-alu...ation. What's that?" 

"Just means the inspection," Hermione said. "If you evaluate something you make sure that whatever it is, is doing what it's supposed to." 

Cody gave the picture of Umbridge a filthy look, then turned that look up to the staff table, where the real Umbridge sat. She wasn't paying much attention at the moment to the students. 

"Well...we're off to Binns'class," said Harry, standing up. "See you in Potions, I guess." 

Cody nodded and gave Hermione the paper. "Okay...man this sucks. I mean..." He trailed off, feleing utterly helpless and frustrated. 

"I know,"said Harry. "I know just what you mean." 

Cody went straight to class, wearing a dark scowl the entire time. 

--- 

Cody's Moonstone essay got an A, which stood for Acceptable. It was the last passing grade one could receive. Supposedly, Snape had graded them as if they were on an O.W.L. exam, but Cody doubted that the grades had been as fair as all that. He thought he might have seen an A on Hermione's paper, but since she was in Gryffindor and Cody was Slytherin, he didn't think that was much of an indication of how good Cody's paper was. 

His Ancient Runes class was going quite well, and he even escaped without any homework to do. They had spent the entire period looking at replicas of the old runes, the ones whose power and magic were strongest. The professor had given a demonstration on creating the four elements with some of those runes, something that the students would be doing that year, and then received applause from the entire class when he combined those elements to make a thunderstorm, right in the classrom. Cody stared, fascinated, at the mini storm in the middle of the room. "Wow! Can _we_ do that?" 

The professor chuckled. "Possibly. Now that you're getting into the old magicks, some of you will have mastered the glyphs well enough by the end of the year. Certainly you won't need to know it for your O.W.L.s." 

Still, it was something to shoot for! 

--- 

Defense Against the Dark Arts was lousy, as usual. Reading on theories, and nothing else. And then, Hermione got points docked for interrupting the class when she offered her opinion on something she had read in chapter fifteen. Harry stood up in Hermione's defense, which prompted yet another of Umbridge's blabberings about age-appropriate material... "Yeah, if you're six," Cody snorted under his breath. He had taken to sitting in the back, and only Neville and Dean had heard what he said. Neville smiled a little. 

And when Umbridge said that only Quirrel would have passed a Ministry inspection, Harry said "Yeah, Quirrel was a great teacher. There was just that minor drawback of him having Lord Voldemort sticking out of the back of his head." 

Cody snickered, but poor Harry got another week's worth of detention. And the next day in the Great Hall, Angelina Johnson turned heads all over the Hall, chewing Harry out for getting detention. "She's as bad as Wood was!" Cody said in amazement. 

"Wood?" asked Graham. 

"Yeah, he left before you came here. He was Gryffindor's Quidditch captain. And he was a jerk. He called me scrawny once. But that's okay, me and the other Beater nailed him at a Quidditch game with a couple of Bludgers." 

"Oh...look, Professor McGonagall's giving Harry a telling off too...he gets into a lot of trouble, huh?" 

Cody sighed. "Yeah. And mostly just 'cuz he's doing what he thinks is right. Kinda makes me wonder what it is grown-ups want to teach kids. To think for themselves, or to just do what people tell them to." 

"That second one." 

"Yeah, that's what I thought. 

--- 

Cody had History of Magic that day, and Umbridge was there to give Binns his inspection. Although it was clear that the idea of inspecting a ghost was distasteful to her, at least she didn't seem to be able to find anything wrong with how he taught. He was perfectly boring. 

The next inspected class was Care of Magical Creatures. Umbridge tried to find out why Hagrid was not there, but Grubbly-Plank didn't know, for which Cody was grateful. Umbridge asked some members of the class about it,and Malfoy piped up that he had gotten injured by a hippogriff...but when Harry said it was because Malfoy was too stupid to listen to instructions, he got another nights' detention. That was NOT fair! He hadn't broken any rules! He shouldn't have gotten detention, just for telling the truth! It seemed that if you wanted to get along with Umbridge, you had to lie a lot! Cody spent the class alternately glaring at her, and Malfoy. 

A week before the first Hogsmeade weekend, Hermione approached Cody before supper, and said, "We've had an idea." She pulled Cody aside and spoke softly, making sure no one was stopping to eavesdrop. "Harry, Ron and I have talked about taking things into our own hands and learning Defense Against the Dark Arts ourselves, you know, learning counter jinxes and defenses, and practicing them. Harry's gonna sorta be in charge of teaching us. You interested?" 

Cody frowned. "But Umbridge..." 

Hermione shook her head. "I've double checked all the rules, and there's nothing that we're really breaking, per se. But we're still going to keep it hidden if we can. We're meeting in the Hog's Head tavern in Hogsmeade in October. Everyone who's interested is going to be there." 

Cody grinned, and nodded. "Okay! I'll be there!" 

"Great. Oh, and don't tell any of the other Slytherins, all right?" 

Cody frowned. "What about Graham? He won't snitch, I swear." 

Hermione looked at him a moment, considering. "I'll let you make that decision," she said finally. "But he's the only one, if you choose to tell him. And he's got to know he can't tell _anyone_." 

Cody nodded. "Okay." 

"All right. Hog's Head. Oh, and unless you intend to get a drink that's in bottles...bring your own glass." Leaving Cody feeling bewildered, Hermione headed to the Gryffindor table. 

Cody did tell Graham, and was slightly surprised when he said he didn't want to go. "Well, it's more like I want to, but if I get expelled, my mum'll kill me. And my dad's in the Ministry an' everything." 

Cody nodded. "That's okay. I just wanted to ask you. But you've got to_ swear_ not to tell _anyone_. Especially the other Slytherins. Do you swear?" 

Graham nodded. "Yes, I swear. I hope you guys are able to do it, though. That'll show that old bat!" Merlin, hanging from Cody's robes, made a sound of offense at this analogy, and both boys laughed. "Sorry, Merlin," said Graham. "I meant 'hag'." 

Satisfied, Merlin quieted down. 


	42. Year 5, Chapter 5: Banding Together

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 5: Banding Together**

On a chilly October morning, Cody made his way out the door along with everyone else, heading for the village of Hogsmeade, and the Hog's Head Tavern. On the way, he met the Weasley twins (and Lee Jordan), and grinned. "Hello, Cody!" said George. "And where are you off to on this fine day?" All three were carrying big bags from Zonko's joke shop, which had Cody worrying a bit. 

Quietly, Cody said, "The Hog's Head!" 

George smiled knowingly and said, just as quietly, "Aha! Yet another fine wizard, off to undermine the authority of the biggest cow at Hogwarts, eh?" 

Cody laughed delightedly. "You said it!" 

"Well then, come on! We can't keep our fine instructor waiting, now can we?" 

And so they continued. Cody managed to persuade Fred to give him a piggy-back ride there, and was laughing by the time they arrived at the dingy little bar. Fred swooped down to set Cody on the ground and pretended to collapse. "You've got to lose some weight there, mate!" he gasped, as Cody put his hands on his hips and looked extremely indignant. "Oy, my back's broken!" 

"It is not!" said Cody, trying not to grin. 

But Fred moaned in "agony" a few more minutes before staggering to his feet and opening the door. "Well, maybe only sprained; come on, then!" 

Grumbling about smart-alecky Weasleys, Cody followed Fred inside, George and Lee stepping in behind him. 

The bar was very small, and filthy enough that even Cody was reluctant to sit down anywhere. The bar was crusted with old dirt, and the floor was not distinguishable from the ground outside. An old barman wiped a glass with a rag that only made the glass dirtier all the time. He was looking rather stunned at the large group of students in the room. 

Fred Weasley ordered butterbeers for everyone and gathered the money for it all. Cody passed his sickles up and gladly took his bottle. It was cold out, and butterbeer tended to warm him up. Cody sat between George Weasley and Neville Longbottom. "Hi!" he said to Neville. 

"Hello!" 

There were a few people that Cody knew, and many he did not. He knew one of the Ravenclaws, and recognized one of the Hufflepuff Quidditch players. Several Gryffindors...he was the only Slytherin there, at which he was not surprised. He did not mind. Most people there liked him okay. 

Hermione got everyone's attention, and in a sort of halting voice, began to tell people why they were there. That she'd had the idea that they could study Defense Against the Dark Arts, and not "the rubbish that Umbridge is doing with us, because nobody could call that Defense Against the Dark Arts." 

"Yeah!" Cody agreed wholeheartedly, and a boy called, "Hear, hear!" 

"Well, I thought it would be good if we, well, took matters into our own hands. And by that I mean learning how to defend ourselves properly, not just theory but the real spells." Someone mentioned that Hermione wanted to pass her Defense O.W.L., and she said that yes, of course she did. But beside that, she wanted to learn defense. "Because Lord Voldemort's back." 

Cody raised his brow, not having expected her to say it aloud. A few students cried out in alarm, and most at least shudderd or flinched, or winced. But everyone was looking now at Harry. 

The Hufflepuff Quidditch player, however, seemed rather skeptical. "Where's the proof You-Know-Who's back?" he demanded. 

"You mean Voldemort?" Cody said innocently. The Hufflepuff glared at him. "His name can't hurt you, you know." 

"Who asked you, you miserable little serpent?" the boy said with a rather vexed look. 

"Serpent!" Cody clenched his fists and stood up. "Just because you're too scared to say his name!" 

"All right stop it, both of you!" said Hermione, glaring at them. "We're on the same side here, this is just the kind of thing Professor Dumbledore was talking about. Voldemort...is good at causing fighting and dissention. And now that he's back -" 

"And I say again," said the boy, "where's the proof?" 

"Well, Dumbledore believes it." 

"You mean Dumbledore believes him." He nodded to Harry. Ron asked the boy who he was, and he said that his name was Zacharias Smith, and that they had the right to know exactly what made Harry say that You-Know-Who was back. 

Hermione began to protest, but Harry said, "It's all right, Hermione." He looked Zacharias in the eye. "What makes me say You-Know-Who's back? I saw him. But Dumbledore told the whole school what happened last year, and if you didn't believe him, you don't believe me, and I'm not wasting an afternoon trying to convince anyone." 

Zacharias said that all Dumbledore said was that Cedric Diggory got killed by You-Know-Who. No details... Cody vowed that when Slytherin and Hufflepuff next played, that this blond prat was going to get a Bludger, courtesy of Cody's Beater's bat. 

Harry said that if he had come to hear eaxctly what it looks like when Voldemort murders someone that Harry couldn't help him. That he did not want to talk about Cedric and if that's what they were there for, they might as well leave. 

After a few moments' silence, Hermione said, "So...so like I was saying...if you want to learn some defense, then we need to work out how we're going to do it, how often we're going to meet, and where we're going to-" 

A girl interrupted to ask Harry if it was true that he could produce a Patronous...a corporeal one. 

"A what?" Cody asked Neville, who shrugged. 

"It means solid," said Lee Jordan. 

"Er, you don't know Madame Bones, do you?" Harry asked. 

"She's my auntie. I'm Susan Bones." Cody remembered her from his Sorting! She had been sorted into Hufflepuff, if he remembered right. "So - is it really true? You make a stag Patronus?" 

"Yes,"said Harry. 

Lee looked very impressed. "Blimey, Harry! I never knew that!" 

With a grin, Fred told him that Mrs.Weasley had told them not to spread it around, said Harry got enough attention as it was. 

"She's not wrong," said Harry. 

The next few minutes were spent asking Harry did he really do this, or that? And of those who knew him saying, "And yeah, he did this, and this..." 

Finally, Harry spoke again. "Look. I - I don't want to sound like I'm trying to be modest or anything, but I had a lot of help with all that stuff." 

"Not against the dragon, you didn't," said one boy. "That was a seriously cool bit of flying." 

"Yeah, well..." 

"And nobody helped you get rid of those dementors this summer," said Susan Bones. 

"No...no, okay, I know I did bits of it without help, but the point I'm trying to make is -" 

Zacharias interrupted. "Are you trying to weasel out of showing us any of this stuff?" When Ron invited him to shut his mouth, he said, "Well, we've all turned up to learn from him, and now he's telling us he can't really do any of it." 

"That's not what he said," said Fred angrily. 

George reached into one of the Zonko's bags and pulled out a long, metal something that Cody couldn't identify; it looked painful. "Would you like us to clean your ears out for you?" he asked casually. 

"Or any part of your body, really," said Fred. "We're not fussy where we stick this." 

Cody's eyes were wide as Hermione quickly spoke up. "Yes, well, the point is, are we agreed we want to take lessons from Harry?" Most people seemed to agree. "Right. Well then, the next question is how often we do it. I don't really think there's any point in meeting less than once a week." 

"Hang on," said Angelina Johnson. "We need to make sure this doesn't clash with out Quidditch practice." 

"No, nor with ours," said Cho. 

"Not ours," said Zacharias. 

"Or ours," said Cody. Wow, he thought. There were players from each team here. 

"Who cares about yours?" said Zacharias, giving Cody a look of sheer annoyance. 

"I do!" said Cody, his temper rising. This kid was a jerk! 

"Well none of us do!" 

"Hey," said George, brandishing the metal object in front of Zacharias' face. "Why don't you shut your mouth and stop speaking for other people." 

"I'm sure we can find a night that suits everyone," said Hermione. "But you know, this is rather important, we're talking about learning to defend ourselves against V-Voldemort's Death Eaters." 

"Well said!" said one of the Hufflepuff boys. Cody wasn't sure who he was, but he had a prefect's badge on and he was fairly sure he was a fifth-year. "Personally I think this is really important, possibly more important than anything else we'll do this year, even with our O.W.L.s coming up! I, personally, am at a loss as to why the Ministry has foisted..." Foisted? Cody thought. "...such a useless teacher upon us at this critical period. Obviously they are in denial about the return of You-Know-Who, but to give us a teacher who is trying to actively prevent us from using defensive spells..." 

Hermione said that she thought that Umbridge did not want them trained in Defense Against the Dark Arts, becuase she thought that Dumbledore would use the students as a sort of private army against the Ministry. "What?" said Cody in disbelief. "What a dork!" 

"Well that makes sense," said the dreamy voice of Luna Lovegood. "After all, Cornelius Fudge has got his own private army." 

This, apparently, was news to everyone. "What?" said Harry. 

"Yes, he's got an army of heliopaths." 

"No he hasn't," said Hermione. 

"Yes, he has." Neville asked what heliopaths were,and Luna said they were spirits of fire who burned everything they touched. This sparked off a rather heated argument between Hermione and Luna as to whether they existed, until an alarming "Hem, hem," stopped everyone talking at once. 

But it had only been Ginny, in an eerie imitation of Professor Umbridge. "Whoa, that was scary, Ginny," said Cody, whose heart was beating faster than he was accustomed to. 

Ginny looked pleased with the comment, and reminded everyone they were trying to decide when to meet. 

"Yes," said Hermione. "Yes we were, you're right." 

Lee Jordan said that once a week sounded cool, and Angelina began to remind everyone again about Quidditch. She really did remind Cody of Wood! But then Hermione brought up the question: _where_ would they meet? 

One of the Gryffindor Chasers suggested the library, but Harry said he didn't think that Madame Pince would be real happy with them practicing jinxes in the library. Cody tended to agree, Madame Pince was almost as scary as Professor McGongall, and a lot grumpier! (And that was saying something.) 

Finally Hermione said they would figure out a place when they were ready for the first meeting. And then she pulled out a piece of paper. "I-I think everyone here should write their name down, just so we know who was here. But I also think that we all ought to agree not to shout about what we're doing. So if you sign, you're agreeing not to tell Umbridge, or anyone else, what we're up to." 

The Weasley twins signed their names, and handed the parchment to Cody. "Does it have to be signed?" the boy asked. "You know, in cursive?" 

"No, you can print it," said Hermione with a little smile. 

"Oh, okay cool." Cody took out his quill and printed his name in neon green ink. "I love this ink." He glared up at Zacharias, and tried passing him the paper, but he was balking. 

"Er...well, I'm sure Ernie will tell me when the meeting is." 

"Chicken," Cody whispered, earning a dirty look. 

The Hufflepuff prefect looked at Hermione uncertainly. "I - well, we are prefects," he said. "And if this list was found, well I mean to say...you said yourself, if Umbridge finds out..." 

"You just said this group was the most important thing you'd do this year," said Harry. 

"I - yes, yes I do believe that, it's just..." 

Hermione seemed annoyed. "Ernie, do you really think I'd leave this list lying around?" 

As he thought about this, Ernie seemed to realize that no, she would not. "No. No, of course not. I - yes, of course I'll sign." He took the parchment from Cody and signed his name with a flourish. 

Once everyone had signed, the Weasley wtins stood up with the excuse that they had "items of a sensitive nature" to purchase. Cody said goodbye to the others, and ran out after them. "George?" he said. "What was that metal thing you were gonna stick up Zacharias'..." 

George actually laughed aloud. "Do you really want to know?" 

Cody glanced at the sharp tip of the thing sticking out of the Zonko's bag, and finally shook his head. "Uh...no. No, I don't." 

George grinned evilly, and waved, as he, Fred, and Lee headed off down the street. 

Cody had a bit of time before he had to return to school, and so he figured that he would get his Christmas shopping done. He had coins in his pouch, which was tied to his belt loop, and ideas in mind for everyone on his list. He wondered as he walked through the town why all the magical stuff around here had "Hog" in the name; Hogsmeade, Hogwarts, Hog's Head... 

As he came out of Zonko's joke shop, he literally bumped into a tall, skinny someone who was walking down the cobblestoned street. "Whoops, sorry," he said. 

The person looked down at him, and though the hood of his cloak was up, Cody realized that he knew this person. He didn't know his name, but he had been in Slytherin. His hair was long and orangish red; his eyes were as blue as ice, and about as cold. He smiled at Cody, though it was not a friendly smile. "I remember you," he said quietly. 

That might not be a good thing, Cody thought, looking up at the boy. "Yeah I remember you too," said Cody. "You're that creepy seventh-year that told me off in the common room one night." And he had, too, saying that the Dark Lord's name was not for "those such as us" to say. 

The older boy (not really a boy, anymore) only nodded in reply to this, though his cold eyes remained fixed on Cody's face. "Yes. I remember you indeed; we shall meet again." And with that, the boy swept off down the street. 

"Yeah...great...see you then." Frowning, Cody watched the boy walk off with his head in the air, and wondered if his arm yet bore the mark of a Skull and a Serpent. Shaking his head, he headed back for Hogwarts. 

--- 

Graham did not ask about the meeting, in fact did not seem to remember Cody having mentioned that, which was probably just as well. He did ask Cody what he got at Hogsmeade, and though Cody didn't show Graham the gift he would get for Christmas, he did show him all the others. "Oh, and I got a Blood Lollipop, too," Cody said. 

Graham looked taken aback. "Er, a Blood..._what?_" 

"Lollipop!" Cody watched him for a minute, trying not to laugh, as it looked like Graham were trying to decide if Cody had been turned into a vampire while visiting Hogsmeade, or if he was just crazy. Finally, Cody laughed. "It's not real blood, it's just a flavoring." 

Though he looked a little relieved, Graham's eyes were still fairly wide. "I see...do you _like_ them?" 

"Well, they're okay, I mean they're not really gross or anything." His smile became a bit more impish. "But I eat them so I can gross other people out. It's fun." 

At this, Graham did laugh. "I was beginning to worry about you, Cody." He shook his head. "I still think you're really strange, though." 

"Thanks!" 

--- 

Sunday afternoon, the Slytherins had Quidditch practice, and practice went well. Cody did not get hit with a Bludger, and when he batted the evil things, they usually went where he wanted them to. Malfoy caught a glancing blow from one that nearly unseated him from his broom,though, which put Cody in a good mood. Graham had come out to watch practice for a while, alternately shouting encouragements and friendly insults at Cody. Cody finally smirked and batted a Bludger towards him, making him scramble for cover. He grinned as Graham shook his fist. 

Cody did not want to wake on Monday morning,but he had to; it was time for classes. And while yes, Hogwarts classes were a great deal more intreresting than normal school (except Binns' class), they were also harder and longer. 

He rubbed his eyes hard, dressed in his school robe (he still had to have Graham help him with his tie, and vowed never to wear one again once he was out of school school) and headed for the common room. 

He got a big surprise once he got there. A large group in front of the announcement board drew his attention there, and once he had pushed past all the taller students, he saw what they were all looking at. It was a notice, by the "High Inquisitor" of Hogwarts. And it read: 

_ All student organizations, societies, teams, groups,and clubs are henceforth disbanded._   
_ An organization, society, team, group, or club is defined as a regular meeting of three or more students. Permission to reform may be sought from the High Inquisitor of Hogwarts (Professor Umbridge.)_   
_ No student organization, society, team, group, or club may exist without the knowledge and approval of the High Inquisitor._   
_ Any student to have formed, or belong to, an organization, society, team, group, or club that has not been approved by the High Inquisitor will be expelled._   
_ The above is in accordance with Educational Decree Number Twenty-Four._

_ Signed, Dolores Jane Umbridge. High Inquisitor._

"What the..." Cody murmured. How had she known? She had to know, this had to be because she knew about their meeting in the Hog's Head... Narrowing his eyes, Cody left the common room and headed for breakfast. 

At breakfast, Cody glances at the Gryffindor table, and saw the twins looking back at him. They must have gotten the notice in Gryffindor Tower, as well. He considered joining them, but Hermione was motioning frantically to some of the Ravenclaws who were heading there to go sit back down, and so he decided not to join them just yet. He realized by Hermione's urgency that it likely would look suspicious. 

The Slytherins were all talking about the notice,and one of the girls who was in choir with Cody told him that meant choir, too! "The choirmaster's gonna have to go and talk to Umbridge and her permission to keep having choir practice and rehersals!" 

"Yeah, and we've got that concert for Christmas, the one where the parents are gonna come watch and stuff!" 

"I know. What a pain." Shaking her head, the girl went off to talk with her friends. 

And as Cody thought of that, he realized that it meant Quidditch! That miserable bat! She was power hungry, that was all! Wanted total control over everything, and Fudge was letting her! 

Scowling, Cody marched over to where Montague sat, talking with a couple of sixth-years. "Does that stupid notice mean we can't play Quidditch?" he asked worriedly. 

"I don't think so kid," said Montague. "We just have to go and tell her about it before she'll let us play. Malfoy's going to talk to her today, we should be fine with it." 

"I hope so. I'd be mad if we couldn't play Quidditch anymore!" 

"You're not the only one." 

--- 

Cody was accosted in the hallway after lunch by an angry Ron Weasley, who pulled Cody to one side and hissed angrily, "Hermione says you told one of the Slytherins about the Defense group!" 

Baffled, caught wrongfooted, Cody frowned. "What?" 

"She says you wanted to invite that second-year you hang out with!" 

"What, Graham? Yeah, I did, why?" 

"Why? What do you think? Didn't Slytherin get a notice on their bulletin board about Umbridge's latest crap?" 

"Well yeah, but -" Cody finally understood what had Ron so angry, and scowled. "It was _not_ Graham! He's my friend, and I trust him!" 

"Right," said Ron skeptically. "Don't you think it's odd that one day after we meet, there's this mysterious new Decree? It had to be him!" 

Hermione and Harry had also wandered over, seemingly to see what Ron and Cody were talking about. Cody put his hands out and pushed Ron away a few steps, so he didn't feel so crowded. "It wasn't Graham," he hissed. "He's a good person, he's not like the other Slytherins! Besides, all I asked him was if he wanted to learn Defense Against the Dark Arts, and that Harry was gonna teach it. I didn't say anything about a group, or anything. I didn't even know all those people were gonna be there 'til I got there or that we were having meetings!" 

Hermione reached out a hand to grasp Ron's arm. "Come on, Ron, do you really think that Cody'd just go blabbing to anyone he didn't trust?" Ron seemed to want to argue, but finally he just strode away, his faded robes flying out behind him. Hermione sighed. "Try not to be too upset, Cody. Ron's just angry." 

Cody, who was fighting angry tears, said, "So am I! It's not my fault! Graham didn't tell anyone, and I didn't either!" 

Hermione nodded. "Calm down, I know you didn't. I put a curse on the parchment we signed, if anyone tells, it'll mark them so that we know who it is." 

Though Cody thought it was a brilliant idea, he was too angry to say so. 

"Look,we've got to get to class," said Harry. "We'll see you in Potions, okay?" 

"Okay,"said Cody sullenly, and watched them leave. Altogether sulky, he headed for his own class. 

--- 

By Potions, Cody knew that Slytherin had gotten permission to keep playing Quidditch, for Malfoy was bragging loudly about it outside the classroom. That if it was a question of influence within the Ministry, that Gryffindor didn't have a chance of continuing Quidditch. "From what my father says, they've been looking for an excuse to sack Arthur Weasley for years. And as for Potter, my father says it's a matter of time before the Ministry has him carted off to St.Mungo's. Apparently they've got a special ward for people whose brains have been addled by magic." 

Cody turned on him, his temper having just been pushed at this bit of callous spitefulness. "Why don't you shut up, Malfoy! Why do you always have to be a -" But Cody didn't get to finish his sentence, as he was cut off by Harry's surprised cry. 

"Neville, no!" And to Cody's shock, Neville was having to be held back by Ron and Harry before he pummeled Malfoy... Crabbe and Goyle stepped forward, flexing their gorrilla-like muscles. 

Confused out of his anger for the moment,Cody went back over Malfoy's words, trying to figure out what had set Neville off so badly, and then realized...St. Mungo's. And the ward for victims of magical attacks. That must be where Neville's parents were. 

Snape came down the hallway then, and took ten points from Gryffindor for the fight. Neville stalked into the dungeon, and the Gryffindors followed closely after. Cody shook a fist at Malfoy before following and sitting with Neville, who did not look at Cody. He looked angrier than Cody had ever seen him before. 

It was an unpleasant surprise to find that Umbridge was there to evaluate Snape's teaching methods. Cody tried to ignore her as Snape talked about the Strengthening Solutions that they had begun the Friday previous, and left to mature over the weekend. As Umbridge questioned Snape on his teaching, Cody and Neville tried to get their potion right. At least Neville did not seem angry with Cody. They talked over the instructions, and both managed to get a fairly passable potion made, though poor Harry got marked at zero again for the class. Cody couldn't stand the feeling of helpless anger he felt towards Snape, and Umbridge, and most of his House. 

He thrust his vial of potion at Snape for grading at the end of class, then stalked out. 

It seemed that the only classes Cody was enjoying were Astronomy and Ancient Runes. Ancient Runes only had a couple of Slytherins in it, and they were Slytherins that Cody didn't dislike too much. 

Defense Against the Dark Arts consisted of a chapter called "The Case for Non-Offensive Responses to Magical Attack." Cody only pretended to read. 


	43. Year 5, Chapter 6: Hagrid's Evaluation

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 6: Hagrid's Evaluation**

Not long after Snape's evaluation, George Weasley told Cody they had found a place to meet to learn defense, and told him how to get there. Grinning, Cody said he would be there that night! 

He almost didn't make it; he got lost and couldn't find the tapestry that George had told him to use as a reference. He was the last one there, but at least he had not missed much. The door was locked when he tried it. He knocked, and it was opened by Ginny Weasley, who let him in quickly and locked the door again. "I got lost," Cody grumbled. He looked around to see everyone sitting on comfortable looking cushions. "Wow, this room is awesome!" 

"Isn't it?" said Ron. "There's everything here we'd need for practicing defense." His anger towards Cody seemed to have disappeared. 

Grinning, Cody sat down on the last available cushion and peered around the room. 

"Well,"said Harry. "I've been thinking about the sort of stuff we ought to do first and, er...what, Hermione?" 

Cody looked and saw that she had her hand up. 

"I think we ought to elect a leader." 

"Harry's leader," said a Ravenclaw Quidditch player Cody vaguely knew as Cho. 

"Yes, but I think we ought to vote on it properly. It makes it formal and it gives him authority. So- everyone who thinks Harry ought to be leader?" 

Everyone raised his or her hand. 

"Er, right...thanks," said Harry, who was looking a little embarrssed. Cody giggled quietly. "And..._what_, Hermione?" 

"I also think we ought to have a name. It would promote a feeling of team spirit and unity, don't you think?" 

"Can we be the Anti-Umbridge League?" suggested the Gryffindor Quidditch captain, Angelina Johnson. 

"Or the Ministry of Magic Are Morons Group?" said Fred. 

Cody laughed. "I like that one!" 

"I was thinking more of a name that didn't tell anyone what we were up to, so we can refer to it safely outside of meetings." 

Cody and Fred looked at each other and shrugged. 

Cho suggested the Defense Association. D.A. for short. 

"Yeah, the D.A.'s good!" said Ginny Weasley. "Only let's make it stand for Dumbledore's Army because that's the Ministry's worst fear, isn't it?" 

Nearly everyone laughed, or nodded, and Hermione put it to a vote. And thus, their name became Dumbledore's Army. Hermione put this at the top of the list of names. 

Harry started them off with the basics; Expelliarmus. When Zacharias expressed contempt for such a simple spell, Harry told him he had used it against Voldemort the summer previous, and it had saved his life. Zacharias said no more, and people got to practicing. 

Cody partnered Neville, though he spent half his time ducking the books that the Creevy brothers were making fly off the shelves. They were eager, but fairly wild in their spell-throwing. Cody was not too bad at the spell, although he, too, made a few things fly off the shelves. 

When Harry came over to see how they were doing, Cody turned to look at him, and Neville pointed his wand and cried, "Expelliarmus!" Taken by surprise, Cody staggered as his wand flew across the room and landed on George Weasley's head. "I did it!" Neville yelled excitedly. "I've never done it before, I did it!" 

"Good one!" said Harry, as Cody went to retrieve his wand from George, who handed it down to him. 

As Cody took hold of his wand, he yelped in surprise and dropped it as it suddenly squawked turned into a rubber chicken. He blinked. "Hey! That's not my wand!" said Cody indignantly, and both twins burst into laughter. 

"I dunno, Cody," said Fred with a grin. "You might do better with that wand!" And then he laughed as Cody punched him in the arm. 

After a moment,though, Cody laughed too. "I can't believe you brought a fake wand to this meeting," he said, shaking his head and giggling. 

"Hey now, we can't let things get _too_ serious, now can we?" 

"Sheesh, gimme my wand, will you? I'm not doing Expelliarmus with a rubber chicken!" 

Fred laughed and withdrew Cody's wand from his robes. Cody tested it out by making it light up, and then nodded. He noticed that Neville was grinning, and several people in the room looked amused. 

Grinning himself, Cody went back to practice. 

At the end of the meeting, Harry blew a whistle he had found, and announced that it was getting late, and that the meeting was over. They decided that the following Wednesday would be the next meeting, same time and place. Before they left, Harry tookout his Marauder's Map, at which Cody peered in fascination, while Harry let the D.A. members leave in small groups. 

Before leaving, Ron apologized quietly for yelling at Cody about Graham, and Cody said it was okay. They grinned at each other a bit sheepishly, and Ron headed out the door. 

When it was Cody's and Neville's turn, they left, talking excitedly about the meeting. Of course they stopped once they neared the main part of the school, in case of eavesdroppers. 

Cody's mood was good enough that Draco's obnoxiousness didn't bother him a bit as he did his homework in the common room that night. 

--- 

The D.A. was a grand success. Even Neville, who normally did not do well with magic, save for Herbology, was learning fast. Cody told him that all he needed was someone that didn't tell him all the time that he wasn't as good as his dad, or didn't make fun of him in class, like Snape did. And Cody had finally mastered the Reductor Curse, which was one he had trouble with. 

They did not have a regular, set meeting time,or even day. What with four Quidditch team practices, and various other activities, Harry relied on word of mouth to tell everyone when the next meeting was. 

A week or so after the first meeting, Hermione brought a basket of what looked like gold Galleons to a meeting, and held one up to show everyone. It was a fake Galleon, so cleverly made that it was nearly impossible to tell. She showed them the numbers around the edge of the coin, which on real coins was the serial number referring to the goblin who minted it. "On these fake coins, though, the numbers will change to reflect the time and date of the next meeting. The coins will grow hot when the date changes,so if you're carrying them in a pocket you'll be able to feel them. We take one each, and when Harry sets the date of the next meeting, he'll change the numbers on his coin, and because I've put a Protean Charm on them, they'll change to minic his." 

Cody blinked; that sounded a whole lot like what Voldemort had done to the marks on his Death Eaters'arms. Kind of creepy, but very cool, too! Strangely, though, everyone else seemed a little taken aback as well. 

"Well...I thought it was a good idea," said Hermione, mistaking the silence as disapproval. "I mean, even if Umbridge asked us to turn out our pockets, there's nothing fishy about carrying a Galleon, is there? But...well, if you don't want to use them..." 

"You can do a Protean Charm?" asked one of the older boys. A Ravenclaw, so far as Cody knew. 

"Yes..." 

"But...that's...that's N.E.W.T. standard, that is!" 

"Oh," said Hermione. "Oh, well...yes, I suppose is is." 

"How come you're not in Ravenclaw?" the boy said, his expression very impressed. "With brains like yours?" 

Grinning impishly, Cody spoke up. "So she could drive everyone in Gryffindor nuts because she knows everything." 

"Oh, you -" Hermione said, laughing softly and smacking Cody lightly on the arm, and a few others laughed also. "Actually, the Sorting Hat did seriously consider it, but ended up putting me in Gryffindor. So does that mean we're using the Galleons?" 

Everyone agreed that yes, this was a great idea, and Hermione passed them out. Cody decided he would put a few Sickles and Knuts in his pocket from his money pouch as well so it would look more natural. 

--- 

Quidditch season was approaching, and the D.A. meetings had to be put on hold because of the frequent practices. As Gryffindor and Slytherin would be the first to play each other, their teams were practicing nearly every day. And in the week before the match, it _was_ every day. Cody was kept quite busy! 

He did feel very sorry for Ron, though, as new Keeper of the Gryffindor team. The Slytherins were being horrible to him in the way of threats and jeers, and Ron was not taking it so well. Cody told him not to worry, they did that to all the Gryffindor players, but that didn't seem to help any. 

On the morning of the match, Luna Lovegood, the strange fourth-year Ravenclaw from the D.A., came into the Great Hall wearing a hat that looked like a huge lion's head. Most of the Slytherins were snickering at it, and after staring in shock for a few moments, even Cody had to giggle. It was the strangest looking thing he had seen in a while, and as he attended a school of magic, that was saying something! She even made the thing roar, making half the students in the Hall jump. 

"She's loony, that girl," said Graham as he and Cody ate breakfast. 

Still laughing softly, Cody nodded. "She's really weird. Nice enough I guess, but really weird." 

"That _is_ a neat charm she did to make it roar, though. Looks real." 

"Yeah, we should make a serpent one." 

"Hey yeah! Then I could wear it on _my_ head for Slytherin games." 

Both boys looked at each other, and then laughed at the same time, imagining Graham with a giant, hissing snake on his head. 

"Hey Cody, what's that badge that Draco's got on?" 

Cody glanced over to where Draco and his friends were sitting, and frowned, shaking his head. "I dunno. It looks like a crown." 

"I saw them working on something here and there at night when you were with..." He whispered, "that group... They wouldn't lemme see what they were working on, though." 

"But look, most the House has one on. And _all_ the fifth-years do." He peered at the robes of a sixth-year girl sitting opposite him and squinted, trying to read the words on the badge, but once he had, he was only more baffled. "Weasley Is Our King?" he said. 

Graham shrugged. "I dunno, doesn't seem like something Draco'd put on a badge, does it?" 

"Yeah...if he was planning something mean." Cody bit his lip and glanced over at Ron, who was not even looking their way. He looked green, actually. "Well, Ron probably won't even notice, he looks really nervous. I hope not anyway." He looked up to see Montague stand, and motion to the team to get ready, and Cody stood. He was shaking slightly, as he always did before a match. 

"Good luck!" said Graham. "I can't wait to see you play!" 

Cody grinned. "Thanks, see you after the match!" 

--- 

"What's those stupid badges for anyway?" Cody asked Montague, who gave him a rather sour look. 

"Nothing you'd be interested in," he said. 

"But what are they?" 

"You'll find out at the match. Just make sure you concentrate on the game." 

"I always do!" Annoyed, Cody said no more, only followed the team into the changing rooms to get into his Quidditch robes. And as Montague gave them their normal pre-game talk, he found that he was less concerned about the badges as he got into game mode. It had been a whole year since he had played a game, and was quite eager for it. And besides, he owed George Weasley a Bludger. 

The team walked out onto the pitch, waiting for the Gryffindor team to come out of their lockers. Goyle was swinging his Beater's bat, which Cody found unnerving, especially since he was standing right next to him, and so he moved to stand in a safer zone next to Montague. Montague, easily the biggest person on the team, rather dwarfed Cody as they stood side by side. 

Cody grinned and waved his bat at the Weasley twins, and got a pair of evil grins in return. He snorted and stuck out his tongue as Angelina and Montague shook hands. Cody's heart rate soared upwards a bit as Madame Hooch told the teams to mount their brooms, and moments later, they were off! 

Cody laughed as he soared upwards, not even minding the chilly wind that hit him in the face. He zoomed after a Bludger that was going after the Slytherin Keeper, Bletchley, and whacked it over towards Katie Bell. She ducked it, but at least it hadn't hit Bletchley. 

Lee Jordan was commentating, as usual, although Cody supposed this would be his last year doing it; he was in seventh year like the twins. He felt a whoosh of sadness at realizing this, and thought of how weird it was going to be without the Weasley twins there... He would miss them. 

But then he very nearly got hit by the very Bludger he'd just gotten rid of, and shook his head, annoyed at himself for getting distracted. He zoomed back into the game. 

The opportunity presented itself less than five minutes into the game, when a Bludger flew at Cody's head, and George Weasley was in front of him, several yards away. Taking both hands from his broom, Cody whacked the metal ball away from him, and cheered when it whacked George on the leg and nearly knocked him from his broom. Cody grinned his way, then had to duck as George sent the thing back at him. 

It soon became obvious what the crown-shaped badges were for, however. Nearly the whole of Slytherin house, not to mention everyone else on the team, were singing a song... 

_Weasley cannot save a thing_   
_He cannot block a single ring_   
_That's why Slytherins all sing_   
_Weasley is our King._

Cody smacked a hand against his forehead in disbelief; how babyish could you get? 

_Weasley was born in a bin_   
_He always lets the Quaffle in_   
_Weasley will make sure we win_   
_Weasley is our King._

As Lee resumed his commentary, in quite a louder voice, Cody zoomed by Malfoy, who laughed as he sang. "That's stupid, Malfoy!" 

But Malfoy only laughed and flew higher, searching for the Golden Snitch. Annoyed, Cody tried very hard to get his mind back on the game, but this distraction was not easy to ignore. 

Bletchley saved a goal from the Gryffindor Chasers, giving possession of the Quaffle to Warrington, who streaked towards Ron. Cody sighed and tried not to let it bother him, though he was quite reluctant to try and nail Ron with any Bludgers. Instead, he streaked after one and cracked it as hard as he could towards Angelina, whom he didn't like a whole lot, and was happy to see that it struck her a glancing blow on the arm. 

The game did not go well. The Slytherins sang, even drowning out Lee Jordan's magical megaphone at times, and poor Ron was doing an abysmal job as Keeper. The Slytherin team was ahead in points, and though Cody did want badly to win, he felt the Slytherins had gone about helping in the wrong way. 

And all through the game was that song... 

Finally, the game was over. Harry and Draco suddenly took off after what Cody could only assume was the Golden Snitch (he could never spot the miserable thing) and he saw Goyle whack a Bludger at Harry. But it missed, and the game was over, with the Snitch in Harry's hand. "Nuts!" Cody growled, clenching his fists. He caught sight of Goyle's face, contorted an in angry growl, and saw him reach out with his bat and strike the second Bludger still zooming around the pitch. Cody winced as it hit Harry right in the back, and shook his head. He had never seen such a big bunch of sore losers in his life! 

He watched Malfoy land, saw him sneering something at Harry, and sighed. They had already lost, why did Malfoy have to make it worse by acting like a git? But whatever it was that Malfoy was saying, it had really ticked off the Weasley twins, who were being held back by nearly the whole of Gryffindor team. Cody landed, and ran over, just in time to hear Malfoy making a nasty crack about Harry's mother. 

Harry, who had been holding George back from pummeling Malfoy, suddenly let go and dove at Malfoy himself. Draco went down in a hail of furious fists as Cody watched in alarm. "Harry! Guys, no, you'll get in trouble!" As the Gryffindor Chasers were busy holding Fred back, Cody ran over, pulling hard on George's robes, trying to get him off of Malfoy. Not that he didn't like seeing Malfoy get his tail end kicked, but he didn't want George or Harry to get expelled, either! He dug his heels into the ground, pulling as hard as he could on George's Quidditch robes, trying to yell over everyone to get him to stop! 

But moments later, Madame Hooch had knocked Harry away with an Impedimenta Jinx, and George was also sprawled on the ground. Cody backed off a step, his expression worried. Malfoy was curled up on the ground whimpering, and George had a swollen lip. Goyle was standing by watching, with a delighted smirk on his face, as Madame Hooch told Harry and George off at the top of her lungs. George and Harry were sent to see McGonagall, and they both stalked off. 

Montague went over to help Malfoy to his feet, presumably intending to take him to the hospital wing, and Goyle followed. Cody glanced tentatively at Fred, who had stopped fighting to get at Malfoy, but who still had a very ugly look on his face. Feeling it would be a bad idea to try and talk to Fred just then, especially with the murderous looks Angelina Johnson was giving all the Slytherins, Cody sighed and followed Bletchley and the remaining two Chasers back into the locker room. 

Cody didn't talk to the members of the team that night, but he did tell Graham what had happened. He and Graham were alone in the second-years' dormitory at the moment,and Cody quietly vented his frustration. How he wanted badly for Slytherin to win at Quidditch, but how frustrated he was that most of them couldn't play fair to save their life. How Cody's reluctance to try and prevent Ron from saving his goals was warring with his desire to help Slytherin win. 

Graham was sympathetic, and though Cody appreciated it, his mood could not be lightened. He finally ended up going to bed early and curling up to sleep. 

--- 

He woke up to find that it had snowed all night, and the ground outside was covered in a thick blanket of it. He was less than pleased. He had never seen snow before going to Hogwarts, and while it was neat on occasion, mostly it was just cold. He spent the day in the dorm, reading, and writing a few letters to his friends. He wrote a letter to his mom, griping about Umbridge and the Quidditch match, and asking if she and Samantha were all right. He wrote to Flint, asking him how his own Quidditch practices were going and if he'd been in a game yet. He wrote to Kathy and Kyle, telling them all about Umbridge and the stupid Ministry. 

Monday morning, however, Cody's mood was greatly improved at the sight of a familiar face at the staff table. Hagrid. "Hagrid!" he yelled, jumping up from his seat and running up to hug him. The Weasley twins and Lee Jordan had also come down to shake Hagrid's hands. 

"Hello, Cody!' Hagrid said with a laugh, hugging him very gently. He still squeezed half the breath from his lungs, though. "Mornin', Fred, George, Lee!" 

But after a moment, Cody blinked and looked way at up Hagrid's face: it was bloody and bruised, and looked a lot like Malfoy's had on Saturday. "Er, what happened?" he asked, wondering what in the world could be tough enough to beat _Hagrid_ up. 

"I dunno what yeh mean," said Hagrid with a grin, shooing him off towards the Slytherin table. "Go on now, kiddo, I'll see yeh in class!" 

Frowning a bit, Cody did return to the Slytherin table, wondering what Hagrid had gotten himself into. 

Care of Magical Creatures was going to be cold, Cody could see that right away. After breakfast, he got his scarf, long underwear, two school robes, his winter cloak, and his gloves, and bundled up before they went outside. Hagrid was heading into the forest a ways, with a dead animal on his shoulder. "We're workin' in here today!" he called to the students. "Bit more sheltered! Anyway, they prefer the dark." 

"What prefers the dark?" Draco said, sounding scared. "What did he say prefers the dark - did you hear?" 

With a mental smirk, Cody put a look of concentration on his face, and said, "Yeah, he said somethin' at breakfast about a..." He saw Malfoy look at him anxiously. "I dunno exactly what it was. A chi...mer...a?" 

He caught an amused glance from Harry, up ahead, as Malfoy's eyes widened in fear. "A chimera?" he cried. "He's got a chimera? Is he mad?" A few other Slytherins looked around in alarm at Draco's cry. 

"What, you're not scared, are you?" Cody said loudly, smirking. 

"_Scared?_ Do you even know what a chimera _is?_ They..." Draco trailed off as Cody could not hold his laughter in anymore and began snickering. Draco's pale face tinged pink, and he took a swipe at Cody, but Cody was expecting it, and ducked. 

Still snickering, Cody moved yet farther away from Draco and his thugs, and said gleefully, "Or maybe we're studying ferrets; we could get Professor Moody here and you can help with the class!" 

At this, the Gryffindors in the class all laughed, and Cody had to duck behind Hermione, as Malfoy lunged for him. The threat of Hermione's wand in Malfoy's face was sufficient to fend him off. The Slytherins were giving Cody filthy looks, but Cody didn't care, Malfoy had been completely horrible to Harry and the Weasleys after the Quidditch game, and he deserved it. 

"All right' settle down'!" Hagrid said loudly, though Cody could swear he winked. "Right, now I bin savin' a trip into th' forest fer yer fifth year. Thought we'd go an' see these creatures in their natural habitat. Now what we're studyin' today is pretty rare, I reckon I'm probably the on'y person in Britain who's managed ter train 'em." 

"And you're sure they're trained?" said Malfoy, still looking scared. "Only it wouldn't be the first time you've brought wild stuff to class, would it?" 

"Course they're trained," said Hagrid. 

"So what happened to your face, then?" 

Cody snickered; so that's why Malfoy was so nervous! Hagrid told Malfoy to mind his own business, and if he had finished askin' stupid questions, to follow him. 

He led the group about ten minutes into the forest, that was sheltered enough that there was no snow on the ground. That was all right with Cody, he was already shivering. He sidled in between Ron and Harry, to keep warm. Hagrid set the large, dead animal on the ground and told them to gether around, that "they", whoever they were, would be attracted to the meat, but Hagrid was going to call for them anyway. The cry he sent into the woods sounded like some giant bird, but no one laughed. It was creepy in there, Cody had to admit. He remembered the time he had had to go in with a few others in his first year, and had seen Quirrel and the dead unicorn... He shivered. 

Nothing happened at first, that Cody could see, and then Hagrid told people who could see them, to raise their hands. Neville did, as well as Harry, and a Slytherin named Theodore Nott. When Draco asked, in a derisive voice, what they were supposed to be looking at, Hagrid pointed at the meat he had brought. Something was eating it. Cody was a bit startled. 

Parvati Patil, one of the Gryffindor girls, hid behind a tree. "What's doing it? What's eating it?" she cried, and Hagrid said they were thestrals, and that Hogwarts had a whole herd of them. Parvati seemed aghast. "But they're really, really unlucky! They're supposed to bring all sorts of horrible misfortune on people who see them. Professor Trelawney told me once -" 

Hagrid chuckled and said that was only superstition, and that thestrals were very useful. They pulled the school carriages, he said, and Cody suddenly realized what that second year had been talking about early that fall when the older students had taken the carriages up to the school. He asked if anyone knew why only some people could see them. 

Hermione, as knowledgeable as ever, said that only people who had seen death could see thestrals, earning Gryffindor ten points. Cody frowned, wondering why Harry couldn't see them before this year. Had he not seen his parents die? Perhaps the person had to remember seeing the death before they could see the thestrals. 

But before Hagrid could continue, a sickeningly familiar "Hem, hem" interrupted Hagrid's lesson. Cody clenched his fists and growled low into his robe sleeve. Umbridge talked as if Hagrid were either stupid or half deaf, asking if he had gotten her message about the upcoming inspection. 

Hagrid was friendly enough, asking her if she could see what they were doing, that they were studying thestrals. Umbridge asked loudly for him to repeat himself, though he had spoken quite loudly and plainly enough. Hagrid frowned in mild confusion. "Er...thestrals!" he said loudly, perhaps thinking that Umbridge were half deaf herself. "Big, er, winged horses, yeh know!" He flapped his arms to demonstrate. 

Umbridge muttered in a voice that everyone could hear, "Has to resort to crude sign language..." She wrote on her clipboard, presumably the same thing she had just mumbled. 

"Erm, right,' said Hagrid, his train of thought derailed, "What was I sayin'?" 

And agian, in a voice too loud to be a murmur, Umbridge said, "Appears to have poor short term memory." 

Cody's fists clenched yet more painfully tighter, and he noticed that Hermione was shaking with anger. 

Hagrid tried once again to continue his lesson, but the rude old bat interrupted him yet again. "Are you aware that the Ministry of Magic has classified thestrals as dangerous?" 

Hagrid only chuckled. "Thestrals aren' dangerous! All righ', they might take a bite outta you if yeh really annoy them -" 

And somehow Umbridge interpreted this information as Hagrid appearing to show pleasure at the idea of violence. But when Hagrid tried to defend himself, Umbridge ignored him. She said, very slowly and clearly, "Please continue teaching as normal. I am going to walk among the students and ask them questions." Each thing she said, she pantomimed. 

But Hagrid could not continue the lesson while Umbridge was there. She kept interrupting him with her loud, obnoxious voice. She asked Pansy Parkinson if she was able to understand Hagrid when he talked, and suppressing giggles, she said that no, it sounded like grunting most of the time. Cody vowed to hex her the first chance he got. (He ended up getting her the next day with a Jelly-Legs curse.) 

She then asked Neville who he had seen die, since he could see the thestrals, and he said he had seen his grandfather die. She asked him what he thought of the thestrals, and Neville stammered that they were okay. Umbridge wrote down that Hagrid's students were too intimidated to admit they were scared. Upset, Neville said that he was _not_ scared, but Umbridge only patted him on the shoulder and told him it was all right. 

"We're _not_ scared!" Cody said aloud, unable to stand it any longer. "You're just scared of Hagrid because he's not like you, so you gotta make him look bad by lying about him! You're just a-a power-hungry - you shoulda been a Slytherin!" And as he said this, he thought that she probably had been. 

Umbridge turned slowly to look at Cody, and narrowed her eyes. "You will report to my office this evening at five for detention, DeDannan," she said in a calm voice. Then turning her back on Cody, she told Hagrid in her same slow voice, that he would get the results of the inspection in ten days' time. Again, she acted it all out before leaving. 

The other Slytherins were laughing their heads off, Hermione and Cody both had tears in their eyes, Neville looked upset, and most the other Gryffindors looked furious. 

The rest of the lesson did not go nearly as smoothly as the first part had gone, mostly because the Slytherins were not paying much attention, and Hagrid had been unnerved by Umbridge's "inspection." Cody kept having to wipe his eyes, and Hermione kept a hand on his shoulder. And on the way to the Great Hall, Cody stuck with the Gryffindors while Hermione ranted about how unfair Umbridge had been, and how that really wasn't such a bad lesson for Hagrid at all. 

They talked a bit about the thestrals, and Ron was surprised that so many could see the beasts. And of course, Malfoy had to put in his snide comments as they Slytherins passed. Asked Ron if he had seen someone snuff if, if he thought he'd be able to see the Quaffle better. 

Cody scowled deeply as Hermione blasted away the snow in front of them with some sort of a hot-air charm. "You don't need to do that you know!" he said loudly, looking after Malfoy's retreating figure. 

"No?" said Hermione, puzzled. 

"No, just hold Malfoy out in front of you, he's got enough hot air to melt the whole grounds!" 

Hermione chuckled distractedly, and Ron snickered, but Malfoy just kept walking and laughing with his little gang. 

Cody ate lunch with the Gryffindors between Hermione and George Weasley, and it was then that Harry told him about his and the twins' Quidditch ban. Cody was shocked enough that he stopped eating and just stared. "B-but-but isn't Professor McGonagall the one that's supposed to give you guys punishments?" 

Harry nodded grimly. "Or at least, she was. That old hag passed another decree, giving her authority to override or give punishments to students." 

Cody stared, fighting the urge to cry. As he had just gotten over being upset in Hagrid's class, his fight was a short one, and he burst into tears. "It's not fair, I hate her!" 

The Gryffindors around him looked a little surprised at his sudden outburst, but a moment later, Hermione put her arm around Cody and let him cry into her robes for a few moments. 

"Hey, calm down, mate," said George quietly, leaning in towards Cody. "It's all right, Fred and I, we've got a few things planned to teach her a lesson or three." 

Cody sniffed then blew his nose on a napkin, and wiped at his eyes angrily. "I hate her, " he repeated in a whisper. "She's so unfair, and mean, and...and power hungry..." 

"I know," said George. "But she'll soon regret it. Mind you we're not the only students who hate her. Most the school wouldn't mind seein' her dead." 

Cody blinked. "You're...you're not gonna kill her are you?" Not that he would mind a whole lot, but the twins would get into terrible trouble if they did something that serious! 

George snorted. "As much as it would benefit England, no. But all the same, she'll be sorry she ever heard of Hogwarts when we're finished with her." 

Cody didn't eat, but stayed at the table until lunch was over. And only then did he go to his next class, staying as far from Malfoy as he could. Else he might just take Harry and Georges's example and try to beat him to a pulp. 


	44. Year 5, Chapter 7: Umbridge's Quill

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 7: Umbridge's Quill**

That night, Cody considered refusing to report for detention, but figured that might just get him into more trouble. He was scowling when he walked into her office without knocking. At least she did not yell at him for that. She only gave him a rather sugary smirk and told him to sit down at a table nearby that had a wooden chair in it. The chair was fairly high, and allowed Cody to sit properly at the table instead of kneeling on the chair as he usually did in classes. He climbed up and glared around the room. 

Even her office was disgusting. It was covered in lace and cutesy decorations, and Cody felt he would rather have put up with Gilderoy Lockhart's version of Valentine's Day than this office. 

On the table was a roll of parchment, and Cody sighed. Lines. He hated lines, he could never sit still long enough to do them without going nuts. "You will be doing lines tonight, DeDannan," said Umbridge. "You will write 'I must be respectful.'" She gave him a quill, and when Cody asked her how many times he had to write it, she said only until the message had sunk in. "Oh," she said, before Cody could ask. "You won't need any ink." 

"No ink?" Cody raised his brows, but shrugged and wrote, "I must be respectful" on the parchment. He was mildly interested when it wrote in red ink, but a sharp pain on the back of his hand made him yelp and drop the quill. "Oww!" he growled, bewildered, as he looked at his hand. What had he hurt it on? But then he found out what Harry had discovered during his own detentions, that the pen cut the words into the writers' hand. His eyes widened as he saw "I must be respectful" cut into the skin, and watched it heal up. "Ow...hey, you can't do that!" he said, looking at her in disbelief. 

"Oh, but I'm afraid I can," she said quietly. "You see, I have the power of punishment over Hogwarts students now. It is time this school was taken in hand by the Ministry." 

"You mean by you!" 

Umbridge just smiled. "Yes, by me. I am the Ministry representative here at Hogwarts. Now continue your lines." 

Stubbornly, Cody crossed his arms. "No way." 

Umbridge looked evenly at Cody for a moment and then smiled, and took out her wand. Alarmed, Cody tried to scramble from his seat, but Umbridge was too quick; she uttered a spell Cody did not know, and he ducked, not knowing what it would do. As it turned out, it had stuck Cody to the seat of the chair. "Hey!" he yelped, fighting with the chair for a moment. "Lemme up!" 

"You are not leaving that seat until I am satisfied that you've learned your lesson," said Umbridge, putting her wand back in her robes (which were covered in flowers). 

"I won't!" 

"Then you will sit there until you do," came the unconcerned reply. 

Cody scowled and put on his most obstinate face. 

A moment later, Umbridge remarked casually, "You do know that Cornelius Fudge does not beleive that a child as young as you should be exposed to the dangers of going to Hogwarts. I have told him that I will research the situation and find a way that you will be sent home from here, after all, you _are_ only a child." She smiled sweetly. "We wouldn't want you to get hurt." 

Cody looked at her in alarm, then frowned thunderously. "I'm ten!" he said indignantly. "I can handle this stuff, I HAVE handled it!" 

"Oh, I'm sure you've been lucky so far," said Umbridge, making Cody fume. "And your older friends, I'm sure, have helped you through your years here. But you're still too young to attend, as you demonstrated in class today with your temper tantrum." 

Seething, Cody glared daggers at her head as she sat writing something down on a piece of pink parchment, apparently not seeming to notice his scrutiny. He turned his back on her, crossed his arms, and sat. 

He was stubborn, but he was also hyperactive, and quite unaccustomed to sitting still for long. Even so, it was nearly an hour before he looked at the quill and clenched his fists. It wasn't fair! Umbridge, noticing his glance, smiled smugly. "Lines, Mr. DeDannan. Or you'll be sitting there all night." 

In the end, Cody capitulated, and began writing again with the pen. He was in tears within a half hour, but as it was clear that he wasn't going to be let go until Umbridge thought he'd been punished enough, he kept writing. Just get it over with, he told himself fiercely. 

As the evening dragged by, Cody's printing became more and more unreadable, and it seemed he had been writing for hours when Umbridge came over and said, "Hand." She held out her own, expecting Cody to show her his hand. Defensive, Cody shied away from her and held his hand away. She simply leaned over and grabbed it, looking at the back of it. "I suppose that's good enough for one evenings' detention," she said, letting go of his hand. "You may go. And remember this, Mr. DeDannan. I am in control here. You would do well to cooperate with me." 

Cody did not answer, only jerked his hand away when it was released, and when Umbridge used her wand to detach Cody from the chair, he jumped down, grabbed his bag, and ran out of the office as fast as he could. 

He did not stop running until he had gone down three corridors, and up two flights of stairs. And then he leaned against the wall panting for breath after his all-out sprint. He looked down at his hand, which was shaking. It was not bleeding,, though it did have blood on it from before. He cleaned it off on his robes, wincing. His hand was still quite sore. 

He spent a few moments calming himself down, and thinking furious thoughts about Umbridge and what a horrible person she was. How could the Minstry let someone so awful teach kids? Did they know the stuff she was doing, and how unfair she was being to everyone? Did they care? 

Cody felt highly adverse to going back into the Slytherin common room, and it was very late as it was. He wasn't sure what time it was, but he knew it was past nine in the evening, as that had been the last time he looked at Umbridge's clock. He wanted somewhere to hide out until morning. 

It occurred to him then that he could go up to the Room of Requirement, where they had been holding their meetings. From what Harry said, it was a place where one would find a room suited to whatever it was needed it. 

Creeping silently along the hallways, hoping desperately that he didn't run into Filch, Cody headed for the seventh floor. He encountered no one on his way there, and once he arrived, found a very small door where the Room of Requirement was. Wiping his eyes, he knelt, and pulled the little door open to reveal a little doorway that only he could fit in. It reminded him of the doorways in one of his Zelda games that you could only get into when the game's main character was a child. Perhaps some of the first-years could have gotten in, but not many. He crawled through, pulling his school bag with him, and stood up once he was inside the room. 

The room was not big, but it was cozy and secure. Just the right thing for a highly unnerved boy to hide out in. There was what looked like a big bean bag chair with a few blankets on it, and a sort of bedside table with a lamp that cast the room in warm firelight, and an alarm clock. It was perfect. And the door even had a lock. Cody made use of it before crawling onto the bean bag chair and curling up with the blankets. 

He glanced at the clock and saw that it was already set to the normal time that he woke in the morning. Leaving the light on, Cody held the blankets to him and closed his eyes. He was surprised to fall asleep right away. 

--- 

He was wakened the next morning by the alarm, which was not loud and harsh like his normal alarm, but started out soft and only gradually rose in volume. At first he was puzzled, not knowing where he was or why he was there, but a bit of a pang from his hand made him remember. He frowned, and bit his lip. His hand was a little red and sore, but at least it didn't really hurt anymore. He couldn't imagine doing that for seven days straight like Harry had had to do. 

Sighing, the boy listened very carefully for people outside the door, heard nothing, and crept out. "Thanks," he said quietly to the Room, before heading downstairs towards the Great Hall. He had missed supper thanks to Umbridge, and was very hungry. 

Graham nearly pounced on Cody when he sat down at the Slytherin table, not looking at anyone there. "Where were you?" he asked in a hissed voice, as Cody grabbed himself a plate full of French toast with a lot of treacle and sugar on it. "You didn't come to the common room last night!" 

"Shh..." Cody said, glancing towards where Malfoy sat. But Malfoy seemed to be in deep discussion with his friends. In a low voice, Cody told Graham about his detention, and that he had hidden out on the seventh floor. 

Graham was appalled. "But...she can't do that, can she?" he whispered, his blue eyes very wide. "I mean...does the Ministry know she does that kind of stuff?" 

Cody shook his head darkly. "I don't know. I bet they do, though. They're all so scared of Dumbledore...I-I mean...they'll let her do anything I bet, just so Fudge controls the school." 

"That moron," said Graham vehemently. "How an idiot like him got to be Minister of Magic!" 

"I don't know," Cody said again, bolting down his French toast. 

Graham might have said more, but he looked up just then to see Professor Snape heading their way. He nudged Cody, as Snape came right up to the two of them. "DeDannan," said Snape. "I wish to speak to you for a moment." 

Biting his lip, Cody nodded, and slipped off of the bench. Great, as if I wasn't in enough trouble, Cody thought. He caught Graham's sympathetic glance as he followed Snape out into the Hall, which for now was empty. Snape looked down at Cody with an unreadable expression. "I am told you did not return to the Slytherin dorms last night; where were you?" 

Cody looked at Snape a moment before saying reluctantly, "I...was hiding." 

Snape raised a brow. "Hiding? From what?" 

Cody sighed, and told Snape of the detention, finishing with a shrug. Looking down at the hem of his rumpled robe, he said, "I was just...scared. I guess. She scares me." Now that it was over with, he suddenly felt foolish, having hidden out in a little den because of Umbridge. But blast it, he had been scared! 

To Cody's immense shock, Snape did not get angry. In fact he said nothing at first, only looked at Cody for several moments. Finally, he told Cody to look up at him, which he did. "You need to keep your temper around Dolores Umbridge," he said finally, glancing around to make sure they were still alone. "You know that she is here to spy on Dumbledore. And whatever else you may think of me, I am loyal to him. We do _not_ want to give her any more reason than she already has to try and oust him. Understood?" 

Cody nodded unhappily. "Yes, sir." 

"Very well. Return to breakfast, then, and not a word of this to anyone." 

Cody nodded again and went back to his breakfast. Graham asked him what Snape had wanted, and Cody told him he'd asked why Cody wasn't in the dorms. "At least he didn't gimme another detention," said Cody gloomily. 

"Yeah, well, I've been noticing, the other teachers don't like Umbridge, either. I wonder how long it is before they just all band together and kick her out." 

Cody shook his head. "That won't happen, they'd get in big trouble with the Ministry. First they gotta get Fudge to stop being a dummy." 

"Great," said Graham with a sigh. "We'll _never_ be rid of her." 

--- 

The next few weeks went fairly smoothly. Cody avoided Umbridge whenever possible, and pretended to read stupid, boring things in her class without looking at her. And when she came to inspect classes that Cody was in, he would cover his ears so he didn't hear the stuff that made him angry. It worked well enough. 

December arrived as cold as ever, and Cody could not wait for the holidays. The only good things that were happening were D.A. meetings and choir performances. The Hogwarts choir put on their normal holiday concert, a mix of traditional songs that Muggles sang, and wizard-specific ones. Parents were invited to watch their bigger performances, and this year Cody's mother and sister were there, along with Professor Lupin! Lupin was in a cloak that covered most of his face, but Cody recognized him. He supposed that Lupin did not want to be recognized as a werewolf to anyone, and cause a scene. 

After the concert, Cody ran to greet his family, then dragged them over to where Lupin stood. "Hi!" he said gleefully, hugging him around the waist. In a quiet voice, he said, "Mom, this is him, Professor Lupin! I told you about him!" 

"Oh! Well, it's good to meet you," said Mom, holding her hand out to Lupin. 

Lupin smiled, and shook it. "The pleasure is mine. I just came to hear Cody sing and to say hello to some of the other students." 

Cody turned red, and smiled at this compliment. "Cool...thanks! I'm glad you came, I missed you." 

"I missed you as well, Cody. How have your Defense Against the Dark Arts grades been going?" 

Cody snorted, glanced around, and said quietly, "Well, this year kinda sucky. But that's okay. They match the teacher." 

Lupin stifled a chuckle at this. "I see, well, I daresay that you'll do okay in exams though." He winked, and Cody remembered that he probably knew about the D.A. 

Cody grinned. "I bet I do! Man, O.W.L.s are gonna be scary." 

"I have faith in you, Cody," said Lupin, skating his hand through Cody's hair. "Just do your best. Anyway, I'm afraid I must go. I've been quite busy, as you might have guessed." 

Cody nodded. "Yeah, I bet! Will I see you again soon?" 

"Perhaps!" Lupin smiled at him and gave him a brief squeeze, before heading out. 

"He seems very nice,"said Mom. 

"He is!" said Cody fervently. "He's one of the best teachers I had! He doesn't get mad at you when you mess up, he just helps you get it right. He doesn't call kids names or anything. And he knows tons of stuff. I like him a lot." He paused for a moment, then blurted, "You should marry him!" 

Mom blinked, her eyes going wide, as Samantha giggled. Cody's pink face tinged a bit redder, and he grinned sheepishly. Finally, Mom laughed aloud and gathered Cody into a hug. "Normally, people don't marry a man they've met once for five minutes," she said, chuckling. 

Cody laughed, also, and shrugged. "I know that." It would have been neat, though. Cody envisioned them all living happily in the same house, all safe and warm... 

"It's a shame that more teachers aren't like him, even in the U.S.," said Mom, perhaps wanting to change the subject. 

"Yeah! Like my old principal." 

"Yes." Mom let go of Cody and pulled him gently away from her. "Well, sweetie, I've got to head off, too. I just wanted to catch your concert here. But you'll be home soon for Christmas break, right?" 

"Yep! In four days, I think." 

"All right. Be good, and be careful." Mom kissed him on the cheek and he hugged her, then gave his sister a big squeeze. And then they left. 

--- 

Most of the D.A. was going home for the holidays, and so their last meeting was held shortly before vacation. Cody was glad of the D.A. meetings, it was the only thing that he could do against Umbridge, and helped him not to feel so utterly helpless and frustrated. He and Neville were practicing together, practicing the Impedimenta Jinx. Cody rather liked that one. It made the person freeze, and sometimes knocked them down or over. Not like the Stun, but still very useful, and a lot easier. Every once in a while he would point his wand at Zacharias from behind, or Ron, just for the heck of it. But not too often. 

Harry ended the meeting by saying they would pick up again after the holidays, and perhaps would start learning the Patronus Charm. Cody could not wait for that, and wondered what his would look like. If, that was, he managed to perform it. 

He went to bed that night thinking about how good it would be to be going home, and tired out from the D.A. meeting, he fell asleep rather quickly. 

When he next woke, Cody was not sure what was going on. Someone was shaking him, and his first feeling was alarm. Was something going on? He was unpleasantly reminded of the Quidditch World Cup when Fred had shaken him awake because the Death Eaters were wreaking havoc. He opened his eyes wide, looking around wildly, before realizing someone was yelling. "Get up! Where are they? Tell me, now!" 

Bewildered, Cody looked at the person who was shaking him, and was quite startled to see Professor Umbridge's face, purple with anger, and less than a foot from Cody's own. And it was not the most pleasant sight to wake up to. "Wha -" he said. What in the world was going on? 

She shook him again, hissing, "Where are they? Tell me, now!" 

"Wha-wh-who?" Cody said, struggling to get out of her grasp. "Ow, leggo, I d-dunno what you're talking about!" And he didn't; he was utterly baffled. He glanced around to see the other boys were also awake, though none of them looked particularly alarmed. Draco, in fact, looked amused. 

"Don't give me that! I know you know where they've gone!" She grabbed his arm and dragged him out of bed, fuming. "We'll see about this!" 

Having little choice but to follow, Cody had to run to keep up with Umbrige's angry strides. Yes, she was short and squat, but she was also fairly fast. "What're you doing?" Cody kept asking, rather plaintively. He was not often at his best when wakened in the middle of the night. "Ouch, you're hurting me! Let go!" But she did not answer him, only pulled him along. 

It wasn't until they had emerged from the dungeon that Umbridge stopped, for Professor McGonagall had just stepped in their path. Cody rubbed his eyes, blinking in the light, as McGonagall took in the scene. "Dolores," said McGonagall coldly. "Where are you taking Mr. DeDannan?" 

"I don't think that's any of your concern, Minerva," said Umbridge, manging even now to ooze her sickly sweet voice. "But if you must know, Potter and Weasley are out of their beds, and I want to know where they are." 

"And I suppose you think that manhandling Mr. DeDannan here is going to tell you that?" said McGonagall scornfully. "Potter and the Weasleys have been given permission by Dumbledore...the _headmaster_...to leave a trifle early for Christmas break." 

Cody was relieved when his arm was released, and he rubbed it resentfully, looking up at the toad woman. The look on Umbridge's face was ugly. "I see," she hissed finally. And without any further words, she turned on her heel and stalked off down the corridor. 

"Are you all right, Mr. DeDannan?" McGonagall asked, her voice far less severe now that she was not talking to the old toad. 

"Yes, ma'am. " He rubbed his eyes and squinted at McGonagall. "Harry and the others are okay, aren't they?" 

She nodded. "Yes, they're all right. I daresay they'll be writing you to tell you what's going on. Go on back to your dorm, she shouldn't bother you again." 

"Okay. Thanks." He smiled a bit at her, and got a nod in return. Stumbling tiredly, he headed back down to his bunk. 

Cody was never so happy to leave Hogwarts for the holidays. 

--- 

The first thing Cody did once he was back in the United States was hug his mom and Samantha. The second thing he did was to change out of his winter cloak into a pair of shorts and a T-shirt; it was nearly 80 degrees outside! And the third thing he did was to go outside and run around in the sun. 

And then, there was time for taletelling! 

Mom was appalled at what Cody told her of Umbridge, particuarly her idea of detention. "You have got to be kidding! And the government allows this?" The family was at dinner as Cody told of his adventures. 

Cody shrugged. "Fudge is a moron," he said frankly. "And a coward. He'll do anything to keep from having to deal with Voldemort. He thinks Dumbledore's training up an army to take over the Ministry." He snorted. "He thinks that we're the enemy, but he's ignoring the REAL enemy! Like Lucius Malfoy. He's a Death Eater, and Fudge thinks he's great just because he gives money." He looked up at Mom, who had a strange expression on her face. "What?" he asked curiously. 

Mom smiled wistfully. "You've grown up so much," she said. "And learned so much. Not just magic, either. Your vocabulary has swelled a great deal." And it was true, Cody had spent a very long time in the near-exclusive company of youths five years older than he was, and it showed in how he talked. 

"Oh. I'm not grown up yet, though, so it's all right." 

"You still determined never to grow into adulthood?" 

Cody nodded. "Yep!" There had to be some kind of magic that could do that, didn't there? 

She smiled and smoothed back his hair. "I wish you luck on that. And so this teacher...Umbridge, you said?" 

Cody nodded. "Yeah, she's a big, fat toad." 

Mom was silent for a moment, and her lips thinned, but Cody knew her too well to think she was angry; she was trying not to laugh. "I see," she finally said. "You know, normally I would try and discourage that kind of talk about your teachers, but after what you've told me about her, I think I agree." 

"Yeah, even the other teachers hate her. And she talks to the kids like they're in preschool! I _hate_ that! It's insulting, and embarrassing, and we can't do anything about it! And she was a jerk to Hagrid, too, making him look dumb just because he's part giant. I told her off for that, that's what I got detention for. Poor Harry got it for a whole week in a row!" The boy actually shuddered at this idea. "Umbridge is horrible." 

Frowning, Mom slowly nodded. "She is," she said quietly. "There's nothing that can be done about her mistreating the students?" 

Cody shook his head. "No. The Ministry thinks the school should be...put in hand or something like that. Controlled, he means. I don't think he cares what Umbridge does, just so she gets control of the school for him." He bit his lip and scowled at his food. "And she's trying to get me expelled. She read what Rita Skeeter wrote about me last year, about how everyone has to help me in classes because I'm a kid, and how I'm only passing my tests because the teachers feel sorry for me. Which was a lie. The Ministry doesn't think kids should be doing _anything_ dangerous at all...Umbridge says a kid like me shouldn't even be in the school because I'm just a child. And man was she all smug about it!" 

Mom hissed slightly. "I see. Hmm. Well, Tony Barado said that he wanted to talk to you over Christmas break...perhaps I will talk to him also, see if there's anyhting that he can suggest. Such condescension! Looking down on people," Mom explained before Cody could ask. 

"Yeah! That's her!" The rest of the meal was fairly quiet, but Cody felt better at Mom's anger on his behalf. 

After dinner, Cody got an unexpected owl from Harry, and it was fairly brief: 

_ Ron's Dad was injured and had to go to St. Mungo's. We're all spending the holidays together. If you want to spend a couple of days at the end of Christmas break with us, you're more than welcome. Send Professor Lupin a reply...you'll be going to his house first if you decide to come and visit. Will explain later._

_ -Harry_

Cody was a bit concerned at hearing that Mr.Weasley had been hurt, but sent a reply saying that yes, he would come visit the last couple days of vacation. He asked Mom, and she said it was all right with her, and Cody sent his letter back. 

That night, they all played a few board games, and Cody managed to forget about Umbridge for the time being. And when he went to bed, he did not dream. 

Tony visited the day after Christmas, and the visit was short. Tony was worried, Cody could see this; seemed that others in the government had been hearing disturbing things about the American Death Eaters. "They're defintiely getting more active," said Tony. "A lot of them landed in the various wizard prisons back when Voldemort was in power, but there are a lot still at large. Most the Death Eaters were stationed along the east coast, but most of the major cities, like Chicago, L.A., they had large followings as well." 

"Did you find out of there were just being copycats or not?" asked Cody. 

"No," said Tony. "But from everything we've heard, they did have and still have contact with England. I told the governer about you, Cody, and that I had gotten my information from you, once I realized that your information coincided with what they've already learned. They want to know anything that you might here about Voldemort. Because the Death Eaters here were a huge problem. Not as bad as in England, as this is a big country, but enough of one that they defintiely don't want a repeat." 

"What do they want anyway?" said Cody. "What do the Death Eaters here do?" 

Tony shrugged, sighing a bit. "I don't know. I guess they just like the sense of power. You know, a group of strong wizards, that the government couldn't deal with. Made them feel powerful. And some just like to hurt people." 

"I guess. Sure wish they'd just all go jump in the ocean though." 

Tony actually chuckled a bit. "I don't blame you Cody, though it might contribute to the water pollution problem." Cody giggled a little. "Anyway. Your mom said that there's someone from the Ministry over there interfering with the school, is that right? Umbridge, she said?" 

Cody nodded. "Yeah, trying to get me expelled, too. And not letting the kids do magic because the Ministry thinks Dumbledore's making an army to take over the Ministry with." 

"Give me a freakin' break," said Tony in exasperation. "He is proving to be a huge obstacle in dealing with Voldemort. What, does he have to see him kill someone with his own eyes, or what?" 

"Yeah, I bet he does! And what if they make a law or something that says that kids my age can't be at the school? I love it there!" 

"Well, this I might be able to help you with. Is her first name Dolores?" Cody nodded. "Ah. I've heard of her, too. Nasty piece of work, too, worked fairly hard to try and break off relations with the U.S. a few years back. It didn't work, of course. Most the people in Florida's council, at least, dislike her a great deal. I'm meeting with the governer and the Florida Wizard's Council in a few days. I'll see what I can do." 

Cody smiled. "Thanks. Governer? Just like the Muggles have a governor?" 

"Yep! The government is quite similar. There is a Senate that heads all the mages in the country, then a President and Vice-President that heads the council. One witch or wizard from each state, the governer of that state, makes up the Senate and things that will affect the whole country are voted on by them. The governers preside over the state councils. There's a whole rank system." 

"Weird! It's a lot different in England." 

"It is," Tony agreed, standing. "Anyway, I will keep in contact while you're here, at the very least. Be careful, kid, okay?" 

Cody nodded, and saw Tony to the door. 

"Any luck?" said Mom, coming into the room. 

"Well maybe. Tony says the American wizards think Umbridge is a jerk too." 

"I see. Well then perhaps they can help." 

"I hope so." 

Mom kissed him on the top of his head. "Try not to think about it. Instead, why don't you try out that new video game?" 

"Hey, good idea!" One of Cody's Christmas gifts had been the new Nintendo game system, which came with the new Legend of Zelda game. Cody had been thrilled with it, and at Mom's suggestion, he ran upstairs to play. 


	45. Year 5, Chapter 8: Cody and Mrs Black

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 8: Cody and Mrs. Black**

Cody had not brought anything home for the holidays except his broomstick, pajamas and toiletries (and Merlin, of course), as he didn't need them at home. And so he only had a few things to take when he met the Knight Bus to go to Lupin's house. He had replied to Cody's letter, telling him his address and saying he would be looking forward to seeing Cody. 

And now it was time to leave. 

Mom was strangely reluctant when she saw Cody onto the Knight Bus, and Cody supposed that she didn't like the idea of him going back under Umbridge's Supreme Reich. Cody didn't really want to go back under Umbridge's Supreme Reich either, but the alternative was to drop out of Hogwarts, and he wasn't about to do that. 

Later, he would wonder if perhaps Mom had known something that Cody didn't, when she looked so reluctant to see him leave; but for now, he paid it little mind. 

The ride was as bumpy as ever, but Cody was well-used to it by this point in time, and when the bus screeched to a halt in London, Cody paid his fare and hopped off. 

--- 

While the Knight Bus BANGed off to its next stop, Cody looked up at the building he had been brought to. (It was COLD out!) There was no one there, and for a moment Cody was nervous, wondering if perhaps this was not the wrong building. That would leave him stranded; but then he remembered that he could summon the Knight Bus any time he needed to, and so was reassured. 

It looked like an apartment building to Cody, and he realized he had no idea which one might be Lupin's. He shrugged and approached the door, which was locked, but which had an intercom on it. He stood on his toes and pressed the button. "Hello?" 

"'Oo's this?" came a voice that sounded like it had the same accent as Stan, the conductor on the Knight Bus. I'm looking for Profes...for...Remus Lupin." 

"Well 'e ain't at this number!" 

"Well sor_ry_," said Cody with a degree of peevishness in his voice. 

"Looking for me?" came a low, amused-sounding voice from behind him. 

Startled, Cody spun around, and then laughed, as he looked up into Lupin's familiar face. "Hi! Where were you?" 

"I was getting some groceries," said Lupin, indicating the bag he carried. "Shall we?" 

Cody nodded, and watched Lupin take out his wand, look up and down the street, then say, "Alohomora." The door opened, and Cody stared. "Whoa, you can do that?" 

"Of course,"said Lupin, sounding puzzled. He stepped inside, holding the door for Cody. 

"But - the Muggles." 

"Ah." Lupin chuckled. "This street, and I believe two streets both to the east and west, are entirely wizard dwellings. Of course there are Muggles nearby and often in the neighborhood so we must be careful, but this place is relatively secure." 

"Oh! Neat! I never visited a place that was all wizards, except for Hogsmeade. And then I didn't see a lotta houses." 

"There are several wizarding communities, but Hogsmeade is the only actual town in England that is entirely magical. Here we are." 

Lupin had led Cody up a flight of stairs to a corridor with four doors in it. He unlocked his door and opened it, leading Cody inside. 

Lupin's apartment was not huge, but it was not tiny, either. It looked old, but it was well-lit, and very clean. Cody liked it as soon as he stepped into what looked like a living room. There was a couch and two comfortable looking chairs, and a desk there. He looked around and saw a doorway that might lead into a kitchen, and a hallway that probably had bedrooms and a bathroom. "I like it!" 

"I'm glad." Lupin had closed the door and headed for the kitchen to set down his bag. 

Cody set his own bag, his broom, and Merlin's cage down and followed him. "What happened to Ron's dad? Is he okay?" 

Lupin nodded. "He is all right, they got to him in time. He was attacked by a snake." 

"A snake?" Cody gasped. "What kind of snake? Was it poisonous?" 

"It was,"said Lupin, putting away some vegetables meat in the fridge. "It was a magical creature, actually. They were having some problems with the venom, and getting Arthur's wound healed, but as long as he's at St. Mungo's, he'll be okay." 

"Aw man...did they catch the snake?" 

"No, it was gone by the time we got there." 

"Where was he?" Cody asked, his eyes wide. 

At this, Lupin turned around and smiled. "That, I cannot tell you, I'm afraid. He was injured in the course of duty with the Order of the Phoenix." 

Cody frowned, at first puzzled, as he had only heard the phrase once, from Ron. "The Order of the...OH! Okay, I know what that is." 

"Yes, unfortunately, it is dangerous work." 

"Can I go see him? Mr. Weasley, I mean." 

"Absolutely! Actually, I had intended to bring you there today, before we head for Siruis' house. That's where Harry and the Weasleys are staying. It is also where the Order of the Phoenix is holding its meetings." 

Cody looked nervously around. "Er...is it safe to say stuff like that?" he asked. "What if someone heard you?" 

Lupin shook his head. "Clever to think of that, but it's safe. I have a Silencing Charm on my rooms, so that we can't be heard. So it should be quite safe. And not uncommon, either, for wizards to use such a thing to block out outside noise." 

Pleased at the praise, Cody smiled. "I gotta learn that! Especially when some stupid person has a radio really loud outside my window." 

Lupin laughed. "Yes, I can see where that would be useful. Anyway, I figured we would eat lunch, then head for St. Mungo's." 

--- 

After Cody and Lupin had eaten a couple of sandwiches each, and Cody had given Merlin some fruit from his container of bat food, Lupin got up and retrieved a broomstick from the corner of the living room. "I'm going to put a Disillusionment Charm on us, so that we can go by broom." 

"Oh, awesome! I like flying my broomstick. I don't get to a lot except when there's Quidditch. An' sometimes on weekends an'stuff." He retrieved his own broom from the floor, and went back over to Lupin to be Disillusioned. 

The charm felt like a little water balloon being broken on his head. He shivered a bit as the chill spread over his body, and then he laughed aloud. "Neat!" His feet looked like the carpet, and his body was showing the same pattern that was on the couch. He was changing color and pattern to match whatever he was standing next to! "Awesome, I gotta learn this!" 

Lupin smiled and put the charm on himself. "It's a fairly complicated one. I'm sure that you won't be learning it until later this year, or perhaps next one. Though once you get it learned, it's not too hard to do. Now, ready?" 

"Yeah!" 

"Keep a close eye, then. I'm not so easy to see right now, wouldn't want you getting lost." 

"I will, I'll fly right next to you." 

"All right, let's head out." 

No one gave the two camouflaged wizards a second glance as they stepped out of the apartment building and mounted their brooms. A gust of icy wind hit Cody in the face and he gasped, grumbling something rude about the cold air. He pulled his cloak closer around him as he flew up to meet Lupin, who was hovering nearly invisible in the air. 

Lupin looked a little surprised to see Cody riding quite comfortably on his broom, with his arms wrapped around himself, and not the handle. "You fly quite well no-handed," he said. 

Cody smiled. "Thanks. I had to learn to fly like this because I'm too small to hit the Bludger far with just one hand. So I practiced and practiced flying like this an' using the bat with both hands. It works good!" 

"Ahhh, I see! I had forgotten that you play Quidditch." 

Cody sighed. "Yeah. It's not as fun as it used to be though." He winced and pulled his hood up against the cold wind. "I hate cold." 

"Why is it not so fun?" 

"Because I hate Malfoy, and he's Seeker. An' the other Slytherins...they're not as bad as Malfoy, the ones on the team, but they're still really mean. And they're really mean to my friends, Ron and them. An' it makes me mad. An' now Umbridge won't let Harry or the twins play Quidditch anymore because they beat up Malfoy who was being really _really_ mean to them, saying bad things about their moms and stuff. An' they made up a song about how bad Ron is at Quidditch, just to make fun of him." Realizing he was ranting a bit, Cody fell silent, and then added, "I hate Slytherin, there's only one I like, his name's Graham Pritchard, he's a second-year. He's nice. But the others... I wish I was Sorted in Gryffindor. Not brave enough, I guess." 

Cody could not tell what kind of expression was on Lupin's camouflaged face, but he felt the hand on his shoulder, and heard the kindness in his voice. "I understand how you feel, Cody. But don't think that it was a lack of courage that put you in Slytherin. You have many qualities that Slytherin house looks for. Determination and ambition, for one, and those are not bad things." 

Cody snorted. "They are if you're someone like Percy. _He_ shoulda been a Slytherin. Boy what a jerk he's being to his family." 

"I have heard," said Lupin. "And yes, Ambition can be a bad thing if one is willing to abandon his morals to achieve their goals. But Cody, are you one of those people?" 

"No!" said Cody vehemently. 

"Well then, you should not be so hard on yourself. And also, keep in mind that the Sorting Hat tries to make the Sorting as even as possible, so that one House will not have a ridiculously greater amount of students than another. Perhaps there were too many in Gryffindor at the time. At any rate, I think you do well enough in Slytherin. Unfortunately, things like ambition do spur many into doing the wrong thing, like Malfoy. If it weren't for the other students' cruelty, would you be unhappy with your House?" 

"Well, no. I mean Professor Snape's really mean, too, but I guess if he wasn't so mean, it'd be okay too." 

"It often happens that way," said Lupin. "The people spoil something that in theory is a good idea. Just hang in there, Cody." 

Finding that he did not feel so angry anymore, Cody nodded. "Okay. Thanks." 

The hand on his shoulder squeezed it once, and then let go. 

About a half hour later, Lupin's voice sounded from beside the boy. "We're nearly there, Cody. See that shop down there?" Cody nodded. "That's where the hospital is. There are Muggle-Repelling charms on the building, and it's enchanted to look like an old, run-down department store. Even if the Repelling charms were not in place, most Muggles never come near it, for lack of interest. Okay, get ready to land, then!" 

"Okay, r-ready." Cody watched Lupin's barely discernible shape began to descend, and Cody followed his path down towards the ground. He landed easily and took hold of his broom, shivering from the cold. "I-I h-hope it's w-warm inside," Cody stammered. 

"Oh it should be." Lupin walked up to the store front and looked at a mannequin in the display who was modeling a horrible green dress. "We're here to see Arthur Weasley," said Lupin quietly to the dummy. Cody stifled a giggle at seeing someone talking to a mannequin, but then gaped as the mannequin _winked_. It crooked its finger to invite them to approach, and Cody felt Lupin's hand on his arm, guiding him towards the store front window. "Just walk right through," said Lupin. "Just like Platform Nine and three-quarters." 

"Um. Uh, okay." Shrugging, Cody stepped into the display, and gasped in surprise. "Woooow!" 

As soon as he had gotten through the magical barrier,which felt like walking through a waterfall, Cody was suddenly in a busy reception area of what looked kind of like the hospitals he had seen on TV. But only kind of. There were people walking here and there, half of them wearing lime-green robes with an emblem of a bone and a wand crossed together. There were people waiting in the chairs along the walls, some looking normal, and some that looked like they had been victims of spells that went bad. There was a man with oozing pustules all over his body, and a woman whose arm looked like it was bleeding antifreeze. There was a desk in the waiting area with a bored-looking witch sitting on it, and next to the desk was a large sign that told people where the various parts of the hospital were. There was a floor for accidents from objects like wands, or cauldron explosions; a floor for animal injuries like bites; a floor for magical illnesses; a floor for poisonings from plant and potion, and a floor for spell damage. And then there was a tearoom and gift shop. 

"It's quite a place, isn't it?" said Lupin, coming up behind Cody. He was visible again, and when he tapped Cody on the head, he was visible again, also. 

"Yeah! Wow...are those the doctors?" Cody asked, pointing at the green-clad people. 

"Yes, only they're called Healers. Only Muggles are called doctors. Although Muggles call some of the ancient African ones witch doctors. All right, let's head up to the fourth floor, then. That's where Arthur's staying." 

Cody was looking everywhere that he could as he followed Lupin through the magical hospital. There were portraits everywhere of witches and wizards of the healing profession, and people rushing everywhere. People with bizarre afflictions were in wards and being brought to rooms; Healers rushed everywhere. "This place is big," said Cody. 

"It is," Lupin agreed. "There are not too many hospitals for magical maladies in Great Britain. In fact this is the only one in England. Not sure if the other British countries have any or not, but this is the largest, certainly." 

The ward where Mr. Weasley sat had only two other occupants; a witch lying alseep in her bed, and a sickly looking man who stared at the ceiling. Mr. Weasley, however, was sitting on the bed reading the Daily Prophet. Cody grinned. "Hi!" 

Mr. Weasley looked up, looking slightly surprised, and then smiled. "Cody! Hello! I didn't know that you'd be coming to visit." 

"Yeah! Professor Lupin brought me, I'm gonna stay with Harry and them tonight an' tomorrow before we go back to prison, er, I mean school," Cody said with a snicker. 

Mr.Weasley gave Cody a stern look, but seemed to be amused all the same. 

"So what happened? How'd you get bit by a snake? How big was it? What kind was it? Where were you?" 

Laughing quietly and shaking his head, Mr. Weasley told Cody that his curiosity would get him no end of trouble someday. Cody wasn't too worried. "Exactly what I was doing and where I was, I'm afraid I can't say," he said. At least he wasn't freaking about it like Mrs. Weasley did! Cody loved the woman but was rather glad she wasn't here. Mr. Weasley lowered his voice. "I'm sure Remus here has told you that I was doing work for the Order. As for what kind the snake was, I'm not sure, I never saw the filthy thing properly. One moment I was dozing off, the next, there was pain. But, they found me in time and brought me here, thanks to Harry." 

"Wow, I bet it was scary." 

"Oh, that, definitely!' said Mr.Weasley. "That's a first for me." 

"I got bitten by a snake once, but it wasn't poisonous. It didn't even hurt, it was just a garter snake. I like garter snakes. I wish I had one." 

"Hmm. Well I don't know about America, but snakes are usually looked on by the wizarding community as Dark creatures. At the very least, undesireable." 

"Well, maybe magical ones. But regular ones are cool. The un-poisonous ones anyways. Pet stores sell them. Besides I'm in Slytherin, people'd probably just figure that's why I like snakes." 

Mr. Weasley smiled a little. "That's probably true. So, how's the holiday going so far?" 

Cody spent the next forty-five minutes or so talking to Mr. Weasley, telling him about school and the like, and of his family. And finally, Lupin said that it was about time to go. 

"Well, I'm glad you came to visit, Cody! With any luck I will be out of here tomorrow or the next day." 

Cody hugged the man and said that he hoped he got out even sooner. He waved as he and Lupin headed out of the room. 

--- 

Cody was less than pleased that he and Lupin would by flying by broomstick to where Harry and the others were staying. He griped a great deal as he flew, his bag in one hand and Merlin's cage strapped to his broomstick. It was frigid in the December air, and as high up as they were, it was even worse. He was just about frozen stiff when he and Lupin landed at the end of a normal-looking street. There was a row of houses, trees, and a street. Cody looked up at Lupin, who looked up at the nearby houses. "Ah, here we are," he said quietly, rummaging in his patched robes for something. 

"Is it one of these houses?" Cody asked. 

"Not quite. Here. Take this and read it, and memorize it." He handed Cody a slip of parchmnent, upon which were words in old-fashioned handwriting. Cody had to squint to be able to make it out; cursive was NOT easy to read! And whoever wrote this wrote kinda like McGonagall, that is to say not very legibly. "The Or -" 

"Shh!" said Lupin sharply. "Not aloud, Cody." 

"Oh." Puzzled now, Cody went back to deciphering the note, which ended up saying: 

_ "The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix can be found at Number 12, Grimmauld Place."_

Cody frowned and looked up at the houses...and noted that they went from eleven to thirteen. "Um?" 

Lupin chuckled. "Say it in your mind a few times so you know it." 

Cody did so, trying not to let the cold distract him too much, and then looked up once more. He gasped and took a step backwards as, for all outward appearances, a house appeared between the two Muggle dwellings. As if it were a giant pool toy that had been instantly inflated. "Um." 

Lupin took the paper from Cody and crumpled it, saying he would burn it once they got inside. "Dumbledore is Secret-Keeper for the Order," he explained to Cody, picking up Merlin's cage and urging the boy inside. "Only he can reveal this house to others. He wrote that note so you could see it." 

"Oh, neat!" Cody stepped in the door and looked around. 

The place was a bit gloomy, actually, with peeling wallpaper and threadbare carpet. There was a curtain at the end of the hall that Cody guessed was hiding a window, and filthy portraits on the walls. A bit further down were several plaques on which sat what looked like rubber heads...goblins, or house elves, or something. Cody wrinkled his nose. "Weird," he said. He felt Lupin's wand tap the top of his head to remove the camouflaging charm. 

Before he and Lupin got too far, Cody caught sight of someone at the end of the hallway and grinned. "Hi, Fred!" he exclaimed happily, but was puzzled at the twin's wince, and Lupin's sudden grasping of his arm. 

"Shh!" Lupin said "You don't want to -" 

But it was too late. Cody was quite startled by a sudden, female voice shrieking at the top of her lungs right beside him, and he jumped to his right, staring in shock at what had just screamed. The curtain had flown open to reveal the ugliest portrait Cody had ever seen, and that included anything at Hogwarts! It was a woman; a woman with yellowish skin, mad eyes, and a black cap. She was drooling, Cody noticed after a moment, once he had gotten over his shock a bit. "Traitors!" the woman was shrieking. "Blood traitors, freaks! Besmirching the home of my family!" 

"Besmirching?" Cody repeated, blinking. Some of the other portraits along the walls had also woken and begun yelling so that it was very noisy indeed in that hall. 

"Nice going!" Fred said, his hands over his ears. "Fantastic, this is! As if we didn't hear enough of her as it is already!" 

Cody looked up at Lupin, a look of utter bewilderment on his face. 

"Come in!" Lupin said loudly. "I'll explain in the kitchen!" 

But Cody was rather fascinated by the ugly old hag, and did not move for a few moments, listening interestedly to her various arcane (and highly insulting) shrieks. And after a moment, the woman stopped and peered closely at Cody, a thick string of drool dropping to the floor of the painting. "Eu," said Cody. 

"You..." the woman whispered, and Cody blinked. The next time the woman spoke, her voice was again a siren shriek. "You! Another blood traitor, come to foul the halls of my kin! Your mother would turn in her grave, knew she of your treason! Mudbloods, and traitors!" 

Needless to say, Cody was quite shocked by the fact that this woman seemed to know who he was. "My...mother? She _does_ know I'm here!" 

But this seemed to upset the old woman yet more, for she shrieked for several seconds. Cody understood little of it, but did manage to get the gist; apparently she referred to Cody's blood mother, and the fact that he considered a Muggle his real mother was highly offensive. "You knew her?" Cody gasped. "Who was she? What was her name?" 

"Youuuuu! You are not worthy to know her name, filthy elfspawn!" 

"_Elfspawn!_" Cody said, highly indignant. "I'm not an elfspawn! Tell me who my mom was!" The woman sneered at him, a leer that only twisted her horrible old face into something yet uglier. Scowling, Cody clenched his fists and stomped up to the portrait, having forgotten everyone else's presense for the time being. "You better tell me, or I'll paint your mustache green!" He heard a snicker from Fred's direction at this insult, but all he got from the painting was an earspitting shriek. 

"All right, that's enough for now," said Lupin, pulling Cody gently away. He was frowning a bit, seemingly as puzzled as Cody by the woman's words. "Fred, help me close the curtains." 

Together, Lupin and Fred managed to force the curtains closed, and soon, the woman stopped her screams. 

Cody felt slightly numb, especially his ears, as he let Lupin guide him out of the hallway and into what turned out to be a dining room. "Would you like some tea, Cody?" Lupin asked. "Or perhaps milk?" 

"Um...milk...please." 

He smiled,and disappeared into the kitchen, as Cody climbed onto one of the chairs. He suddenly remembered that he was cold, and still shivering. Lupin came back out and handed Cody a large glass of milk. "Are you all right?" 

"Yeah, just, she called me an elfspawn!" 

Fred laughed, and sat down across from Cody. "Well she wasn't far off, now,was she?" 

"She was too!" Cody said indignantly, making Fred grin. "I'm not an elfspawn, or a traitor either. Who is she anyways?" 

"It's Sirius' mum,"said Fred. 

Suspecting Fred was being his normal joker self, Cody gave him a skeptical look, and glanced to Lupin, who had also sat down. But Lupin only nodded. "That's his _mom?_" Cody said incredulously. 

"Yes, that is a portrait of Sirius' mother, Cody. We've tried to get it down, but Sirius thinks she put a Permanent Sticking Charm on it when she was alive, and none of us have been able to break it." 

"Marcus threatened to put one of those on the seat of my robes when I made reserve Beater once, if I didn't quit fidgeting," Cody said. 

"Did you stop fidgeting?" Fred asked curiously. 

"Yeah! 'Cuz I think he woulda done it!" 

Fred snorted, as Cody drank about a fourth of his milk at once. 

Just then, Sirius Black came in, looking grumpy. "Who set off the old bat this time?" he asked. 

Cody raised his hand. "Me. I dind't know she was there, she called me an elfspawn." 

Sirius blinked, looking surprised either at seeing Cody, or at being greeted with "She called me an elfspawn." 

"You didn't take offense or anything, did you?" asked Fred dryly. 

"Yeah! I did! Anyway, you really think she knew my mom, or is she just crazy?" 

"She said she knew your mum?" Siruis asked, Summoning a bottle of butterbeer and opening it. 

"Ooo, can I have some?" Cody asked on seeing the butterbeer." 

"Of course." Sirius Summoned a second bottle and slid it across the table. 

"Thanks!" Having finished his milk, Cody bullied the bottle open and took a swallow. He sighed in relief as the drink relieved the numbing cold from outside. "Man, it's cold out! But yeah, well, she kinda did. She was yelling and stuff, an' then just looked at me an'said I was another blood traitor... besmirching her house." He giggled again at the word. "What's that mean anyway?" 

"It means 'dirtying'," said Lupin. "Tainting something." 

Cody snorted. "Sheesh. But yeah. She said my mom would turn in her grave if she knew I was here with you guys, but she meant my blood mom, not my regular one." 

Lupin frowned. "Do you know what your birth parents' names were?" 

"No. I got left at an orphanage, an' they didn't know who I was. No records or anything. I dunno what my real last name is even, or even my real birthday. They just figured out it was in March. When my Mom adopted me, she asked me when I wanted it an' I said the thirteenth 'cuz that's my favorite number." 

"You into bad luck then?" Fred asked. 

Cody grinned. "Nah, it's not bad luck. That's why I like that number, 'cuz it's supposed to be." 

"So you like the number just out of sheer defiance?" asked Lupin, looking amused. 

Cody nodded. "Yep!" 


	46. Year 5, Chapter 9: Meeting the Order

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 9: Meeting the Order**

There was no more talk then of Sirius' mother, but it was on Cody's mind the rest of the day. Lupin spent some time visiting, then said that he had to go. Cody sought out the various current residents of the house and said hello to him, and was told that he could either share a room with one of the other fifth-years, or kip on the couch. Since the house was slightly crowded, Cody went ahead and slept on the couch, after making sure that it had been cleaned. Harry had told him of the massive amounts of filth they had had to clean. As it was, this day, it was fairly clean and festive looking from the hoilidays. 

"How come there's fake heads on the wall?" Cody asked at dinner. 

"They aren't fake, Cody," said Sirius. "They're former house elves that served the Black family. Once they got too old to serve, they were beheaded and their heads mounted on the wall." 

Cody's face went rather pale. "They killed their house elves and put their heads on the wall?" he said faintly. 

"Afraid so," said Sirius. 

Mrs. Weasley made an disapproving noise. "Is that really something you should tell the boy, Sirius?" 

Sirius raised a brow. "Well I'm not going to lie to him. What should I have said?" Sirius' voice was polite, but Cody could tell he was annoyed. 

"It's okay, Mrs. Weasley," said Cody. "I can handle it, I'm ten now, anyways." He tried, and mostly succeeded, not to look as unnerved as he really was, and Mrs. Weasley said no more on the matter. Cody was glad; he didn't _want_ to talk about the matter any more. 

After supper, everyone went to their activities, which in this house were not many. Cody spent a little while talking to his friends about what had happened to Mr. Weasley, and speculating away from adult ears what he might have been doing. The twins said they thought he had been protecting whatever weapon it is that Voldemort was after, and Cody rather agreed. 

But soon he tired of the endless conversations and wandered off to see the rest of the house. 

It was interesting, to a point. He rather thought it would have been a lot more interesting had he been here during the summer, before they threw away all the weird stuff. Although there _was_ a tapestry showing the Black family tree, and he was surprised to see that the Blacks and the Malfoys were related. He also recognized half the Death Eaters' names as well. "Sheesh, they're all inbred," Cody said quietly, then blushed a bit. It hadn't been a nice thing to say, if marginally true. Still, Sirius wasn't anyhting like the others. 

He was startled, then, by the entrance of a house elf, and Cody blinked. "Another blood traitor, Mistress says," said the elf, almost as if to himself. "A child traitor of his blood and kin." 

Cody blinked. "Hi to you too," he said, taken aback. "Who're you?" 

"Kreacher," said the elf. "Kreacher, who serves the most noble House of Black, that's filled with Mudbloods and filth..." 

With a scowl, Cody crosed his arms. "It is _not_ filled with Mudbloods and filth. What's your problem, anyways?" 

With a sort of half bow, the elf said, "Kreacher has no problem, young master, he only wants to serve his Master Sirius Black, filthy betrayer that he is." 

This guy is crazy, Cody thought. He stared at him until Kreacher smiled in a rather creepy matter and bustled out of the room. Cody was quite uncertain how to take the strange house-elf, whom he thought was far weirder than even Dobby could ever hope to be. "Weirdo!" he called. 

Before going to bed that night, Cody crept curiously down to the hallway and slowly drew back the curtains that covered Mrs. Black's portrait. She was an old hag, it was true, but Cody was morbidly fascinated with the crazy old woman, and he liked how she said things. They were nasty things, true, but as insults went, they were pretty interesting. And she knew his mother - that was more than Cody knew. 

For a few moments he only looked at the picture. She was sleeping, her head drooped onto her chest, a ribbon of yellowish drool dripping onto his black dress. Cody stuck his tongue out in an expression of disgust. She was gross, that was for sure! 

But then he poked her curiously, and she snorted, blinking drowsily as she raised her head. Her eyes widened as she looked down and saw Cody, and drew in a breath. Cody winced as she let out a stream of insults at him, how dared he touch her with his filthy traitor's hands, how it wasn't enough that he was helping to befoul her home that he had to taint her with his unclean touch... After his ears adjusted to the volume, Cody watched her with a sort of amused, fascinated look on his face. She called him insults even Mom would never say! 

It wasn't long before Sirius stomped into the room, angrily shouting at his mother's painting to shut UP! "You miserable old hag!" 

And of course Mrs. Black began screaming that Sirius was shame of her blood, and a traitor to boot (that seemed to be her favorite word; she used it a lot) and how dared he return to besmirch his father's home. 

"Didn't Lupin tell you to be quiet down this hallway?" Sirius asked Cody with some annoyance as he struggled to close the curtains. The curtains, it seemed, did not really care for being closed. Either that or Mrs. Black's portrait was keeping them open. 

"Yeah," said Cody, unperturbed by Sirius' tone. "But I poked her in the leg to see what would happen." 

At this, Sirius abandoned his battle with the curtain for a moment and stared at Cody blankly. "You woke her on _purpose?_" 

"Well, yeah." 

Siruis' tone was that of astonishment. "For the love of Merlin, _why?_" 

Cody shrugged, grinning. "Well, it's kinda fun. And the stuff she says is kinda funny." A screech of anger came from the portrait at this. He also did it because it annoyed her, and since she wouldn't tell Cody anything about his birth mother, he was rather keen to agitate her. 

At first he thought Sirius might yell at him, but then the man actually laughed aloud and shook his head slowly. "You are the strangest child I have ever met," he said. "If you're going to come down and provoke my mother's portrait, at least don't do it when everyone's heading for bed, all right?" 

"Okay,"said Cody agreeably, and helped Sirius tug the curtains closed. 

"Weird," muttered Sirius as he and Cody left the hallway. "Definitely weird." 

"Thanks!" Feeling rather flattered, Cody headed for the couch and curled up underneath the torn but clean blanket. At least it was warm in here! 

The following day, Cody alternated his time between spending time with the other students, exploring the house (the attic, at least, was still full of neat old stuff) talking with the adults, and annoying the portraits in the hallway. The second time he did this, right after lunch, Mrs. Black had called Cody names he had never heard before! Even Fred and George weren't sure on some of them, when he asked, but most were quite vile! Cody felt halfway between highly entertained, and highly offended. And when Sirius told Cody to shut the old hag up, he refused to help wrestle the curtains closed; said that if Cody was going to cause the uproar, he could deal with it alone. Cody didn't mind, even though it took him a great deal of time battling the curtains before he got them closed. 

"Sirius thinks you're mad, you know," George told him later. "I saw him and Tonks talking in the kitchen. When all the noise started up, he sighed, sat down, and put his head in his hands." 

Fred laughed quietly. "Yeah, Tonks asked what in the name of wizardry was going on, and Sirius said that it was just that 'crazy Slytherin kid' riling up the portraits." 

At this, Cody giggled for several seconds, picturing poor Sirius maybe wondering _Why me?_. "Who's Tonks?" he asked. 

"You've not met her yet, she's a member of the Order. An Auror, she is. C'mon, we'll introduce you. And the real Mad-Eye is there, too." 

There were actually six people in the kitchen by the time they got there, and three Cody did not recognize. They all fell silent as the trio entered the kitchen. One of them was a tall black man, one was a shabby looking man with what looked like a trench coat on, and one was a short woman with shocking pink hair. The other two were Sirius and Lupin, and the real Moody. "Hi!" Cody said, waving at Lupin. 

The man smiled. "Hello, Cody. I hear you've made 'friends' with Mrs. Black." 

Cody snorted. "No way, I just like to make her mad." 

"You're driving _me_ mad too," said Sirius, and everyone laughed. 

"Cody hasn't met most the people in the Order," said George. "Since most of them weren't here last night when he got here." 

"Ah!" said Lupin. "You're right. Well come on in, Cody. This gentleman here is Mundungus Fletcher, he's been doing a lot of our work out among the wizards on the street." 

Fletcher, who smelled of some kind of vile chemical, held out a hand to Cody, who shook it. "Nice ta meet ya," he said with an accent so strong that even after all this time among Englishmen, Cody could barely understand it. 

"Hi!" 

"And this here is Kingsley Shacklebolt, an Auror with the Ministry." 

The black wizard shook hands as well, completely covering Cody's hand with his larger ones. 

"This is Alastor Moody, you've not met him yet. The real one, I mean." 

Moody's eye kind of twitched at this, but he nodded at Cody, anyway. His magical eye was rolling around, as always. 

"Cool...your eye is creepy." 

Moody raised a brow. "Is that so?" he said curiously. 

Cody nodded. "Yeah. I picked it up once, when the other guy turned back into himself, I was gonna put it on the desk, but it spun by itself so I dropped it." 

At this, both of Moody's eyes settled on Cody, and his grizzled brows rose. Cody _thought_ he might be amused, but the man's scarred face was quite difficult to read. "You dropped my eye on the floor?" 

"Well...yeah. But I picked it up again and put it on the desk, and it sat there and stared at me. Can you see out of it when it's not in your eye?" 

Moody uttered something that Cody assumed was a chuckle, and growled, "No. It still moves whether I'm wearing it or not. But it's got to be in my head before I can use it." 

"Man, that'd be neat if you could see out of it. Then you could leave it in a room and see what's going on in it!" 

As Moody seemed to be considering this idea, Lupin continued his introductions. "And this is Nymphadora Tonks..." The woman sighed and rolled her eyes. "...who prefers to be known by her surname." 

"Surname?" Cody asked as he shook Tonks' hand. 

"Last name, Cody," said Lupin. "This is Cody DeDannan, he's a friend of Ron and Harry and Hermione's. He's actually American, but he goes to Hogwarts." 

"Wotcher, Cody," said Tonks with a grin. 

"Hi! Nice to meet you guys! Do you guys stay here?" 

"Sometimes," said Tonks. "We'll be staying here tonight, at any rate, two or three of us are going to be accompanying you all on the Knight Bus to school." 

"Always wanted to try that," said Fred. 

"Oh, I know that bus!" said Cody. "I always take it when I go home an' when I come back to Hogwarts." 

"You ride the Knight Bus across the ocean?" asked Kingsley, looking slightly green. "You're braver than I. That thing makes me ill." 

Cody giggled. "It's fun. My sister likes it, but my mom gets sick, too." 

"Well anyway," said Lupin to the others. "I think that our business can wait until the morrow. Snape will be here soon, anyway, to talk to Harry." 

Dinner was a rather grim affair. Sirius, though he tried to appear cheerful, was very obviously not. Mr. Weasley had returned home, though, which was at least some cause to be happy. Cody asked Harry quietly why Professor Snape had wanted to talk to him, and Harry said that he was supposed to study Occlumency with Snape; Occlumency meant shielding his mind against outside influences. Cody felt very sorry for him. 

The next morning, everyone said their goodbyes, as the Hogwarts students were to return to school that day. There was an old woman there that did not seem to have been there a moment before, and when Cody asked, Lupin told him it was Tonks, that she was a metamorphamagus, and could change her appearance at will. "Wow!" Cody had said. "I wish I could do that! I'd make myself look like Lion-O!" 

Tonks laughed. "You'd make a fine ThunderCat," she said. 

"You know about them?" Cody asked, delighted. 

"Absolutely! Was one of my favorite cartoons when I was very little." 

Cody grinned. "I think my dad liked the show too. I have a toy Sword of Omens that was his when _he_ was a kid, I guess. It's the only thing I have of his." 

"Very cool! I always thought that was the coolest ThunderCat toy, but never got one, myself. My parents never believed in toy weapons." 

"Aww, that sucks. You can use mine sometime if you want to." 

Tonks winked. "I may take you up on that." 

When the Knight Bus was summoned, Cody sighed; the bus was fun sometimes, but then at others, it was just annoying. Tonks pushed by Stan as he gave his introduction, and Cody waved at him. Stan, though, ignored him as he saw Harry board the bus. "'Ere, it's 'Arry!" 

"If you shout his name," hissed Tonks, "I will curse you into oblivion." 

Cody laughed as everyone boarded, and looked around. For a few, it was the first time they'd been on the Knight Bus. Ron said he'd always wanted to try it. 

"Looks like we'll have to split up," said Tonks, stepping carefully over the frog spawn and custard creams that had spilled from someone's bag onto the floor. Cody ended up at the back of the bus with the twins, Ginny, and Lupin. Cody settled in happily next to Lupin and readied himself for the ride. His bag he stowed securely under his chair, and held tightly onto Merlin's cage. 

They set off, careening crazily around the street before BANGing onto a completely different street. 

It was a very short ride, and very soon they were outside the gates of Hogwarts. It was snowing out, and Cody stuck his tongue out at the falling flakes as he left the bus. He hugged Lupin good bye, and told him that he had to write to Cody or else Cody would come after him and make him sorry. Knowing that Cody was only kidding around, Lupin laughed, and agreed. 

Cody waited while Lupin said something to Harry, and then the bus left, leaving the Weasleys, Cody, Hermione, and Harry alone at the gates. 

Cody spent the day with his friends, before they all had to go to bed. Cody sighed as he watched everyone else head for the stairway that would take them up to Gryffindor Tower. He waited until he lost sight of them (a staircase had moved to obstruct his view) then headed down to Slytherin's common room. 

Graham had actually waited up for him to say hello, and thanks for the color-changing quill Cody had given him for Christmas. (Cody had gotten a broom compass from Graham). Cody told him about his vacation, omitting the parts about the Order and its headquarters that he wasn't allowed to tell anyone, and Graham said that his own vacation had been rather dull. "All my family gets together at Christmastime, and I don't like half of them. Annoying gits, a lot of them! My mum and dad don't like them much, either, for that matter." 

"Why do they invite them over?" 

"We don't, we all meet at my uncle's house, he has a huge manor. Tradition, I guess. My parents believe firmly in tradition, even if they don't like the tradition." 

"Oh. Well at least you're back at Hogwarts. Sometimes it sucks here but it's never boring." 

"Unless you're in Binns' class," scoffed Graham, and Cody laughed. Graham yawned, and stood up from the chair he was sitting in. "Well I'm off to sleep. See you tomorrow, Cody." 

"Okay! Night!" Cody waved and headed into his dorm. He sighed, looking at his familiar bed, and decided he really did like it here, Umbridge or no Umbridge. 

Before going to sleep, Cody wrote out a letter to his mother, and one to Tony, asking them both if they knew anything, anything at all about his parents. Sirius' mother had gotten him more curious than ever about them. And considering the kind of person Mrs. Black was, and how she seemed to regard Cody's mother as someone to be admired... Cody was a little worried about what kind of person his own mother was. 

Once he had sent his letter, Cody dropped off to sleep. 

--- 

The next day at breakfast, there was a bit of a stir. Cody noticed that those at the Gryffindor table seemed quite grim, and some at the Slytherin table did as well. Most, though, seemed oddly triumphant, Draco most prominently among them. This made Cody very uneasy. 

"What's going on?" Cody asked. 

Graham shook his head. "I dunno. Malfoy's got a copy of the Daily Prophet. Some of the others havem too, but I haven't gotten a peek, yet." 

Cody frowned, but called up the table to Malfoy. "Hey Draco, how come you're lookin' all smug?" His tone was light, as if he were just kidding around, since making Draco mad would not likely get Cody any answers. 

Draco looked up and smiled unpleasantly, tossing his newspaper down for Cody to read. "See for yourself, DeDannan." 

Cody picked the paper up and knelt back down on the bench, his eyes widening as he saw what was on the front cover. The headline read: 

_ Mass Breakout from Azkaban. Ministry Fears Black is "Rallying Point" for Old Death Eaters._

"Uh-oh," Cody said quietly. This could be bad. And Black? They still suspected Sirius? Scowling, Cody read the article, not saying anything about Black, since he didn't think Graham knew about him. There were pictures of all the Death Eaters, with their crimes listed underneath. Bellatrix Lestrange was there, the woman who had tortured Neville's parents into permanent insanity. 

Cody and Graham exchanged a horrified glance. "That's not good," Graham whispered. 

"No, it isn't." Cody peered over at Malfoy, who was watching them with a sort of superior smile. His own father was a Death Eater, of course he would be happy that the others were free. Most of the teachers were speaking grimly among themselves as well, and Cody was sure they knew about this also. Dumbledore and McGonagall, in particular, seemed especially serious. 

The day did not improve much. He found out shortly after lunch, when he went to visit Hagrid, that Hagrid had been put on probation, and spent several moments venting his anger at Umbridge in the form of insults (some he had learned from Mrs. Black). It was not really an unexpected bit of news, but it certainly was unwelcome. 

The thing was, many students seemed happy, and not just Slytherins. So Hagrid did not teach things exactly perfect, and he didn't show all the pretty, cute creatures. Did the students have no sense of decency? Did they not even care how much the teaching job meant to Hagrid? All they cared about was themselves. 

The next day was not any more cheerful, either. Umbridge's new (and stupid) decree stated that teachers were not allowed to speak with students about anything not related to the subjects they were paid to teach. Great, Cody thought. Now he couldn't even have conversations with the teachers he liked! 

As the days went by, it was obvious that Umbridge wanted more than ever to gain complete control over the school. She was meaner and more power hungry than ever. And it was not just the students her felt her tyranny. Every one of Hagrid's classes were being attended by the horrid woman (and Cody wondered how she found the time to do it, having her own classes to "teach") and Harry had told Cody that the Divination teacher was also on probation. Cody had never met the woman, but from what he could tell, she at least really _was_ a lousy teacher. Still, Cody could not bring himself to side with Umbridge against anyone, horrible teacher or not. 

Quidditch was not nearly as fun as it normally was, mostly because of Draco's miserable attitude. Although oddly enough, his annoyance actually improved his performance as Beater. Though it did slightly impair his alertness on the pitch and his accuracy, his anger gave him strength, which was quite an advantage when dealing with Bludgers. He hit one during practice that sailed the full length of the pitch and nearly knocked Bletchley from his broom. Even Malfoy had said it was a heck of a good hit. 

Choir practices were all right, and as none of the people Cody hated were in choir, there was nothing to distract him from the music. In fact singing usually cheered him up. 

And then there was the D.A. The more or less weekly meetings were often sources of inspiration and encouragement to Cody, not to mention everyone in it. Even ol' Zacharias Smith usually enjoyed the meetings, even if he _was_ a git. Cody was looking forward to playing Hufflepuff if only to have the chance of hurting the smug little creep. 

And Neville... No one would have thought this was the same boy who bungled nearly everything he tried to do in the wizarding world. He, like everyone else, knew of the Death Eaters' escape. Cody could not imagine what it was like, looking at a picture of the woman who tortured his parents so that they didn't even recognize him anymore. And then knowing that the torturer was free... It seemed to have given Neville a sort of fierce determination to improve. And he was definitely improving. Cody wondered what Neville's gran would think of that! 

And then there was Cody's friendship with Graham Pritchard. Cody had never really had any real friends before Hogwarts, and now he had several, but Graham was definitely his best friend. Graham and Neville. So Cody did have a few things to get him through Umbridge's tyranny. He felt desperately sorry for Harry, who had lost many of the things he enjoyed at Hogwarts. Something needed to be done about Umbridge. 

--- 

As it turned out, that something happened on Valentine's Day. Only a small something, but one that definitely stirred things up. There had been a Hogsmeade weekend on Valentine's Day,and Cody had gone only briefly to refill his candy and butterbeer supplies (and to get a couple of little trinkets for his mom and sister), but Harry had apparently had a meeting with two very interesting people. He told Cody about it during their next Care of Magical Creatures class, far away from Umbridge and her stupid clipboard. He had met with none other than Luna Lovegood...and Rita Skeeter. He had told the entire story of Voldemort's return, to be published in the Quibbler. "I'm sure that plenty of people will think I'm as crazy as the Prophet has been making me out to be," said Harry with a sigh. "But at least my story is out." 

Cody had nearly laughed aloud, before remembering that he did not want to attract attention from Umbridge. "All right!" he said in a whispered voice. "That's awesome, I can't wait to see her face when she sees it!" 

"If I get my hands on a copy once it's printed, I'll show you." 

Cody giggled. "Cool." 


	47. Year 5, Chapter 10: DA Disbanded

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 10: D.A. Disbanded**

Before Slytherin was to play Hufflepuff, Gryffindor was to play them, and it was not the greatest of matches. Cody was rooting for Gryffindor, especially since Zacharias was on the Hufflepuff team, but Gryffindor lost the match rather horribly. Ginny Weasley, who was Seeking in Harry's place, managed to catch the Snitch, but Gryffindor was so far behind by then that even the 150 points did not secure a win, for Hufflpuff was 160 points ahead. That was sixteen goals! Cody booed the Hufflepuffs quite loudly, wanting to beat them more than ever. 

And poor Ron, he had missed blocking nearly every goal that Hufflepuff threw. Cody wished that he could do something to help. Ron needed a whole lot of self confidence, and with his brothers around, it wasn't easy to do. Cody loved the twins, but they acted like all older brothers do, which was not always nice. 

The next morning, however, Cody was motioned eagerly over to the Gryffindor table by Harry waving his hand. He tugged on Graham's sleeve, and the pair made their way over to the table, where a copy of the Quibbler sat in front of Harry on the table. "All right!" Cody whispered, climbing onto the seat next to him. Graham stood behind him. "It is in here?" 

"Yes." He pointed to the cover, where a picture of Harry's face and a headline reading, "Harry Potter Speaks Out at Last: The Truth About He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and the Night I Saw Him Return" resided on the cover. 

"It's good, isn't it?" said a spacey voice from behind Cody. Luna Lovegood had come up behind them and sat between Fred and Ron. "It came out yesterday, I asked Dad to send you a free copy. I expect all these are letters from readers." She gestured to the several envelopes that Harry had in front of him. 

Hermione asked if she and Ron could open some, and Harry said that they could. The letters ended up being a mix of support and derision. Some believed Harry, some thought he was stark raving mad. "What a bunch of dummies," said Cody crossly of the non believers. "Just because they don't wanna admit he's out there, they won't believe anyone." 

"At lest some believe me," said Harry. "The Daily Prophet's idea on the Death Eaters' escape had too many holes in it." 

"Big enough to drive a bloody train through," added Ron. 

Cody skimmed through the article, grinning widely the entire time. The story was grim, and it told how Cedric died, and how Voldemort had been brought back to his physical body. But it named all of the Death Eaters whose names Harry knew, and told the wizarding world of Voldemort's return. And boy, was Umbridge gonna be mad! 

And speaking of the devil... 

"What is going on here?" asked a sweet, cutesy voice behind them. Everyone turned to see Unbridge's doughy toadface smiling down on them. Cody hated that smile, it was like the smile of an executioner closing in on a victim, even though it was girlish and innocent on the outside. What a vile woman. "Why have you got all these letters, Mr.Potter?" 

"Is that a crime now, getting mail?" asked Fred loudly, and Umbridge told him to be careful else he would get detention. Then she repeated her question. 

"People have written to me because I gave an interview about what happened to me last June." 

"And interview? What do you mean?" 

"I mean a reporter asked me questions and I answered them," said Harry in a voice that incdicated he didn't really care of Umbridge got angry with him or not. "Here." He took the Quibbler from Cody's hands and threw it at Umbridge. 

It really was kind of interesting, watching her face turn slowly from a pasty white to the kind of deep purple one might see on a king's robes. Cody covered his mouth to keep from giggling. 

"When did you do this?" she demanded, the stupid smile gone from her face. 

"Last Hogsmeade weekend." 

Umbridge was less than thrilled, indeed she was shaking with rage. Not even able to speak correctly, she sputtered for several seconds before forbidding him from further Hogsmeade visits, saying, "I have tried again and again to teach you not to tell lies." Cody snorted. "The message, apparently, has not sunk in. Fifty points from Gryffindor and another week's worth of detentions." She stalked off with the magazine. 

"You didn't break any school rules!" Cody said furiously. "That shouldn't be allowed, what she did!" 

Harry sighed unhappily. "Yeah. But who's gonna tell her no?" 

There really was no answer to that. 

But before lunch, a new decree was up on the bulletin boards and House message boards, that any student found in possession of the magazine The Quibbler would be expelled. "Blimey," said Graham that day at lunch. "She must've tattled to Fudge at the speed of light to get a decree up that quick!" 

"She was really mad," said Cody. "Harry told the truth, when she worked so much to make him stop. She can't....she can't make him stop by hurting him and she's ticked." 

"She can't intimidate him into silence," Graham said, using the words Cody was not able to find. "And as much of a control freak as she is..." 

Cody grinned a bit, nodding his head. "'Zactly! Sucks to be her!" 

Banning the article had done nothing to keep students from reading it; in fact it made them all the more determined to. If it was being banned, it must be good! And those who had copies of the magazine or excerpts from the interview were never caught with them because the students had used magic to wipe them blank, or to disguise them. 

Cody was stopped once, of course, and Umbridge made him turn his pockets out. All that was in his jeans pockets were Hermione's fake Galleon, at which Umbridge didn't even glance; a bit of string, three Sickles, a Fizzing Whizzbee, and a small hole. 

"Turn out the pockets of your robes," she demanded. 

Cody shrugged, and turned out his left, but said he could not turn out his right. 

"And why not?" came the demand. 

Cody pulled out the tatters of what was once his pocket but was quite worn out from use. "'Cuz it isn't a pocket anymore. Anyways, I don't have to carry that article around. I already got to read it before you stole Harry's copy." 

Umbridge sputtered, and took five points from Slytherin for Cody's "insolence", then stormed on her way, demanding that a nearby Hufflepuff first-year turn her pockets out. Shaking his head, Cody continued on his way. 

--- 

Not long after, a commotion in the entrance hall prevented Cody from getting into the Great Hall for dinner, as he was returning from visiting Hagrid. Someone was shrieking madly, and Cody had to push through several taller students to see what was going on. When finally he emerged in front of the assembled students, he blinked. 

An adult he did not recognize was standing in the middle of the hallway, enormous glasses askew on her face, various shawls and the like scattered about her on the floor. Her hair looked like she had stuck her finger in an electrical socket, large trunks lay on the floor, and a bottle was in her hand. "Er...who's that?" Cody whispered to the girl next to him. 

"That's Professor Trelawney," the girl said quietly, her eyes wide with uncertainty. "She teaches Divination." 

So _this_ was the teacher Ron often complained about! She was howling that she could not leave, that this was her home. And who else but Professor Umbridge stood there, a malicious smile on her ugly face. 

"It _was_ your home," she said. "Until an hour ago when the Minister of Magic countersigned the order for your dismissal. Now kindly remove yourself from this hall. You are embarrassing us." 

But Trelawney did not move, only sank down onto her trunk and sobbed. And then Professor McGonagall came down the stairs, pulling a handkerchief from her robes, and giving it to Trelawney. "There there, Sybill, calm down. Blow your nose on this. It's not as bad as you think, now, you are not going to have to leave Hogwarts." Cody found himself grinning at the look on Umbridge's face. 

"Oh, really, Professor McGonagall?" she said. "And your authority for that statement is?" 

"That would be mine," said a voice behind Cody. He turned and looked up to see the headmaster coming into the hallway, and Cody moved aside to let him through, giving him a big grin as he did. 

"Yours, Professor Dumbledore?" said Umbridge in her stupid girly voice. "I'm afraid you do not understand the position. I have here an Order of Dismissal signed by myself and the Minister of Magic. Under the terms of Educational Decree Number Twenty-Three, the High Inquisitor of Hogwarts has the power to inspect, place upon probation, and sack any teacher that she - that is to say I - feel is not performing up to the standard required by the Ministry of Magic." 

Jeez, what a windbag! Cody thought. He heard an older student from Ravenclaw mutter to his friend, "Then why hasn't she sacked herself, then?" 

"If only," said the other boy. 

Umbridge continued. "I have decided that Professor Trelawney is not up to scratch. I have dismissed her." 

Dumbledore only smiled. "You are quite right, of course, Professor Umbridge. As High Inquisitor, you have every right to dismiss my teachers. You do not, however, have the authority to send them away from the castle. I am afraid that the power to do that still resides with the headmaster, and it is my wish that Professor Trelawney continue to live at Hogwarts." 

"No...no...I'll g-go, Dumbledore!" cried Trelawney dramatically. "I sh-shall l-leave Hogwarts and seek my fortune elsewhere!" 

"No. It is my wish that you remain, Sybill." Dumbledore turned to McGonagall, and asked her to take Trelawney back upstairs, and she did. Cody was not alone in looking triumphantly at Umbridge. 

Umbridge was less than pleased, and asked what Dumbledore would so when she found another Divination teacher who required Trelawney's lodgings, and Dumbledore said cheerfully that he had already found a teacher who would reside on the first floor. 

Umbridge's voice went up an octave, a feat which Cody would have believed utterly impossible had he not heard it. "You've found? _You've_ found? Might I remind you, Dumbledore, that under Educational Decree Twenty-two -" 

" -the Ministry has the right to appoint a suitable candidate if and only if the headmaster is unable to find one. And I am happy to say that on this occasion I have succeeded! May I introduce you?" 

The front doors opened, and Cody turned to see that a centaur was walking in the door. His eyes widened in recognition and he grinned. "Hi, Firenze!" he called, waving. "I remember you!" 

Firenze smiled, and nodded his head in return as Dumbledore introduced him to the group at large. "This is Firenze, as young Mr. DeDannan has already said." Cody turned a bit pink. "I think you'll find him suitable." 

Umbridge's face was an ugly purple, like a rotten plum, and she looked utterly furious. Didn't like centaurs? Cody wondered. But then he remembered that she was highly biased towards non humans, and smiled. Served her right. 

--- 

After the holidays, school became far tougher than it ever had been before. With O.W.L. exams coming up in a few months, the students were being pushed harder and harder. Cody found himself quite near tears several times with stress, and had on more than one occasion been sent to Madame Pomfrey for a Calming Draught to steady his panic. He was not the first, and certainly not the only one! Quidditch and choir and the D.A. were keeping him very busy, so that often he had only time enough to do his homework before going to bed. Hogwarts may be ten times better and more interesting than his mundane elementary school, but it was also that much more difficult! 

Even the D.A. was getting a bit frustrating. They were working on Patronuses, and all Cody had been able to get was a wisp of silver vapor. He was told that this was a very good achievement for so young a wizard, but that didn't cheer him a whole lot. Once, as he thought of having been adopted by his mom, he had gotten something substantial for about two seconds, but he couldn't tell what it was. He ended up finally throwing his wand on the floor, sticking his tongue out at it, and flinging himself to sit on one of the big cushions in the room. 

Hermione, of course, had little trouble getting hers to work once she learned the incantation (hers was an otter), and Cho Chang from Ravenclaw had a swan. Seamus managed to get something for a second, as Cody had, but could get no more than that. 

A moment after Cody retieved his wand and was set to try again, the door opened, and then closed, and something very small, wearing about a dozen wooly hats, ran into the room and tugged Harry's robes. After a moment Cody realized it was the weird little house elf, Dobby. And he looked terrified. 

Harry asked what was wrong, and through much stammering, Dobby managed to tell him that the house elves had been warned not to tell...and Harry had to stop him from hitting his head against the walls. 

"What happened, Dobby?" Asked Harry urgently, holding the elf away from anything he could hit himself with. 

"Harry Potter - she - she - " 

"Who's 'she', Dobby?" 

"Oh no," Cody whispered. Surely not. Had someone tattled? He looked wildly around the room; was anyone missing? 

"Umbridge?" Harry asked, and as Dobby nodded, several members of the D.A. gasped in alarm. 

"What about her? Dobby...she hasn't found out about us - about the D.A.? Is she coming?" 

Everyone already knew the answer when Dobby threw himself on the floor and and began kicking it. "Yes, Harry Potter, yes!" he howled. 

Shocked, Harry looked up at everyone and bellowed, "What are you waiting for? RUN!" 

No one needed to be told twice; there was a stampede for the door, and Cody hastily clipped his wand to his belt loop. Harry grabbed Dobby and told him to go back down to the kitchen and not tell anyone anything, and that he forbade Dobby to hurt himself. Cody did not hear the rest, as the doorway had cleared, and he sprinted from it, running down the hallway and hoping fervently that everyone managed to get away before Umbridge caught them. 

He heard footsteps and dodged behind a large statue of a troll, ducking down into the shadows, and feeling highly grateful at the moment that he was small. He heard Harry make a run for it, and then cry out in alarm, and Malfoy's voice gloating, "Trip Jinx, Potter!" That miserable little jerk! "Professor! I've got one!" 

"It's him!" came Umbridge's voice. "Excellent, Draco, excellent, oh very good! Fifty points to Slytherin! I'll take him from here. Stand up, Potter!" 

Cody clenched his fists, wanting badly to go out there, to try and help, do _something! _But that would only get him into trouble as well...and he couldn't do anything, could he? He bit his lip, undecided. And though he wouldn't admit it, he was quite afraid of Umbridge. 

"You hop along and see if you can round up any more of them, Draco. Tell the others to look in the library...anybody out of breath...check the bathrooms, Miss Parkinson can do the girls' ones. Off you go. And you..." Cody assumed this was aimed at Harry. "You can come with me to the headmaster's office, Potter." 

And then it was too late to do anything, and Cody heard Draco and who he assumed were other Slytherins, scattering to look for more of the D.A. Cody was glad he had not gotten far, as he didn't think they would look so close to the room for anyone. 

He waited for at least ten minutes, before leaving his hiding place, and then he walked in what he hoped was a nonchalant way downstairs. He didn't see anyone at first, either from the D.A. or from Slytherin. He was all the way to the entrance hall when Montague rushed past, looking intent. "Have you seen any of the Gryffindors?" he demanded of Cody. 

He was another one, Cody thought. And he didn't usually mind Montague. Until now. "Er, not since lunch," he said, his casual voice not betraying the speed of his heartbeat, or the shaking of his hands. "Why?" 

But the older boy only shook his head darkly and headed for the stairs that led to the Astronomy Tower. Cody breathed a sigh of relief and slumped against the wall. 

The D.A. meeting had barely begun when it had been interrupted, and it was not quite time that students had to be in their common rooms. Cody thought about visiting Hagrid, but then remembered he had asked them not to visit after dark, not wanting to do anything else to jeopardize his job. He sighed, and instead headed for the library to gather his wits. 

He was not very surprised to find three other D.A. members hiding out there, and headed to the little table they sat at. Seamus Finnigan, a Ravenclaw whose name he still didn't know, and Neville Longbottom sat there looking unhappy. "What happened?" Neville asked as he caught sight of Cody. "D'you know?" The other two also looked at him expectantly. 

Cody climbed into a seat, looking around for Slytherins, but the library was nearly deserted. "Did anyone from Slytherin come down here besides me?" 

"Yeah," said Seamus. "Millicent Bulstrode and some other girl were here, why?" 

Cody scowled. "Because Umbridge had them looking for us." 

The Ravenclaw scowled and called Umbridge a rather foul word. "She's got them spying on us!" 

Cody nodded. "Yeah. Malfoy caught Harry, and they went up to see Dumbledore." 

"Well then that's okay!" said Neville in a hushed voice. "I mean, Dumbledore wouldn't let him be expelled, would he?" 

"I dunno." 

"Not if he had a choice," said Seamus bitterly. "But Umbridge, she might get Fudge on her side to get him expelled." 

"That'd be really dumb to expell him, though," said Neville. "If he weren't at school, he wouldn't have to worry so much about what he did; he could tell the whole world about You-Know-Who and she wouldn't be able to do anything to him." 

"You'd think she'd want him under her control," said Seamus. 

"Yeah, but Umbridge isn't that smart," said Cody. "Or...or maybe she's gonna something worse to Harry." He bit his lip. "I wish I'd gone out an' tried to help." 

The Ravenclaw snorted. "And what d'you think you could've done? She definitely wouldn't have any qualms about expelling you." 

"Yeah," said Cody gloomily. "You're right. She already wants to throw me out because I'm younger than everyone else." Cody glanced up at the clock, and stood up. "We better get back to the common rooms, or she'll put us in detention or something." He unconsciously ran his hand over the back of his other hand, and scowled. 

The four students stood and went to their respective dorms. 

Graham was not awake when Cody got there, so he slipped into the dorm and lay in bed for a while, thinking nasty things about Umbridge. 


	48. Year 5, Chapter 11: Petty Tyrant

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter11: Petty Tyrant**

By the next day, two things had happened; notices declaring that Umbridge had replaced Albus Dumbledore as headmaster had gone up over the school, and the story of how Dumbledore had overcome about five trained wizards to escape Hogwarts had spread among the students like wildfire. Cody had met up with the Gryffindors and Ernie Macmillan from Hufflepuff after History of Magic (the others were coming from Herbology) and Harry told Cody the story. Cody's reaction was mixed delight and worry. Delight that Dumbledore had made Fudge look like even more of an idtiot, and worry about what Umbridge as Headmistress would do to the school. 

"Not only that," hissed Harry. "But apparently Umbridge appointed a bunch of Slytherins as her Inquisitorial Squad...and gave them powers that prefects don't have. Like docking points and giving out punishments." 

"What?" said Cody. "I never heard anything about that, that's not right!" 

But Harry glanced at the hourglasses set against the wall inside the castle thst recorded the House points, and even as Cody watched, Gryffindor's was being drained of its rubies. "I can't believe it." In fact Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw seemed to be having a similar problem, though not quite as bad. 

"Noticed, have you?" said Fred from behind him. He and George had joined the little group at the hourglasses. 

"Malfoy just docked us about fifty points! All but Cody here!" 

"Yeah but that's only because I got here late." 

"And you're Slytherin," said Ernie. 

"He woulda done something different, I'm sure he would." 

The twins told them that Montague tried doing the same thing to them during break, but they'd locked him in a Vanishing Cabinet before he could get the words out. 

"But you'll get into terrible trouble!" said Hermione. 

"Not until he reappears, and that could take weeks; I dunno where we sent him," said Fred. And then said they'd decided they didn't care about getting into trouble anymore. 

"Have you ever?" asked Hermione. 

"Course we have," said George. "Never been expelled, have we?" 

"We've always known where to draw the line." 

"We might put a toe across it occasionally..." 

"...but we've always stopped short of causing real mayhem," Fred finished. 

Ron frowned. "But now?" 

"Well now..." said George. 

"With Dumbledore gone..." 

"...we reckon a bit of mayhem..." 

"...is exactly what our new Head deserves." 

"You mustn't!" said Hermione anxiously. "You really mustn't! She'd love a reason to expel you!" 

Fred only smiled. "You don't get it, Hermione, do you? We don't care about staying anymore. We'd walk out right now if we weren't determined to do our bit for Dumbledore first." 

"All right!" said Cody. "Man, I wish I could help!" 

George shook his head. "No. I heard the old bat talking a few days ago about you, actually. Said that one of the American Ministry, or whatever they've got over there, wrote and hinted that expelling you might just caught a breach of alliance between us and them. And Umbridge knows Fudge wouldn't like that." Cody blinked in surprise; Tony must have done some fast talking! "But she was pretty annoyed about it. So I wouldn't make too many waves if I were you." 

"Anyway," said Fred. "Phase one is about to begin. I'd get in the Great Hall for lunch if I were you, that way the teachers will see you can't have had anything to do with it." 

"Anything to do with what?" asked Hermione. 

"You'll see," said George. "Run along, now." 

The twins left in a hurry, and the others headed into the Great Hall. Cody broke off to join the Slytherins, and sat next to Graham to eat. He'd told him at breakfast what happened the previous night, and Graham had already heard about Dumbledore's escape. "Is it true Fudge is in St. Mungo's with a pumpkin for a head?" he asked Cody as the food appeared on the tables. 

Cody shook his head darkly. "No. But might as well, his head's already empty." 

Graham laughed, and clapped a hand over his mouth. "Yeah, it really is. I dunno, Cody... Umbridge as headmistress. I thought McGonagall was his Deputy Headmistress." 

"She is. But you know Umbridge and Fudge. They wouldn't dare put anyone in that's close to Dumbledore. That control thing. So we get the old hag instead." 

"Old hag?" said Malfoy's voice loudly from right behind Cody. Cody spun around to look at him. "Did I just hear you call our headmistress an old hag?" 

Alarmed, Cody looked quickly to the staff table, but to his relief, saw that she wasn't there. He turned back to scowl at Malfoy. "Go suck on a dead dog's nose," he invited. 

Malfoy made a mock-disapproving noise. "Now, now, such hostility and language... I shall have to give you a few days' worth of detention." 

"You can't do that!" said Cody. "You're not a teacher!" 

Malfoy smiled nastily. "No, but I _am_ a member of Professor Umbridge's Inquisitorial Squad," he said. "And they _can_ give detentions. I'll let Professor Umbridge know. I'm sure she'll want to be the one to oversee your detention." He laughed at the look of alarm on Cody's face, and walked to the other end of the table. 

Cody's face paled. "I can't do a detention with Umbridge!" he said frantically to Graham. "She'll make me use her stupid quill to write lines all night!" 

Graham looked worried for Cody. "Maybe Malfoy was just blowing smoke." 

"I dunno," said Cody. "He was really smug." Cody shoved his plate away and stood. "I'm gonna take a walk," he mumbled. 

"All right," said Graham. "I'll see you later, okay?" 

Cody nodded, and left the Hall, glaring at Malfoy the whole way. 

At first he had nowhere in particular to go, only walked as fast as he could, trying to shake off the panic that was threatening to surface. Umbridge's punishments were perhaps not as horrible as they could be, but they weren't exactly pleasant, either, and Cody was very young. It wasn't only the pain, it was the fact that she made him inflict it on himself that made her so frightening. 

Was staying at Hogwarts worth that? 

He could not even remember if Umbridge ended up getting the boot by the end of the book; most of what he remembered from reading was gone. 

Cody's thoughts were interrupted by a very loud bang somewhere nearby, and a lot of commotion. The floor shook, and Cody frowned, trying to figure out where all the noise was coming from. It sounded like it was above him, whatever it was. He located the nearest stairway and sprinted up the stairs. 

Cody arrived on the scene about the same time as Harry Potter did, though for some reason Harry had not come from the direction of the Great Hall. Umbridge and Filch were there too, along with dozens of what looked like fireworks. Cody's eyes widened in delight at the wonderous things, that seemed to be getting brighter and brighter as he looked at them. "Wow!" This must be what the twins had been talking about! 

A big, fiery wheel hurtled towards Umbridge and Filch, and they ducked away from it at it soared down the corridor. Umbridge was shrieking to Filch to hurry, that the fireworks would be all over the school if they didn't stop them. "Stupefy!" she cried, and a red Stunning beam shot from her wand and hit one of the fireworks. It didn't stop the thing, but made it explode violently. Cody ducked behind a nearby statue and watched from there. 

After a few moments, Cody realized that it was probably close to time for his next class, and disappeared quietly to the sounds of Filch and Unmbridge trying to deal with the rampaging fireworks. 

During his Study of Ancient Runes class, one of the fireworks whizzed in the door when a tardy student opened it. The teacher only sighed and asked one of the Ravenclaws to go and get the headmistress, and tell her that there was a firework in his room, and could she please come deal with it. "After all," he said with a polite little bow once Umbridge arrived, looking harrassed. "I'm merely a teacher. It wouldn't do to perform a bit of unauthorized magic, would it, Headmistress?" 

Umbridge's red face turned purple, and she did not reply. Smiling broadly, Cody went about his work. Served her right, the old bat. 

And that's how it went the entire rest of the day; fireworks everywhere, resisting most attempts to subdue or vanish them. And none of the teachers seemed to be able to do anything about it. Umbridge, caught in her own trap, spent the day running around the school to the cries of assistance from the professors. By the end of the day she was tired, sweaty, and covered with soot. 

That night after dinner, Cody decided that he was going to go up to Gryffindor Tower and try to talk to the Weasley twins, becuase this had been too fantastic to let go without a congratulations. 

Cautiously, he climbed the stairs, remembering having gone up to the Tower once by accident, and being told off by the portrait the guarded the Gryffindor portal. (He got stuck in a trick stair on the way up and called it several names before managing to get himself out.) There was no one outside the potrait doorway, but there was a great deal of muffled laughter and talking from within. 

"And what are you doing at Gryffindor Tower?" asked the fat woman in the painting. 

"Two of my best friends are in there and they did awesome things today so I'm staying right here 'til they come out so I can tell them how cool it was." He pointed to the exact spot on the floor where he intended to stay. 

The fat woman raised a brow. "Is that so? Are you not supposed to be in your own common room?" 

"Nope! Not for a whole other hour." 

"I don't suppose you'll listen if I tell you it's best that you leave." 

Cody grinned. "No, ma'am! I'm all stubborn tonight. Besides, I have practice arguing with paintings." 

The fat woman blinked at this, but Cody only grinned, and so she heaved a great sigh and said nothing else. 

As it turned out, Cody did not have to wait too long. A Gryffindor prefect, a seventh year Cody didn't know, came up to the painting and frowned. "What are you doing here?" he asked. 

Cody told him the same thing he had told the portrait. 

"Who are your friends?" 

"Fred and George Weasley. They set off loads of fireworks today, had Umbridge running around the school all day!" 

At this, the prefect actually smirked, and nodded his head. "They did do that," he said. He cocked his head and looked at Cody for a few moments. "Your name is Cody DeDannet, isn't it?" 

"DeDannan," Cody corrected. 

"Ah, yes. I've heard a bit about you from Potter. Hold on a minute." He turned around and whispered what Cody assumed was the password (Slytherin's current one was "power") and the portrait opened. The prefect stepped inside. 

For a moment there was nothing, then the prefect opened the portrait door and beckoned Cody to enter. "Well, come on in. I don't think there's any school rules about visiting other Houses, and no one protested, so I reckon you can come in for a bit." 

Cody blinked, frankly suprrised at this, and then smiled shyly. "Wow, thanks," he said, stepping high to climb into the hole that served as the doorway. 

The Gryffindor common room was nothing like the Slytherin one. It was a lot warmer, for one, and Cody found himself wishing that the Slytherins were up here instead of the chilly dungeons. The lamps were orange fire, instead of the creepy green of the dungeons. And though Cody liked the green lamps, this was a neat change. 

There were many cozy looking armchairs, and puffy hassocks all about the room, as well as tables for doing homework or playing chess or Gobstones. 

Cody became aware that most of the Gryffindors were looking at him, most with an expression of simple curiosity on their face, and Cody figured that it likely wasn't often that people from any house visited their common room, much less a Slytherin. 

But then he spotted the Weasley twins, who were surrounded by a crowd of Gryffindors. Cody laughed and ran over to them. "You were _awesome!"_ he exclaimed, throwing his arms around one (he thought it was Fred) and squeezing him around the middle. Several Gryffindors chuckled, and Cody let go of Fred and hugged George as well. "Totally cool! Did you _make_ those?" 

"Yep!" George said proudly. "Used up our whole supply today, though, we haven't been making them for long. But we're taking orders for them for when we get more made." 

Cody laughed. "How much?" 

"We can sell packages anywhere from two Galleons to about fifty." 

Grinning broadly, Cody said that he would buy whatever five Galleons would get him, as that was all he had on him at the time. Fred Weasley cheerfully took his order and gave him a glowing reciept for his purchase. 

Cody actually stayed for a little while with the Gryffindors, before realizing how late it was getting. "Oh nuts!" he cried, leaping off the chair he was sitting in. "I gotta go! If Snape catches me I'm in trouble!" Especially if he found out Cody had been hanging out in Gryffindor Tower! 

"Or worse," said Ron Weasley. "Umbridge." 

Cody swallowed hard. "Yeah, Malfoy already got me detention with her." He ran over to the portrait hole, frowning. "Er, how does this open?" 

Ron walked over, reached through the hole in the wall, and pushed the portrait of the fat lady open. "Thanks!" Cody cried, sprinting down the hallway. He waved and ran down the stairs. 

He ended up running into a very grouchy Umbridge on the way back, and closed his eyes, clenching his fist and making a "Blast it!" gesture with it. 

"I've been looking for you, DeDannan," said Umbridge irritably. "Mr. Malfoy informs me that you earned yourself a bit of detention this morning. Three, in fact." 

Cody frowned. "Yeah, that's what he said." 

"Well then you will report to my office tomorrow night at five. And since you are out of your bed after hours, we'll add another day's worth." She smirked at him, seeming to enjoy the look of anxiety on his face. "Have a good evening." And with that, she walked off. That gave Cody a total of four days of dentention with the sadistic old hag. 

Cody stomped angrily into the common room and parked himself huffily by the fire. He didn't even flinch whe the Bloody Baron walked through Cody's feet, which were sticking out off the end of the chair. 

"Cody, you okay?" Graham had come out of the boys'dormitory to see Cody looking less than happy. He sat down next to him. 

"No. I gotta go four days' detention with Umbridge." 

"Oh blimey, so Malfoy _can_ give detentions!" 

Cody glared over to a nearby table, where Malfoy and his group were working on some sort of school work. Malfoy glanced over at Graham's words, and smirked, then turned back to his parchment. 

"Yeah," Cody muttered. "He can." 

"Sorry, mate," said Graham more quietly. " I wish I could help." 

"Thanks. I'm glad that someone here likes me at least." And it was true, as Cody looked around the common room, there were not many Slytherins who looked back with any degree of friendliness. Even people he normally got on with fairly well, such as Goyle and a few of the sixth and seventh-years, only looked at him mildly. Cody sighed and slumped down into the armchair, the high back hiding him from the view of most of the students in the room. 

Graham looked like he wanted to say something, but he too glanced at Malfoy, and decided to keep his mouth shut. It wasn't really safe to say anything in the common room anymore. Not with the members of the Inquisitorial Squad lurking all over creation. 

The two boys did not stay up long, and ended up retiring to their dorms before any one else. Life, Cody thought, was not going to be so fantastic the next few days. 

Life _wasn't_ any fun for the next four days. Malfoy smirked at Cody every time he saw him, and after two days of detention, the words "I must be respectful" stayed cut into his hands. After the fourth day of leaving Umbridge's office in tears, Cody slunk into the dorms and crept into his bunk. He covered himself and pretended to be asleep when Malfoy and the others came in. Cody had homework to do, but didn't intend to deal with it until the weekend. 

The next day, Friday, Hermione came up to him in Care of Magical Creatures and whispered to him to go and see Madame Pomfrey. She had some sort of ointment, or salve, that would take the pain away and help stop the bleeding. It was called essence of murtlap. Cody said he wasn't sure if he could remember that word, but Hermione told him just to go to Madame Pomfrey and she'd fix it. "She hates Umbridge too," Hermione whispered in Cody's ear, smoothing back his hair. 

Cody nodded and whispered thanks to her, wrapping the cloth a bit more tightly around his hand. 

He did go to the hospital wing that day after dinner, where Madame Pomfrey gritted her teeth on seeing what was wrong. "You're not the first student that's been in here with that particular affliction," she said grimly, preparing a bowl of something that smelled very pungent. "Let me see it." 

Wincing, Cody unwrapped his hand and looked at the words cut there into his skin, and bit his lip, hard. It ached fairly badly, and though it wasn't quite enough pain to make him cry, the thought of his long hours in detention _was_ enough to make him cry. He wiped his eyes angrily. 

"Easy there, child," said Madame Pomfrey. "We'll fix it. Unfortunately, it's not something that is very easily fixed with a wand, as it was caused by magical means. But this essense should hasten the healing." She soaked a bandage in the liquid and wrapped it tightly around Cody's hand. The pain left immediately, and the boy let a sigh of relief. "Better?" 

Cody nodded. "Thanks," he said in a low tone. 

"You're welcome, child. Now, I'm going to give you a bottle of this and some bandages. Soak a bandage in this and change it every four hours or so, for a full day. It's not as bad as some who've been in here, it should heal by then." 

"Yes ma'am." He let himself be nudged towards the door, but not before he had caught a glimpse of a girl lying in one of the beds who looked familiar. He frowned, squinting as he looked at the girl's face, which seemed to have some sort of purple moles or pimples on her face. After a moment, Cody realized they formed the word "sneak" and his eyes widened. She was the one! The one who had tattled! Scowling darkly, Cody left the wing. 

By Quidditch practice on Sunday, the words were gone, and Cody's hand was only the slightest bit sore. And practice went quite well for Cody; the Bludgers he hit were hit with a brute ferocity that he did not often exhibit, and even though more than half of them for some _odd_ reason hit Malfoy, Montague told Cody he had done well. Malfoy was not entirely pleased, but Cody was in a rather better mood by supper that night. 

--- 

As Easter break approached, the weather got nicer and nicer. Cody even went in shorts once or twice, which was something, considering he considered anything under seventy cold. 

Something was going on that made Cody very nervous: the fifth-years had to meet with their Heads of House for career advice. Pamphlets had been left in the offices of the Heads of House for students to take and look over. 

Cody was not sure what he wanted to do. He remembered how Graham had to calm him down last summer when he panicked about O.W.L.s, and tried to remember what he had said...that Cody would have plenty of time to choose his career when he graduated, since he would only be thirteen. But how would he know what classes to choose after fifth year? Or did they get to choose, period? 

"Not banking," Cody muttered as he looked at pamphlet after pamphlet. "Being an Auror might be cool but I don't think I'm good enough, do they have Aurors in America?" He was sitting on the grass outside the lake, his robes open in the front, wearing shorts and a ThunderCats T-shirt. He leaned against a tree, staring at the parchments in his hands. 

"Talking to yourself, are you?" came a voice behind him. 

"You really _are_ mad, aren't you?" 

Cody looked up to see that the Weasley twins had approached, looking rather evil. "Hi!" he said to them. "How come you've got these big, creepy grins on your face?" 

Fred laughed and sat down next to him. "Well...you've noticed things have been quiet over the holidays, right?" Cody nodded. "And that we've been rather quiet ourselves?" 

"Uh oh." 

George laughed. "Uh oh is right. Harry needs to attend to a bit of business tomorrow, and we're going to be providing the necessary diversion." 

"We figured you just might want to see it. Come to Gregory the Smarmy's corridor tomorrow evening, about five. You'll see what we've got in store!" 

A slow smile spread on Cody's face, and he nodded. "Okay. I'll be there, is it gonna be good?" 

"Cody, you cut us to the quick!" said George, feigning offense. "This is us you're talking about, of course it'll be good!" Cody laughed. "We reckon it'll make things quite inconvenient for Umbridge." 

"Good! I'll defintiely be there!" 

"Good man!' said Fred, standing up. "Well, we're off to make some preparations!" 

As the twins left, Cody decided that career choices could wait, and instead went to visit with Hagrid. 

--- 

At five the next evening, after all their classes, Cody went up to the corridor where the statue of Gregory the Smarmy (Cody always laughed when he heard that name) sat, and looked around. He was sure that whatever the twins were doing, it had not yet been done, because if it had, there was no way Cody could have missed it. But he only had to wait a few moments before Fred and George came into the corridor, grinning evilly. By the look on their face, they must be planning something extraordinarily obnoxious, for they looked quite wicked. He waved at them, and George waved back. 

There were about a dozen students in the corridor, and as Cody approached the twins, one of them took something out of his bookbag. To Cody it looked very much like a very thin, rolled up mat, though it smelled musty. "Weird. What is it?" he asked as he walked up. 

"This,' said George, "is our latest invention. Observe." 

Curiously, Cody watched as George unfastened the straps, keeping the thing rolled up until both twins had a hold of one end of it. "Ready?" George asked. 

"Ready!" said Fred. 

"On three. One...two...three!" 

At the last count, the twins gave the roll a good shake, and it unraveled from their hands. Before Cody's astonished eyes, the thing instantly stretched to cover the entire corridor, transforming it into several yards of mud, muck, mire, weeds, and water. Several students yelled, having been caught in the direct path of what turned out to be a swamp, and were instantly drenched in mud. Cody got splashed as well, as he was suddenly standing knee-deep in mud. He laughed aloud. "Wow, awesome!" 

"Portable Swamp," said Fred. 

Before anything else could be said, a furious voice rang through the corridor. "Weasley!" 

The three looked up to see Umbridge's furious personage at the end of the hallway, and the twins looked at each other in alarm. "Whoops! That's our cue to leave!" Fred said. 

"See you, Cody!" And the pair sprinted out of the corridor. 

Umbridge screeched. "Get them! Catch them, blast it!" 

Cody caught a glimpse of Malfoy and the rest of the Squad behind her, and they disappeared down a different corridor. Not wanting to miss the action, Cody splashed across the swamp to follow them. The furious Umbridge hardly seemed to notice him. 

The chase led down into the entrance hall, with most of the school surrounding George and Fred Weasley, who had finally been caught. Umbridge, panting for breath, waddled halfway down the stairs to glare at them. "So," she said. "You think it amusing to turn a school corridor into a swamp, do you?" 

"Pretty amusing, yeah," said Fred, who looked less than impressed by Umbridge's attempt at intimidation. Cody looked around to see that he was not the only one covered in mud. He thought that others may just have braved the swamp to catch this little scene. 

Cody's attention was caught, then, by Argus Filch. He elbowed his way through the crowd, clutching a piece of parchment in his hand. "I've got the form, Headmistress!' he said, looking happier than Cody had ever seen him. "I've got the form and I've got the whips waiting...oh, let me do it now." 

Cody's eyes widened at these words; surely the Ministry had not given Filch permission to whip the students! He remembered how Filch had once lamented that he was no longer able to whip the students, or hang them in his office in chains... 

Umbridge seemed pleased. "Very good, Argus. You two..." She turned her triumphant gaze on the Weasley twins... "are about to learn what happens to wrongdoers in my school." 

_Her_ school? Cody thought in astonishment. 

Fred smirked. "You know what? I don't think we are." He turned to his brother with a plummy, cheerful tone. "George...I think we've outgrown full-time education." 

"I've been feeling that way myself," George agreed. 

"Time to test our talents in the real world, d'you reckon?" 

"Definitely." 

Together, the twins raised their wands and cried, "Accio brooms!" 

As Umbridge sputtered, there was a crash nearby, and two broomsticks flew into the hallway, one trailing a chain with a peg attached to the end of it. Cody felt an unpleasant swoop in his stomach as he realized: the twins were leaving. And they were leaving Hogwarts for good. 

"We won't be seeing you!' said Fred to Umbridge, catching his broom and climbing onto it. 

"Yeah, don't bother to keep in touch," added George. 

Fred turned to the students, which represented nearly the entire school population. "If anyone fancies buying a Portable Swamp, as demonstrated upstairs, come to number ninety-three, Diagon Alley - Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes! Our new premises!" 

"Special discounts to Hogwarts students who swear they're going to use our products to get rid of this old bat!" George added, pointing at Umbridge. Despite his disappointment, Cody could not help from laughing at this bit of insult. He wasn't alone, either. 

Umbridge was not so amused. "Stop them!" she shrieked. Malfoy and the others rushed forward to grab the twins, but they had already risen high into the air. Many students ducked as the chain and its iron peg swung over the crowd. 

Fred looked over at Peeves, who, drawn to the biggest commotion around, was hovering gleefully above everyone's heads. "Give her hell from us, Peeves!" said Fred. And to Cody's astonishment, Peeves took off his jester's cap and saluted. 

Nearly every student cheered and ran after the twins' brooms as they soared out of the open door, heading towards the setting sun. 

Cody made a quiet escape after that, not wanting to get caught in the immediate vicinity. But despite already missing the twins, he was in a grand mood.


	49. Year 5, Chapter 12: Weasleys' Triumph

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 12: Weasleys' Triumph**

For the next few days, Fred and George's departure from Hogwarts was the topic on everyone's lips. The story was told so often that Cody knew it by heart. The swamp in the corridor was not removed, nor did the twins leave instructions of how to do so. Cody was sure that Professor McGonagall could have removed it easily, but she didn't. Cody didn't mind; it was kind of fun to play in. And while most students had to be tossed across by the highly annoyed Filch, Cody usually just waded in. Of course this made quite a mess, but most of the teachers seemed not to mind. Filch, of course, was furious, and Cody often endeavored to avoid him in the hallways. 

The twins' dramatic exit seemed to have opened the floodgate of impishness from the students, and chaos soon reigned. Dungbombs and Stinkpellets were dropped with alarming regularity, and Cody wished he knew the Bubble-Head charm that so many older students knew. Because the hallways stank! 

In the middle of it all, Cody had his meeting with Professor Snape for career advice. Cody came into his office with his robes bunched up over his nose, and closed the door quickly. Someone must have dropped a whole carton of Stinkpellets, because boy was it rancid out there! 

"More Dungbombs?" Snape asked mildly. 

"Stinkpellets...they smell different." 

The ghost of a smile twitched Snape's lips. "I see. Well sit down then, DeDannan. I must say that I have never given career advice to a ten year old before. It's a very strange situation." 

Cody nodded, climbing up into the chair. "I know, it's weird. I freaked out last summer when I was visiting Graham when he reminded me this was O.W.L. year. I mean I didn't even know I was a wizard before I got my letter, and I'm just ten, and I'll be thirteen when I graduate, an' everything. Professor, if you don't get high enough O.W.L.s for the job you want, does that mean you can't ever take it?" 

"Of course not. There are many ways a witch or wizard can make up their grades once they graduate. There are no wizard equivalants of Muggle colleges, but there _are_ tutors, and courses that one can take if they fail their O.W.L.s or their N.E.W.T.s, and don't repeat their years at Hogwarts. Or if they pass the wrong exams. And once they _are_ able to pass with an acceptable grade, they have a chance of securing the job they want." 

This information gave Cody a great sense of relief, and he slumped back in his chair. "Oh, good." 

"Of course," said Snape sharply. "This is no reason not to do your best in your exams this year, It always looks better to have gotten a good grade while at school." 

"Oh I know," said Cody. "I'm gonna try my best. The hardest one's gonna be Herbology - I'm gonna flunk it, I just know it. It's hard! If Neville hadn't started helping me understand it, I woulda failed all my exams in it." 

Snape's lips were pressed tightly together as Cody mentioned Neville, but to his credit said nothing about it. "Well. Tell me, Mr. DeDannan, _have_ you given any thought to what you'd like to do once you leave Hogwarts?" 

"Well...kinda. I like working with the animals and stuff, but I dunno if I'd wanna do it for a job. Being an Auror would be really cool, but it sounds really hard. I don't think I can do it. Maybe Magical Law Enforcement? I dunno." 

"Hmmm. I could see you working in Magical Law Enforcement. Tell me, what are your main interests, when it comes to magic?" 

"Well, I like Care of Magical Creatures, even when Professor Grubbly-Plank does it. I like the idea of fighting Dark Wizards, even though it'd be _really_ scary. That's kinda part of the fun. Or something that I'd have to explore...I love going into the Forbidden Forest! Man, it's creepy in there, but it's great." Seeing Snape's raised brow, Cody hastily added, "Er...not that I go in there or anything! I mean I did sometimes with Hagrid, but once was a detention and the other times it was for his class." Not entirely true, but Snape did not call him on it. In fact, there was again the slight twitch of the lips that suggested he was suppressing a smile. 

"Of course," he finally said. "There are certain departments within the Ministry that explore uncharted and unknown places, looking either for plants, for medical cures, or species of magical creatures. That might be to your liking. Care of Magical Creatures, of course, would be necessary, as well as Defense Against the Dark Arts. Quite dangerous, many of those expeditions. Unfortunately, if you want to be a part of the team that actually searches for the plants, you will need to bring your Herbology grade up dramatically. There are positions that entail simple protection of the parties, of course, but they do not always pay as well. Astronomy...I see your grades there are quite good, and of course such knowledge is necessary for finding one's bearings in the wilderness. Law Enforcement has a department that requires this sort of knowledge as well, to hunt for hiding fugitives." 

Cody nodded, biting his lip, as he tried to take all of this in. 

"As for Magical Law Enforcement, Defense Against the Dark Arts is a must, and Charms is also highly recommended. A N.E.W.T. each at Exceeds Expectations is required to be eligible. There is additional training once you get the job, of course." 

"Wow," said Cody. "N.E.W.T.s...That's seventh-year exams right?" 

"Correct. And most teachers require a specific grade or higher in O.W.L. exams before they even allow students to advance to their N.E.W.T. level classes. In Potions, I require an Outstanding. But to be an Auror is even more rigorous, requiring at least four N.E.W.T.s and three extra years of training. Also, there are series of character tests for those wishing to be Aurors. It's a difficult road to take, but worth it if you can succeed." 

Cody frowned. "Professor, d'you know if the things you need to do, or even the jobs are the same in America? And...and do they have the same tests or would I have to take different tests there to get a job?" 

Snape frowned the slightest bit. "That is a bit of a difficult question, as I am not very familiar with how things work in America. But so far as I know, arrangements can be made to accept grades achieved here in England, over in the States. It's not common for Americans to school here, but it's not unheard of, either." 

"That's good at least." 

Snape stood, and Cody stood also. "Well, I have told you the things that I think you should brush up on, depending on which way you would like to go in your life. And if you do change your mind before you come of age, there are ways of achiving the marks you need to pursue whatever course you choose." 

He held out his hand, and Cody shook it. "Thanks, Professor." 

"You're welcome." 

Cody took a cautious sniff out the door, found the air relatively clear, and headed out. 

--- 

He received a fright on the way to the Great Hall for lunch, when he ran into Filch, who looked absolutely furious. He carried a bullwhip in his hands, which he snapped viciously at Cody at the mere sight of him. Cody did not think that Filch knew or cared who it was, for the blow was aimed above Cody's head; Filch obviously expected someone quite taller. Still, the loud crack of the whip startled Cody, and he recoiled a step. "Who's doing it?" Filch demanded, holding Mrs. Norris tightly in his arms. The cat looked furious as well. "Who keeps shutting my cat in those suits of armor?" 

Taken aback, Cody stammered, "I-I dunno, I never saw anyone do it." 

Filch growled, snapping the whip again, this time in the air out of sheer temper. "If I find who's doing it, I'll whip the skin off of them!" 

Feeling it best to make a hasty getaway, Cody slipped away from the furious caretaker and up the stairs. Only then did he allow himself to grin; served that miserable old cat right! Still, the sight of Filch brandishing a whip and knowing he had permission to use it was quite frightening. 

Cody shuddered and shook his head, putting it out of mind. 

Practice for Quidditch was not as constant as it normally was, since most of the team were in the Inquisitorial Squad...and for some _strange_ reason, things kept happening to them. Montague had been found, although he had not yet recovered from his adventure with the Vanishing Cabinet and was not making practice. Warrington, his second, had been calling practices, but had ended up in the hospital wing for an entire weekend with some sort of curse that made his skin crust over and flake off. Malfoy and Goyle were dodging curses from vengeful students (and not just Gryffindors!) two or three times a week. Not that Cody minded much. He didn't think Slytherin had much of a chance at the Quidditch Cup that year at Hogwarts, anyway, and seeing the others struggling was worth the missed practices. 

Defense Against the Dark Arts was far more interesting, too. Cody had never bought any of the twins' "Skiving Snackboxes", designed to make a person temporarily ill, but it was clear that many others had. After Fred and George's departure from Hogwarts, Umbridge's Defense classes were usually cut short, for as soon as she walked into the room, at least three-fourths of the class began either to faint, bleed, vomit, or develop fevers. And no one would tell her anything, only that they were suffering from "Umbridge-itis." When asked, Cody only smiled innocently, and said that he thought he might have heard of that disease once in class. 

And Peeves - well, he was being ten times as obnoxious as ever. And far from trying to get him to stop, the teachers just let him get on with his mischief making. He was the one, it turned out, that was shutting Mrs. Norris in the suits of armor. He dropped and threw things at the students, flooded bathrooms, turned out lights, and burned parchments. And when he wasn't doing all of _that_, he would float behind Umbridge and blow raspberries any time she tried to talk. Cody observed this more than once, and it always made him laugh. 

--- 

Slytherin's next Quidditch match was coming up the next weekend, and as Montague was still in the hospital wing, they were short a Chaser. And it was against Hufflepuff. They would be playing against the team that Zacharias Smith was on. As the two teams met, and Madame Hooch blew her whistle, Cody glared evilly at the older boy. Zacharias, who was a Chaser, smirked back. 

As Cody began chasing Bludgers, he caught sight of Harry, Ron, and Hermione in the crowd, who grinned and waved at him; Ron gave him a thumbs-up. Cody waved back, then streaked downward after a Bludger. 

The game was a fairly long one, and Cody was surprised at first, since Slytherin was performing extremely well. Zacharias was not a very good Chaser, and the other two were only fair, and Slytherin's Chasers had gotten pretty good. Even short one, they made a formidable team. Goyle's power and Cody's speed made a good mix as Beaters, and were protecting their teammates fairly well; they had devloped a system where Cody would often dart after the Bludgers, hit them towards Goyle, who would then belt them at the opposing team. Bletchley was performing better than usual as Keeper, and was blocking most of the goals. Slytherin was soon over a hundred points ahead. 

About three-fourths of the way through, Cody was between the shoulder blades by one of the metal balls, nearly knocking him from his broom, and had Goyle not been nearby to grab his robes, he would have. Cody burst into a coughing fit, waving frantically to signal that he would be all right, and Goyle nodded, leaving his side. Cody heard a particularly loud CRACK and then a sound of pain, and knew Goyle had just nailed someone. 

Cody drifted off toward the sidelines, drawing in a breath of air and clenching his teeth, but as he had been playing Quidditch now for nearly two years, he was getting more and more used to being hit with Bludgers. And soon he was back in the game. 

He got his revenge. Though he did not manage to hit the Beater who had gotten him, he did manage to hit Zacharias, right in the gut. He fell from his broom and hit the ground hard, though Cody did not think he had been high enough for any permanent damage. He didn't think. And at the moment, he didn't really care. Cody gave a savage cheer. 

The captain of the Hufflepuff team called a time out then to tend to Zacharias. The Hufflepuff team landed, and the Slytherins hovered, waiting for the game to resume. Goyle and Cody grinned at each other, and clicked bats. "Thanks," Cody said. "That coulda sucked, falling all that way." 

"Yeah. Too bad Smith found that out the hard way." But Goyle's smirk said that he felt very little regret at the smug Hufflepuff's fall. 

Cody winced and slowly moved his arm back, trying to test out how much damage was done. It hurt, but everything was moving all right, and nothing was moving around that shouldn't be. "Nuts," he said, looking downward. "He's getting back up." 

Goyle snickered. "Yeah but he's looking kinda cross-eyed. Don't think he'll be making many goals." 

"He wasn't before." 

"Good point." 

The game resumed then, and Cody took every opportunity to smirk at Zacharias. The Hufflepuff Beaters seemed to be trying to get their own revenge, but though Cody and Goyle both took a few grazes, neither took another direct hit. 

An hour and a half into the game, Cody spotted a Bludger on a collision course with Malfoy, and managed to reach it in time to prevent it hitting Malfoy in the head. And then he spotted something that made his eyes widen; a glint of gold, and the new Hufflepuff Seeker diving like mad toward it. "Malfoy!" Cody cried, flying the few yards to hit him on the arm. Malfoy looked at him, an annoyed expression on his face, and Cody pointed emphatically. Malfoy looked, and then cursed, taking off on his Nimbus 2001. Cody ducked a Bludger and then watched anxiously. 

But Hufflepuff's Seeker had gotten too large a head start, and before Malfoy could reach him, had caught the Snitch in his hand. A loud roar of triumph went up from the crowd, and the Hufflepuff team added their voices to the crowd. Zacharias Smith laughed, flying right by Cody in order to gloat. Cody growled and looked around for a Bludger, but they had already been collected. It was just as well. Umbridge would probably just give him detention again, something he was quite keen on preventing. 

"That git," Goyle snarled. "I'll deal with him later." 

Cody did not argue. 

That would be Slytherin's last match of the year, as they had not won any of them. The way the points had gone that year, the final match would be between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. 

--- 

On the morning of that final game, Cody slipped over to the Gryffindor table to wish them luck, and then went to eat his breakfast. Cody and Graham filed out after the Slytherins, to watch the game, and Cody had his fingers crossed that Ron's goalkeeping performance would improve; Cody was quite sick of "Weasley Is Our King." 

Cody listened to Lee Jordan beginning his commentary as usual, introducing the players, and Cody kept his eyes on Ron. Ron looked terrified, as usual, and Cody sighed. He scowled as the Slytherins around him began their infernal song once more, but was happy to see that not _all_ of them were singing. Some seemed to be above such childishness. 

The game did not start out well. Lee's magically-amplified voice swore as Ravenclaw scored, and Ron scowled. But it was not a look of embarrassment on Ron's face. Cody squinted as he watched, bringing out his pair of Omnioculars that he often used at school matches to watch the players, and trained them on Ron. 

Ron's eyes were narrowed, and he seemed to be talking to himself, though Cody couldn't tell what he was saying. He watched him for a moment, then looked to the rest of the Slytherins. He noticed that the Inquisitorial Squad was missing, and searched the stands for them. He was not terribly surprised to see them over at the teachers' section, sitting around Professor Umbridge. Cody wasn't particularly sorry, it meant he didn't have to deal with them. 

A cheer brought Cody's attention back to the match, and when he realized none of the Slytherins were cheering, he realized that Ron had just saved a goal from the Ravenclaw Chasers! He laughed, and yelled, "All right, Ron!" He wasn't loud enough for Ron to hear, but that was all right. 

The game was fast and furious, and a sort of grim determination had come over Ron. Once he stopped worrying about everyone who was watching him, and concentrated on the game, he really was a good Keeper. He saved two goals in a row, missed one, and then saved the next. He saw Ron make a fist and punch the air in a gesture of triumph after the last one. A sort of amazed grin was on the Keeper's face. "Told you you were good," Cody muttered, grinning also. 

Cho Chang was in the air, her head moving rapidly back and forth as she looked for the Snitch. Ginny Weasley, Seeking for Gryffindor, was doing the same thing. But the Snitch was being quite evasive today, and it was not soon caught. 

There were not too many fouls during the game, but the Beaters on the Ravenclaw team were merciless, and though the students who had replaced Fred and George Weasley were rather lousy as Beaters, it was okay. Their Chasers more than made up for it. 

When the end of the game came, Cody was watching the Seekers, and saw Ginny dive all of a sudden towards Cho. Cody brought his Omnioculars to his face and looked at Chang, and caught sight of the Snitch, darting beside her face. Chang blinked, startled, as Ginny zipped past her, her arm outstretched. But before Chang could make a move, Ginny let out a cry of glee and held her hand high; the Snitch struggled in her grasp. 

Cody let out a whoop that was drowned out by the roar from the Gryffindors at their win. They had won the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup for the fourth year in a row! 

"Look at Chang!" Cody said, tugging Graham's sleeve and pointing downwards. The Ravenclaw Seeker had landed, and hurled her broomstick to the side, tears streaming down her face. Well served her right, anyway, as much of a pain as she's been towards Harry lately. And he still was annoyed at her for bringing her stupid friend to the D.A., the one who'd snitched. 

Graham and Cody made their way to the grounds as the school began leaving the stands, and ran up to the Gryffindor team. "That was a great catch, Ginny!" he said. 

She turned to him, a smile set on her face. "Thanks," she said. "But I did get fairly lucky." 

Cody snorted. "Nah, it wasn't all luck, and Ron, you did great! I bet Malfoy swallowed his whole face!" 

Ron laughed at this phrasing. "Probably! I just hope that Umbridge did." Ron made a noise of surprise as Katie Bell and a boy from among the Gryffindor spectators lifted Ron up and sat him on their shoulders. Cody giggled and moved along with crowd as the Gryffindor Chasers began singing a song. It was Weasley Is Our King, but with significant changes in the lyrics. 

_Weasley can save anything_   
_He never leaves a single ring_   
_That's why Gryffindors all sing_   
_Weasley is our King._

The rest of the team picked it up, and soon, the entire mass of Gryffindor House was singing. Cody looked around for Malfoy and caught sight of him towards the back, looking murderous. Cody simply laughed and ran to catch up with Graham and the Gryffindors. 


	50. Year 5, Chapter 13: Final Exams

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 13: Final Exams**

Both Quidditch and choir were finished with their practices for the year, and it was a good thing, too. The fifth years had to use much of their free time studying, for O.W.L.s were fast approaching. Some students had gone haywire with the studying, doing eight to ten hours of studying _per day_. Cody did not think that he could stand that much studying in one day, along with their regular classes. Draco was walking around telling everyone that could hear him that it didn't matter how good you were, if you didn't have any influence within the Ministry, that you stood little chance of getting a very good grade. Neville said he thought it was rubbish, as his gran knew people within the Ministry, and it didn't really give Neville any better of a chance. 

Still, many nights, Cody would retreat to a corner of the Slytherin common room, looking over books, and reading his notes from his classes. Sometimes, Graham would help him study his charms and hexes, and Cody was quite grateful for it. Especially when he was practicing Stunning. Cody vowed to get Graham a whole big package of chocolate from Honeydukes the first chance he got, as a thank you. 

Neville helped him with Herbology, and Cody thought that he just might pass the O.W.L. thanks to his help. And in return, he helped Neville with Astronomy. He joined most of the Gryffindor fifth-years in studying for Defense Against the Dark Arts (though with the practice everyone got in the D.A., they did not have to practice much). He and some of the Ravenclaws he had Ancient Runes with studied for that test, and Cody spent an hour or so every other day in the library, trying to remember enough information about giant wars and goblin rebellions for History of Magic. He wished there was a Quidditch O.W.L. exam. Or a choir one. 

On the Friday before Exam Week, Snape gave the Slytherins their exam schedules, and told them that they would be spread over two weeks. The fifth-years would be doing their paper exams in the mornings, and their practical exams in the afternoon. With the exception of Astronomy, which would take place at night. Snape warned them that powerful Anti-Cheating Charms would be placed on their test papers, and that that Auto-Answer quills, Remembralls, Detachable Cribbing Cuffs (whatever those were) and Self-Correcting Ink were banned from the hall. With a sneer on his face, Snape told them that Umbridge insisted the teachers inform their students that anyone caught cheating would be punished quite severely, as it would reflect badly on her "regime" as Headmistress. "Now as tempted as some of you may be to allow her to look bad, I remind you all that these exams will greatly affect your future in the wizarding world. And so I expect you all to do your best in your O.W.L.s over the next two weeks. Results of your exams will be sent to you over the summer holidays." 

Not until then? Cody thought with some annoyance. He wasn't sure if he could stand waiting that long. But then he didn't have a whole lot of choice. 

Breakfast, on the day of the exams, was a fairly subdued affair for the fifth and seventh years, who were taking their N.E.W.T.s. Not very hungry, as his stomach kept doing flip flops, Cody was only sitting on his bench, reciting various potion components under his breath. When breakfast was finished, the fifth and seventh-years all stood and waited in the entrance hall, while everyone else went to their normal lessons. Cody's hands shook. 

"You'll do fine!" said Graham as he passed. "Good luck!" 

"Thanks." 

The House tables in the Great Hall were swept aside and replaced with several desks like in Cody's grammar school, ones where only one person could sit at them. The students were led into the Hall and told to find a seat, and Cody chose one next to Neville. At least he would sit next to someone who was friendly towards him. Having Malfoy's smirking face near him would be far too distracting. 

The first exam of the day was on Charms, and as Cody began, he realized that the test was not as horrible as his imagination had made it out to be. Most of them involved describing wand movements, and writing down the incantations. And Professor Flitwick was quite good in making sure everyone understood both. He and Neville talked about the test afterwards, about what they thought they got right and what they thought they got wrong. Neville wasn't very confident about how good of a grade he had gotten, and Cody really wasn't, either. He thought he might have passed, but that was all. 

"What was it like?" asked Graham Pritchard at lunch. Cody did eat a bit then, feeling he would need his energy. 

"Well, just like a normal exam, except we all sit in desks, not the tables that we share with other people in class." He shrugged. "It wasn't horrible, but still kinda scary." 

"Aw, I bet you did okay. You've got practical exams after lunch, right?" 

Cody nodded. "Yeah. I hope I don't make a mistake and poke someone's eye out with my wand or something. That'd get me a nice, fat zero for the test." 

Graham laughed and clapped Cody on the shoulder. "Nah, you won't. Just remember everything Flitwick teaches. You'll be fine." 

Cody smiled and briefly squeezed Graham's hand. "Thanks." 

After lunch, the students were to take their practical exams. There were several witches and wizards there, Cody assumed from the wizarding world's version of the Board of Education, and they would be conducting the students' exams. They went in alphabetical order, and so Cody was among the first fifth of the students to go. For an examiner, he got an old man called Professor Tofty, who wore on his nose a pair of glasses that didn't have any arms. Cody thought this was really weird, but didn't say anything. "Good afternoon," said the man, and Cody managed a sort of sick smile. 

"Hi. Um if I poke you in the eye with my wand, I'm really, really sorry," he said in a rush. He hadn't meant to say it, and the professor was looking at him with an expression of greatest amusement. 

"I highly doubt I have to worry about that, lad," he said. "You look quite nervous, young man, please try to relax." Cody nodded, and the professor went on. "Now, your name is Cody DeDannan, correct?" 

"Yes, sir." 

"Very well. All right, if you would take this eggcup here, and make it do cartwheels for me." 

All right, that was nothing horrible; Cody learned this one in second year. He grinned and pointed his wand at the eggcup, and watched with great relief as it cartwheeled obediently around the desk. 

Next he was asked to levitate a wine glass, perform a Cheering Charm on the professor, turn a rat orange, silence a raven from cawing, summon a cushion to him and then banish it into a box. The levitation and summoning he did fine, and only just barely hit the box he was aiming at with his banishing charm. It took him three tries, however, to silence the raven, and the Cheering Charm for some reason made Tofty look quite angry, instead of cheerful. Cody realized with horror that he had done the wrong spell, and hastily fixed the error, hoping that it would not count too much against him. The Color-Change charm he did just fine (it was the one he used when playing wizard tag), and ended up with a shockingly orange rat. The rat looked less than impressed. 

Cody shook with relief when the day's tests were over with, and merely sat quietly as Graham told him about his classes that day. After the meal, Cody went to the dorms for a bit more studying. 

The next day was Transfiguration, about which Cody was not too confident. But he surprised himself. He managed to vanish almost all of his iguana (his feet were left, and Cody sighed with annoyance. A second attempt at the charm fixed it, though). The only thing he couldn't really do was the Switching Spell, which Cody had always had a lot of trouble with. 

Herbology did not go as abysmally as Cody had expected until the very end, and he had Neville to thank for how well he did. He identified and repotted a Mandrake (He _hated_ those things!) and successfully fed a pot full of Screechsap seedlings. However when it came to pruning a Fanged Geranium, there was a problem. The thing was nearly half Cody's height, and sitting on the table it was taller than him by about eight inches. He had never quite learned the trick to soothing the things, and when he tried to cut off the dead leaves, the thing lunged at him and latched onto his arm. Cody let out a yell of pain and jerked his arm away, but the vicious flower kept its fangs sunk into Cody's arm, and fell heavily to the floor. Jerked off balance, Cody fell on top of the thing and hissed as he hit his elbow on the floor. And it was apparent that unless Cody's life was in danger, the professor that was conducting his exam wasn't going to help him. 

His eyes watering, Cody grabbed the shears that had also fallen to the floor, knocked away the shards of broken ceramic from the pot, and went at the shriveled leaves. Distracted by keeping its hold on Cody's arm, the plant did not try to stop him. When Cody was done, he finally had to use a Stunning Spell to get it off of him. Standing shakily, trying not to look at all of the people who were watching, he asked the professor if he wanted Cody to clean up the mess and get the thing into a new pot. 

The professor chuckled. "No, that's all right, Mr. DeDannan. This concludes your exam; go ahead and get your arm tended." 

"Yes, sir." Holding his bleeding arm tightly to his chest, he slunk out of the Great Hall. He heard Draco snickering as he passed and called him a git before leaving the Hall. 

After Madame Pomfrey patched him up, Cody went out onto the grounds to enjoy and sunlight as he recovered from the less-than-successful examination. He hoped that the first part of his exam would at least scrape him a passing grade. 

Defense Against the Dark Arts, however, Cody felt he had aced, thanks to the D.A.. 

Study of Ancient Runes was on Thursday, which neither Ron, Neville, nor Harry took. Malfoy and his gang didn't take it either, for that matter, and so Cody sat near Hermione for the written exam. The practical bit involved both replicas and originals of the old runes, and Cody avoided disaster, at least. When he conjured a fire in his hand, he did not set the room on fire as his friend Kyle Tiller once had when _he_ took Ancient Runes. The shower of water he conjured was more of a pitiful drizzle, but at lest it wasn't acid rain, like one of the Ravenclaws somehow managed to conjure. He and the instructor had to leave their area for several minutes while it was cleared up. 

And then...the weekend. Cody was never so glad to see it. He spent the whole of Saturday outdoors playing tag with Graham and visiting Hagrid. Sunday, he spent studying for Potions, which they had on the following Monday. 

The Potions exam was kind of fun, as Cody did enjoy the class when not dealing with Snape insulting his friends. Harry and Ron had told him all about the Polyjuice Potion in the second year, when they and Hermione had used it to try and find out who was Petrifying the students at Hogwarts. And so Cody was able to describe most of its effects. He wrote down what color a Strengthening Solution was, and how many rat spleens went into a basic poison cure. For the practical, they had only to make one potion, but it took two and a half hours to finish it, for there were periods of waiting, and stirring that had to be timed just right. Cody hoped that his was correct! 

Care of Magical Creatures was Wednesday, and Cody did all right in it. He correctly identified the knarl in among the nearly identical hedgehogs, for when he offered it milk, it hissed and tried to sink its little teeth into Cody's arm. Having already gone through this with the Fanged Geranium, Cody was ready, and dodged back in time to avoid being bitten. He darted forward, caught the knarl, and held it up to the professor doing his exam. He fed and cleaned a fire-crab (which always looked more like a jeweled turtle to Cody) He then showed how to handle a bowtruckle, and what food he would feed a sick unicorn. That one he might have gotten partially wrong; he had been quite distracted during the unit on unicorns. 

Wednesday was Astronomy, and Cody had no problems with the written exam. The practical was not going to be until evening, and so he had the afternoon off, for Divination exams were in the afternoon. He tried very hard not to giggle at dinner as Harry and Ron described their Divination exams. Ron had told his professor that the crystal ball had an ugly man with a wart on his nose in it...and it turned out to be the professor's reflection. Harry told _his_ examiner that she ought to have died a week ago and that the tea leaves showed a dark, soggy stranger in her near future. 

That night was ideal for Astronomy: clear and not too cold. The moon provided enough light to write by, and the stars shone brilliantly. Cody took the star chart he had been given and got to work. 

His attention went back and forth between his chart, and his telescope, and he was actually enjoying the exam. He marked down the positions of each planet, and then the moon and the brightest stars. Those were the easy ones. He filled in the major constellations, and then worked on the lesser known ones. Orion, one of his favorites, was the last one he finished. 

He was actually the first to finish his exam, and laughed delightedly when he was finished. He clapped his hand over his mouth, his face reddening a bit as several students turned to give him dirty looks. He glanced at the professor (Tofty, the one who had done Cody's first exam) who gave him a stern glance. "Sorry, sir," Cody said sheepishly as he handed him his completed star chart. 

The professor took it, and nodded. "Well done," he said. "Now go ahead and wait quietly while the others finish." 

Cody nodded, and went to the edge of the roof to gaze over the railing. As he did, though, a loud BANG sounded from below, startling him and causing him to fall backwards onto the roof. Alarmed, Cody jumped up and looked down to see what was going on. 

The door of Hagrid's hut had blasted open, and Cody saw about six people down below, their wands out. Cody frowned, his heart suddenly racing with anxiety as he watched what was going on. Hagrid came out then, and to Cody's astonishment, there were red jets of light coming from the assorted wand-wielders. They were trying to Stun Hagrid! 

"No!" Hermione cried, ignoring Professor Tofty's shocked reprimand. 

"Leave him alone!" Cody cried, horrified, as he watched the scene below. His hands were clenched tightly on the railing. 

"Be reasonable, Hagrid!" called one of the men below. 

"Reasonable be damned!" Hagrid growled. "Yeh won' take me like this, Dawlish!" 

A Stunning Spell hit Fang as he tried to protect his master, and he dropped. Hagrid howled furiously and knocked the man that did it at least ten feet away, out cold. "Lookit what they did to Fang!" Cody cried, turning away from the railing, intending to run downstairs. He couldn't just watch this! 

"Are you mad?" Ron cried, grabbing Cody's robe and literally yanking him back from the door to the inside. "You can't go down there, those're Ministry officials! They'd knock you flat!" 

"But look what they're doing!" He looked worriedly back out to the grounds, his hands clenched, tears of frustration streaming down his face onto the collar of his robes. He had never seen Hagrid this angry before, and found himself hoping that he knocked them all out. 

"Look!" cried one of the girls, and Cody followed where she was looking. Someone was running out onto the grounds. 

"Now really!" said Tofty. "Only sixteen minutes left, you know!" But no one was paying attention to him. 

"How dare you!" shouted the figure below. McGonagall. "How _dare_ you!" 

"It's McGonagall!" hissed Hermione. 

"Get 'em, Professor!" called Cody. He wasn't sure if they could hear anything from on top of the tower, though. 

"Leave him alone!" McGonagall shrieked. Cody noticed that Umbridge was out there too, and he growled. "Alone, I say! On what grounds are you attacking him? He has done nothing, nothing to warrant such -" 

But Professor McGonagall did not get the chance to say anything more, as four of the figures below had turned and Stunned her, square in the chest. Cody and several of the girls screamed as McGonagall dropped and lay still. Even Professor Tofty seemed to have forgotten the exams. "Galloping Gargoyles!" he exclaimed, his tone that of utter shock. "Not so much as a warning! Outrageous behavior!" 

Hagrid, needless to say, had gone beyond rage to unbridled fury. "COWARDS!" he roared at the top of his lungs. "RUDDY COWARDS! HAVE SOME O' THAT! AN' THAT!" Hagrid's huge fists had knocked two of McGonagall's attackers out cold, and the rest were retreating, despite Umbridge's screams to "get him". Hagrid ran for Fang, scooped him up, and ran for the front gates. Cody struck the railing in anger as Umbridge fumed below. 

"Um..."came Professor Tofty's voice. "Five minutes to go...everybody." But no one's heart was really into star charts after that, and soon everyone was making their way downstairs, talking about the scene. 

"I can't believe they did that," said Neville, his voice shaking a bit. "I mean, that kind of attack can't be legal by the Ministry, can it?" 

But Cody could not talk; tears still rolled down his cheeks and his teeth were clenched. All that he could do was shake his head. His grip on the handle of his telescope case and his bookbag was so tight his knuckles were white. 

"Poor Hagrid...and d'you think Professor McGonagall'll be all right? She got hit pretty hard by those Stunners." 

"I-I h-h-hope s-so," Cody gritted out. Things had gone too far! Surely the Ministry had to do something about Umbridge now, didn't they? Neither boy said anything more as they made their way to their respective dorms. 

That night in the Slytherin common room, Cody was rather shocked to find Graham sitting gingerly on the edge of a seat in the corner, and he was crying. Cody could not remember that he'd ever seen Graham cry before, so he was fairly alarmed. Forgetting his own upset for the moment, Cody hurried over. "Graham, what's wrong?" he asked worriedly. Had he, too, seen the scene outside?" 

Seemingly startled by Cody's sudden approach, Graham looked quickly up, his eyes wide. On seeing it was Cody, he closed his eyes and let out a big breath. "F-Filch," he managed to say. "I-I got caught wr-writing on the w-wall." 

Cody winced, knowing that Filch would have been furious at that. "What were you writing?" 

"W-well it was gonna be about U-Umbridge but I didn't get that far." Graham turned his head and glanced behind him, as if trying to look at his own back. Cody frowned, and also looked, and though Graham had a robe on, Cody began to suspect what Filch had done. His eyes slowly widened. "He didn't..." he said in a tone of utter disbelief. "He didn't...whip you, did he?" 

Graham nodded miserably. 

At first, Cody only goggled; even having seen Filch with the whip, knowing how much he hated students, he somehow never thought that he actually would! Cody still could not fathom the idea of a grown adult taking a whip to a kid's back. "That...that..." He found himself quite unable to articulate what a horrid wretch Filch was. "Did you go to hospital wing?" 

"N-no, I didn't know if I was supposed to." 

Cody took Graham's arm. "C'mon, we gotta go up there, you can't...I mean you can't stay all night like that...I'll go with you." 

Graham looked uncertain, but after a moment, gave Cody a grateful look and followed him from the common room. Most of the fifth and seventh-years were telling everyone else gleefully about the fiasco with Hagrid, and their departure went unnoticed. And as for Umbridge, Cody was certain she would be quite busy with other things at that moment. And if she wasn't, if she got in Cody's way tonight, he'd curse her with the worst one he could think of! 

Madame Pomfrey was sitting in a chair reading a book when the two boys entered, and she stood up looking concerned. "What's happened?" she asked them. 

"Graham got whipped," said Cody, his voice not quite steady. He was reassured by Madame Pomfrey's look of shock. "Can you heal him? I-I don't think it was done with magic, since Filch's a stupid Squib." 

Madame Pomfrey's lips thinned angrily. "I cannot believe that the Ministry gave approval for such cruelty! Come here, Mr. Pritchard, let me take a look. Come on up here, onto this bed." 

Graham let Madame Pomfrey help him onto a bed, and Cody followed. He looked around once and saw that Montague was lying motionless on one of the beds, his eyes closed. He was breathing but did not seem awake. Cody looked back to his friend. 

Graham gingerly removed his robes, and Cody gasped; his back was crisscrossed with at least a dozen bloodied lines. It was a frightening sight to see on one's best friend. Madame Pomfrey gasped too, and went about examining the lashes with her wand. "They'll have to be cleaned," she murmured. "And then yes, I can heal them." 

"Thanks," said Graham's unsteady voice. 

Cody clenched his fists as tightly as they would go. Umbridge, it was all her fault, all of this. All of the misery his friends, and even himself, had suffered that year was because of her. "Professor McGonagall," Cody said after a moment, looking over at the curtains that concealed one of the beds. "Is that her? Is she all right?" 

"I don't know, Cody. I've done all I can. I'm afraid she may have to go to St. Mungo's. At her age, taking that kind of curse from four people..." The nurse shook her head, her narrowed eyes betraying how furious she was. 

"I hope she doesn't die," Cody whispered. For even though she was strict and sometimes intimidating, he truly liked and respected her. 

"Oh, child, I hope not too." 

Madame Pomfrey knew her stuff, that was for certain. Graham's injuries had been cleaned by some strange, smoking potion that made him yell loudly in pain, but then the nurse's wand had sealed up the lashes without even leaving scars behind. "There, are you all right now?" she asked Graham. "Are you hurt anywhere else?" 

"N-No, ma'am," said Graham, shakily pulling his robes back on. "Thanks." 

"You're welcome. You two had best get back to your dorms, and if Filch happens to see you, give him this." She handed Graham a note that was signed by her stating that they were returning from hospital, and had permission to be in the corridors long enough to return to their dorms. 

They did not find Filch, for which they were both grateful, and once back in the common room, Graham sank into a comfortable chair and let out a long breath. "Thanks," he said quietly to Cody. 

"Aw, you don't need to thank me, you help me all the time." 

He grinned weakly. "Well, that's what friends are for." 

Cody nodded. "Yeah." 

There was silence for a few moments, and then Graham looked at Cody with a frown. "Hold on a minute, you were crying when you came in, weren't you?" 

"Yeah..." Cody sighed, and went into the story of what had happened while the students took their Astronomy exams. Graham was wide-eyed by the end of it. "You're joking." 

"No." 

"She's gone too far this time, surely the Ministry will do something about an unprovoked attack on someone? Especially a respected witch?" 

"I dunno," said Cody. "I hope so." 

Cody sat down in a chair next to Graham, feeling suddenly exhausted. And the next thing he knew, he was asleep. 


	51. Year 5, Chapter 14: Flying Into the Fray

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 14: Flying Into the Fray**

Cody woke late the next morning to find that he was alone. He frowned, glancing at the clock up on the wall, and felt a nasty jolt of alarm; he was late for exams! He was halfway to the door of the common room before remembering that it was only History of Magic that day, and the exam was not until after lunch. He took a big breath and went back to the chair he had slept in and looked down at his telescope, which he had left there the night before. Yawning, he picked it and his school bag up, and carried them into his dorm. He changed out of his rumpled robe and into some shorts and a sleeveless shirt. 

He had missed breakfast, but that was all right, since he still had some sweets from Honeydukes in his bag. He pulled out a large bag of Jelly Slugs and brought it outside, to enjoy the weather. It was hot and humid, and felt very much like Florida at the moment, perhaps in late spring. He waded in the lake and simply enjoyed being free to do as he liked while everyone else had classes. He caught sight of a few other fifth and seventh-years enjoying the weather as well, and caught sight of Justin Finch-Fletchley swimming out in the middle of the lake. "Hey Justin! Say hi to the squid for me!" Cody called with a grin. 

Justin laughed, and waved as if to say "Oh, go on with you", and kept swimming. 

Cody giggled and went to climb a tree instead. 

For lunch, Cody ran upstairs to get his school robe on, then came back down to sit with his House. "Ahhh," he said, teasing Graham a bit. "It was a nice morning. I waded in the lake, climbed some trees..." He laughed as Graham punched him in the arm. 

"Shut it, brat," said Graham, trying to sound cross, but then he laughed. "I was gonna say that you're lucky, but you've got O.W.L.s to deal with. I think I'd rather have classes all day." 

"Yeah, but you were right. They're not as bad as I thought they were gonna be. But did I tell you what happened during my Herbology exam?" 

Graham shook his head, looking interested. 

"Well you know Neville Longbottom, he's been helping me with it, because he's good with it. So I did okay at first. But then I had to prune this Fanged Geranium." 

"Uh oh. We aren't even beginning to work with those until next year. Seedlings." 

"I hate those things, and this one was a big one. Anyways." He told Graham about the fiasco with the plant, and that he had to go to Madame Pomfrey and get mopped up. "Man, that hurt! I'm just glad they're not poisonous!" 

Graham looked amused, but he was also wincing at the idea of having a Fanged Geranium sink its fangs into his skin. "You don't think that'll be enough to fail you, do you?" 

"I hope not. If I don't fail, though, all I'll get is Acceptable." He shrugged. "I did really good with Astronomy though, I think. Maybe I'll even get an Outstanding. But Exceeds Expectations would be good too. I might get an E or an A for Ancient Runes. That teacher's nice though, he lets you take his N.E.W.T. class even with just an Acceptable in O.W.L.s." 

"Yeah, I heard Snape makes you get an O before he lets you continue." 

Gloomily, Cody nodded; he knew he had not gotten an O in his Potions exam. And as much as he disliked Snape, he did like the class itself. "Oh well. Maybe they'll let me take a different class if I have to drop some classes. At least I can do something interesting." 

"I think they do," said Graham. "But not a lot of students do it. They like having the free time. You'd be with first-years, though." 

"That's okay. Next year I'll be the same age as the first-years, anyway, so I won't feel too weird." 

"Oh yeah, you turned eleven this spring, huh?" 

Cody grinned. "Yep! And you're gonna be a teenager. Scary." 

Graham grinned proudly. "Scary, that's me!" 

--- 

After lunch was the final exam of the year, and Cody could not wait for it to be over, because it was History of Magic. When the House tables were swept to the side, Cody sighed and got into a desk. He sat next to Neville again, who was sure that he was going to fail the exam. Cody sympathized a great deal! 

The exam was as boring as Binns' classes, and Cody had a very difficult time sitting still. He fidgeted and switched positions so often that one of the examiners came over and asked politely if he could try and sit still a bit more. Cody promised that he would try. 

He was only halfway through the exam when a ten minute warning was called, and Cody sighed. He was going to fail this one miserably, he just knew it. 

He was agonizing over a question about which goblins had organized the biggest of the goblin riots, and in what year, when a yell nearly made him jump out of his seat. Harry Potter was on the floor next to his desk, yelling in what seemed like pain. As Professor Tofty hurried over looking concerned, and everyone began asking what was going on, Harry sat bolt upright looking scared. Cody frowned, standing on his chair to better see what was going on. 

Tofty helped Harry to his feet, and out of the room, as most of the students watched with some concern. Some, like Malfoy, were snickering, and some were trying to finish up their exams. Frowning, Cody did sit down and try to at least finish a couple of questions, hoping to avoid a really horrible fail grade. 

When the exam was over, and the desks vanished, Cody turned his paper in to the examiners. He looked around for Harry, but he had not returned, and Cody was getting concerned. For that matter, he couldn't find Hermione or Ron, either. "Neville, do you know where Harry went?" 

"I think he was being taken up to Madame Pomfrey," said Neville. 

"Maybe he was taken to the madmen's ward of St. Mungo's," came Malfoy's derisive voice from somewhere nearby. Cody turned to glare. "I mean, you can't be all that sane if you start screaming during the middle of exams." 

"Oh shut up," said Cody irritably, heading for the doors. Supper could wait, he wanted to make sure Harry was all right. 

But Madame Pomfrey told him that Harry was not there. "He came up for a moment, looking for Minerva - Professor McGonagall. But she was indeed taken to St. Mungo's this morning." 

"Oh no! Is she gonna be okay?" 

"Well, they say she's got a good chance. But she did take some rather severe damage." 

Cody scowled and punched a nearby bed. "I hope Umbridge falls off a cliff!" And it was a mark of how hated Umbridge was by the fact that not only did Madame Pomfrey not even pretend to care that such a thing was said about a teacher, but she nodded in agreement. "I gotta find Harry," said Cody, running for the door. "I got a bad feeling about this." 

"Good luck!" called Madame Pomfrey. 

"Thanks!" 

But luck was not forthcoming, and after a while, he tried to find Neville to see if he had had any luck. But he couldn't find Neville, either. He did run into Graham, who seemed to be heading down toward the dungeons. "Graham! I can't find anyone, Harry was hurt or something I think during exams, and now I can't find him. Or Ron, or Hermione. I can't find Neville, either. I'm gonna go outside and see if I can find them. Maybe they went to Hagrid's hut or something." 

Graham looked regretful. "I wish I could go with you, but I've got detention." 

"Not with Umbridge?" Cody said worriedly. 

Graham shook his head. "No, no, it's with Snape. He caught me throwing a spit wad at Malcolm Baddock in Potions today." 

"Well, see you later then, okay?" 

The boy nodded. "Okay. Be careful." 

Cody watched him for a moment, and then ran outside. 

The grounds were empty, since most students were heading for supper, and Cody scanned the grounds with sheer frustration. He ran to Hagrid's cabin and knocked on the door. He knew Hagrid would not be there, but he opened it anyway and looked around. There was nothing but a cold fireplace, a few chairs, a table, and Hagrid's assorted cages and things he used when tending to his creatures. As he left the hut, closing the door tightly behind him, he wondered vaguely who was feeding the thestrals. Grubbly-Plank, he supposed. 

For a moment, he sat on the fence surrounding the paddock, trying to think of where they might have gone. He supposed they could be in the common room, but then why would they be in their common room at dinner time? He supposed he could go up and ask the Fat Lady if she had seen them. 

As he was about to hop down to do just that, three figures caught his eyes, and he squinted to see who they were. They were heading into the forest, and as Cody looked, he realized that they were Harry, Hermione, and Umbridge! His eyes widened, as he saw a wand in Umbridge's hand. That was not good. 

Jumping down from the fence, he took off as fast as he could go towards the trio. 

They had disappeared well into the woods by the time Cody got there, and he had to stop and catch his breath. He took his wand from his belt loop, in case he ran into anything he didn't care to meet, and plunged on in. He did not call for them at first, not wanting Umbridge to notice him, but he kept his mind alert for any kind of movement. 

At first there was none, which was very frustrating. But then, far into the forest, he heard a sudden spate of raised voices and yelling; though he recognized Umbridge's among them, there were at least a dozen male voices yelling and laughing. Their voices sounded very strange. Cody headed in that direction, but far more cautiously, because he didn't know what was going on. He thought he might have heard Hermione. 

And then a voice that sounded like it belonged to something huge; it was loud enough for Cody to understand what it was saying. "HAGGER!" He didn't know what it meant, but that's what it said. Biting his lip, Cody walked slowly toward it. "GRAWP WANT HAGGER!" it said. There was more shouting, and then nothing. 

For a moment, Cody stood still, trying to listen, but when he heard nothing, he went on. He was worried now. What if whatever it was had hurt Hermione and Harry? Umbridge he didn't much care about. 

He risked a call. "Harry! Hermione?" But no one answered. "Guys?" But again, there was nothing. Frowning, Cody pushed aside a thick sheaf of some kind of hanging foliage (hoping it wasn't something that would try to bite or strangle him), and stepped through it to look around. He was quite alarmed to find himself suddenly facing the business end of a very sharp looking arrow. He gasped and stopped short, noticing after a moment that there were two of them. He looked up, his eyes wide, and saw that the bows were held by two centaurs. 

The first one lowered his bow. "He is only a foal, Hertesia," he said. "He is not to be harmed." 

The other one, whom Cody realized was female, lowered her bow as well, nodding. Cody noticed that her chest was bare, as centaurs did not wear clothing, and his face turned very red. He looked hastily back at the male. 

"What are you doing in the forest?" asked one of the centaurs. He and the woman both seemed very tense and worried, and Cody noticed that the male had a bloody nose and was favoring a hind leg. 

"I-I'm looking for my friends - Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. I saw them coming in, and Umbridge was with them, an' she had her wand on them and..." He finished with a sort of helpless gesture of frustration. "An' I heard all this yelling and now I can't find them." 

"Leave the human to find his friends on his own," said the woman. "We must get back to the herd." 

The male turned sharply to her. "He may be human, but he is only a colt, I will not leave him to possible harm." He turned back to Cody. "Your friends went that way, back towards the school somewhat," he said, pointing. "But I advise you to leave the woods, young human. A giant roams here, and has caused injuries to our herd. Good luck to you." 

"Thanks," Cody whispered, as the two centaurs galloped further into the trees. 

Taking a big breath, Cody began to run in the direction the centaur had pointed, his wand again out in front of him. He was still getting over the unpleasant surprise of finding an arrow in his face. That was not something one wanted to see in the middle of a dark forest. Or a light one, for that matter. 

About ten minutes later, Cody heard voices, and he recognized one of them as Ron's! His eyes widening in relief, Cody broke into a run. "Ron! Guys!" There were six of them there, Ron, Hermione, Harry, Neville, Ginny, and Luna Lovegood. He wasn't sure how they had gotten there, but was Cody glad to see them! 

"Cody!" said Neville in surprise. "Where did you come from?" 

"I was in the woods, looking for you guys, I thought that Umbridge was gonna do something horrible to Hermione an' Harry so I looked for you. And then I met two centaurs an' one said there was a giant in the forest, and that you guys had gone this way." He took a big breath and let it out. "Man, am I glad to see you alive! What...what's going on?" 

"Voldemort's got Sirius," said Harry tersely. "We're going to the Ministry of Magic to rescue him. You'd best stay here." 

Cody gasped. "He's got Sirius! No way am I staying here!" 

"You're eleven years old, I don't need your death on my conscience, too." 

Cody would have felt highly insulted, had Harry not suddenly put his foot up, and seemingly climbed onto thin air. Distracted, he blinked as he saw Harry mounted on something he couldn't see. Luna also climbed aboard thin air, leaving Cody looking quite confused. 

"What?" Harry said, looking down at the remaining students, who were looking much like Cody looked. 

Ron asked how they were supposed to get on (on _what?_), and Luna slid down from her thin air and helped the others mount thin air as well. "There aren't any more for you to ride, Cody," she said vaguely, heading back to her thin air. "You'll have to ride with someone." 

"He's not going," said Harry, looking irritable, and Cody scowled at him. 

Ron looked a bit ill. "This is mad. _Mad_...if I could just see it..." 

"You'd better hope it stays invisible," said Harry. "We all ready then?" 

"Come on," said Neville quietly. "I'll explain on the way. You can ride with me." 

Highly confused, Cody watched Neville climb onto thin air as well, and stepped forward. He reached out tentatively and was quite startled to touch what felt like warm, leathery skin. "Um..." 

"Thestrals," said Neville, and Cody finally understood. Neville held a hand down to Cody, who took it, and with Neville's help managed to climb aboard the invisible beast. 

"This _is_ mad," Cody said, looking down at something he could feel but not see. Talk about creepy. 

He caught Harry giving him a look of either anger or frustration, then throw up his hands as if to say, "Fine, do what you want". And then he looked down at his thin air. "Ministry of Magic, visitors' entrance, London, then. Er, if you know...where to go." 

As Cody watched, Harry suddenly rose erratically into the air, and took off, and Cody felt the thestral beneath him do the same thing. He gasped, and held tightly onto the beast's mane as it rose, and Neville put his arms around Cody to grasp the mane also. "Just hang on tight, Cody." 

"Yeah. Good idea." 

The thestral took off, rising suddenly into the air, and Cody gasped at the rush of wind in his face. But he laughed after a moment, realizing that although the ride was kind of scary, it was also very fun. "Wow, these things're cool!" 

"It is, kind of," said Neville, smiling a bit. 

"So...so what's happening?" 

"Well Harry, he had another vision, that You-Know-Who had Sirius Black in the Ministry of Magic building. He ended up in Umbridge's office to use her fire to try and talk to Sirius, but the house-elf said he wasn't there. Umbridge caught us all and those miserable Slytherins in her Inquisitorial Squad were helping her. But that's okay, a few Stunners, and Ginny's Bat-Bogey Hex nailed them." 

Cody laughed. "I'm sorry I missed it, I was busy failing my History of Magic exam." 

"Don't worry, I failed it, too, I just failed it a little faster than you did. 

They both laughed and Cody glanced down below him. "Man I wish I had my broom. This thing's hard to ri - whoa!" The thestral banked, almost making Cody lose his balance. Neville grabbed him. 

"Okay?" 

"Yeah. Just startled me. Broomsticks are definitely better. Hey if we ride these, can people see us?" 

"I think so." 

"I'm glad it's getting dark, then." It was, too. Dark, and way up there in the air it was also getting chilly. Cody grumbled and pulled his school robe about him a bit more tightly. 

"So what's Harry's problem anyway?" Cody said quietly. "He's talking like he's responsible for all of us, like he has to baby sit us or something instead of us working as a team. I mean yeah, I'm eleven, but I'm a fifth-year just like him. In fact I'm pretty sure that I am gonna get a better grade in Astronomy than him." Cody scowled, again feeling the indignation of being told he was too little. "He's not the only one that can face danger. I mean, I went down with him and Ron in the Chamber of Secrets, and I was only seven, then! Er eight, I mean, I was eight." 

"I know," Neville said quietly. "He's just...he doesn't mean to be so condescending." 

"Yeah, but he's not stupid. He knows what it sounds like. He doesn't like being told by _adults_ that he's too young or small to do things, what would he think if another fifth-year told him it?" 

"I know," said Neville patiently. "And we told him that, sort of. I think he agreed just so he didn't have to waste any more time. He'll understand. He just cares about people a lot. And blames himself for things a lot, too. The Muggles he lives with always told him everything was his fault, I mean I'm sure it takes time to get past that kind of thing." 

Cody made a sort of angry hiss. "Those jerks. I guess you're right. Still, it makes me feel lousy." 

Neville chuckled and roughed up Cody's hair; people seemed to like to make it stick up straight. Cody gave him a look, and he smiled. "You look better that way." Cody snorted. "Anyway, we can talk about it with him later. For now, let's just get there and stay alive." 

Cody agreed. "Yeah, staying alive is a good idea." 

They rode in silence for quite a while, before the thestral beneath them suddenly dove, and Cody let out a cry of surprise. Behind them, he heard Hermione shriek as well, and assumed theirs had also dived. He laughed, though, once he got used to what it felt like. 

They were landing outside what looked like a broken-down phone booth, and he heard Hermione mutter that she hated heights. Ron was less than pleased as well, and vowed he would never ride a thestral again. 

"That was fun!" Cody said quietly, getting a glare from both Hermione and Ron. Cody covered his mouth to hide a grin. 

Luna asked where they were to go, and Harry led them to the phone booth once everyone had dismounted. They all squashed in, and someone was standing on Cody's leg. He himself was sort of forced down into a sitting position. "Whoever's on my leg needs to lose weight," Cody grumbled. 

"Sorry," came Ron's voice. 

"Whoever's nearest the receiver, dial six two four four two!" came Harry's voice, and Cody heard phone tones from above him. 

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business." A cool female voice had spoken from the phone. 

Speaking quickly, Harry told her, "Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, and Cody DeDannan. We're here to save someone unless your ministry can do it first!" 

"Thank you," said the phone. "Visitors please take the badges and attach them to the front of your robes." It went on to tell them that they had to register their wands with security, and Harry said fine, and to get a move on. 

Suddenly, the box shook, and began to descend like it was an elevator. 

Once they had descended, they all toppled out of the box and onto a gleaming floor. Cody looked around in awe; it was a huge area, that Cody could imagine full of bustling witches and wizards. But for now, it was completely deserted. A huge statue sat in the middle, of a witch and a wizard with wands, surrounded by a centaur, a goblin, and a house elf all looking up at the humans like they were to be worshipped. Remembering the centaurs Cody had met earlier than evening, Cody did not think this statue was very accurate. 

"Come on," said Harry quietly, and they ran off down the hall. Shortest among them, Cody lagged behind. They had all gotten into what looked like one of those cage elevators, and Cody ran in to join them. The lift sank quickly, and at the bottom, the same voice from the phone booth announced, "Department of Mysteries." 

"Let's go," said Harry quietly, and everyone followed. But when they came close to a door through which Harry seemed to want to go, he stopped. "Okay listen. Maybe...maybe a couple of people should stay here as a - as a lookout, and..." He glanced at Cody, who scowled. 

"And how are we going to let you know something's coming?" asked Ginny. "You could be miles away." 

"Besides," said Cody. "You really think that big jerk's gonna be alone?" He noticed a few people wincing, and shook his head. "If he's here, he can't hear me. Anwyays, he's gonna have all his Death Eaters with him. One against twenty's not great odds." 

"We're coming with you, Harry," said Neville, with no hesitation in his voice. "We're your friends. You're supposed to look out for your friends, but you're also supposed to let them watch over you." 

"Let's get on with it," said Ron. 

Harry sighed, and then nodded. "All right," he said quietly. "Let's go. Wands out, and be careful." 


	52. Year 5, Chapter 15: Surrounded

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 15: Surrounded**

Harry opened the door and went in, and everyone followed. Cody took a big breath and plunged in after them. "Someone here needs to shrink so I'm not the shortest one," he grumbled, and there were a few nervous laughs. 

They were in a round room with at least a dozen doors all around it, and on the walls between them were torches of blue flame. It reminded Cody strongly of the kind of lighting in the Slytherin common room. Harry asked someone to close the door, and Neville did, but it turned out to be a mistake. The wall began to rotate, disorienting him enough that he got dizzy and fell. "Whoa," he said as Neville helped him up. "That was weird." 

"What was all that about?" Ron asked once the walls were again still, and Ginny suggested it was to keep them from knowing which door they had used. A security measure, then. Neville asked how they would get back out. 

"It doesn't matter now," said Harry. "We won't need to get out until we've found Sirius." 

"But we have to know how to get out after we find Sirius," said Cody. 

"Don't go calling for him though," cautioned Hermione. 

"Where do we go then?" asked Ron. 

"I don't... In the dreams, I went through the door at the end of the corridor into a dark room - that's this one - and then I went through another door into a room that kind of...glitters. We should try a few doors. I'll know the right way when I see it. Come on." 

The first door they tried led into a room with some desks and a big aquarium of dark green water. In it were not fish, but big, slimy things. 

"What're those things?" Ron asked. 

"Dunno," said Harry. 

"Are they fish?" asked Ginny. 

"No, I don't think so," said Cody. "They're weird if they are." 

"Aquavarius maggots!" whispered Luna excitedly. "Dad said the Ministry are breeding -" 

But Hermione interrupted, sounding a bit revolted. "No...they're brains." 

"Brains?" 

"Yes...I wonder what they're doing with them." 

"I don't think I wanna know," said Cody, although he actually did want to know. He got right up to the glass and watched a brain float lazily by. "Gross." But interesting. 

"Let's get out of here," said Harry. "This isn't right, we need to try another door." 

"There are doors here, too," said Ron. And there were; the brain office seemed to have doors leading from it, into the rest of the department, Cody guessed. 

"In my dream I went right from that dark room into the second one. I think we should go back and try from there." 

"Maybe we should all open a door at the same time," Cody said as they made their way back. 

"No," said Hermione. "It's not a good idea to split up. V-Voldemort could be anywhere in here. No one should come across him alone." 

Cody paled at the idea. "Er, good idea." 

Once they were back in the dark room, Hermione used her wand to draw a red, glowing X on the door, before it was shut. Cody closed his eyes as the walls spun, so he wouldn't get dizzy again and fall. 

"Good thinking," said Harry to Hermione. "Okay, let's try this one." 

The second one wasn't it, either. It looked a bit like an inside arena, with a stone pedestal in the middle, with a strange sort of stone archway on top of it. It had a veil hanging from it that moved, as if in a breeze, but there was none in the room. "Um, that's creepy," said Cody. "I-I don't think this is a good place." 

But Harry moved closer, asking who was there. "Sirius?" It was strange. Harry kept trying to find out who was "in there", as if it were a doorway to another dimension. Hermione, with great effort, got him away from it. 

There was another door in the dark room that was locked, and resisted all attempts to open it. It even melted the lock-picking knife that Harry had. 

"You know what could be in there?" said Luna, looking at the closed door. 

"Something blibbering, no doubt," whispered Hermione, and Neville and Cody both laughed nervously. 

But finally, they opened a door, and Harry said, "This is it!" 

As everyone piled into the room, Cody looked around to see glittering walls and clocks of every description all over the place. There was a huge jar at one end on closer inspection, he saw had an egg in it, just floating in the middle. But as he watched, the egg hatched, and a hummingbird hatched out of it, and flew to the top. But then as it fell, its feathers fell off, and it looked like it was getting younger...until it was enveloped again in its egg. "Weird." Cody liked this room. 

"This is it," Harry whispered, looking at a door at the other end of the room. Cody looked at it and felt his heart began to beat a whole lot faster, and hard enough that he felt it in his wrists and his neck. "It's through here." 

Cody followed him through the doorway, and looked around. He shivered a bit in the chilly room, whose ceiling nearly vanished high into the gloom. Candles with blue flames glimmered in the darkness, and numbered shelves stretched high, loaded with glowing orbs. "Neat," said Cody. He frowned, and tightening his grip on his wand. He had a feeling that he would want it soon, and began reciting under his breath the various incantations they had practiced in the D.A. 

"You said it was row ninety-seven," said Hermione. 

"Yeah," Harry whispered. 

"We need to go right, I think," said Hermione. "Yes, that's fifty-four." 

"Keep your wands out," said Harry as they began to move. 

"Definitely," Cody agreed, looking nervously around. "Boy, it's creepy in here. And does anyone else feel like they're being watched?" 

"Thanks a lot," said Neville. "Now I'm even more nervous." 

"Sorry." 

"Maybe we should call Sirius' name?" Cody whispered. 

"Are you mad?" Ron demanded. "And tell You-Know-Who where we are?" 

"You think if he's here that he _doesn't_ already know?" 

"Yeah, well, if he did we'd be dead." 

Cody couldn't argue with that. 

"Ninety-seven!" Hermione said, pointing. Cody moved Luna's robe out of his way, and peered down the aisle. 

"He's right down at the end," Harry whispered, almost feverishly. "You can't see properly from here." They crept down the aisle, and Harry said, "He should be near here...anywhere near here...really close..." 

"Harry?" said Hermione. 

"Somewhere about...here." He was at the end of the row, and peered down the rows at that end. "He might be... Or maybe..." 

"Harry?" said Hermione. 

"What?" 

"I-I don't think Sirius is here." 

Cody was looking up at the orbs, and approached one, but had the feeling that it would be a very, very bad idea to try and touch one. That didn't stop him from wanting to though. 

"Harry," came Ron's voice from a little bit on down the aisle. 

"What?" 

"Have you seen this?" 

"What?" Sounding as curious now as Cody felt, Harry went over to see what Ron was looking at. Realizing that he was now away from the group and feeling suddenly vulnerable, Cody ran to catch up. "What?" Harry repeated. 

"It - it's got your name on." 

Cody looked up at what Ron was taking about, and saw an orb that had a label on it: 

_ S.P.T. to A.P.W.B.D._   
_ Dark Lord_   
_ And (?) Harry Potter_

Got his name on? Cody wondered. That was weird. It made it sound like Harry's name was a shirt or something the little ball had on. 

"What is it?" Ron asked. "What's your name doing down here?" 

Giggling very nervously, Cody said, "Maybe the same thing that Harry's doing down here." 

"I'm not here," said Ron. "None of the rest of us are here..." 

"Harry, I don't think you should touch it," said Hermione, her voice alarmed. 

"Why not? It's something to do with me, isn't it?" 

"Yeah, but what if something horrible happens when you touch it?" asked Cody, now also feeling very apprehensive. They shouldn't be here, there was something very wrong. 

"Don't, Harry," said Neville, who apparently felt the same way. 

"It's got my name on," Harry said stubbornly. Cody hissed in a breath and winced as Harry touched it, but nothing happened. Cody pulled his robes around him a bit more tightly, and watched. 

And then, from right behind them, came a voice that did not belong to any of them. 

"Very good, Potter. Now turn around, nice and slowly, and give that to me." 

Cody gasped, and spun around; he knew that voice, it belonged to Draco's father. An unpleasant chill shocked through his body as he realized that this was a very bad situation. 

And then there was a swish, right next to him, and he spun around once more. The group of students was now trapped on both sides by dark shapes in hooded cloaks, and each was carrying a wand, pointed right at them. "That can't be good!" said Cody, backing up until he felt who he thought might be Ron right behind him. He raised his own wand, but didn't do anything just yet. 

"To me, Potter," Malfoy repeated, holding out a hand. 

Naturally, Harry did not hand whatever it was over. Instead, he asked, "Where's Sirius?" 

The Death Eaters laughed, which was quite a chilling sound. "The Dark Lord always knows," said a woman, and Cody looked toward her. 

"Always," agreed Malfoy quietly. "Now give me the prophecy, Potter." 

"I want to know where Sirius is!" 

The woman who had spoken mocked Harry's question in a high-pitched voice that made Cody shudder. He would rather have listened to Professor Umbridge singing opera. 

"You've got him," Harry said, a desperate undertone to his voice. "He's here, I know he is." 

The woman, who despite Cody's fear was getting completely on his nerves, mocked in a baby-voice, "The little baby woke up fwightened, and fort what it dweamed was twue." Cody scowled at her. 

"Don't do anything," whispered Harry to the others. "Not yet." Cody nodded. 

The woman laughed like a demented crow. "You hear him? You hear him? Giving instructions to the other children as though he thinks of fighting us!" 

"You're not death-proof," Cody growled at her, and she turned to peer at him through her mask. 

"Oh you don't know Potter as I do, Bellatrix," said Malfoy. "He has a great weakness for heroics; the Dark Lord understands this about him. Now _give me_ the prophecy, Potter." 

"I know Sirius is here! I know you've got him!" 

As the other adults began to laugh once more, Malfoy told Harry it was time he learned to tell the difference between life and dreams. "Now give me the prophecy, or we start using wands." 

"Go on, then," said Harry, which would either lead to a rather large battle, or call Malfoy's bluff. The students all raised their wands, and Cody gulped. But no one attacked, yet. 

"Hand over the prophecy, and no one need get hurt," said Malfoy. 

Harry snorted laughter. "Yeah, right. I give you this...prophecy, is it? And you'll just let us skip off home, will you?" 

"Accio Prophecy!" the female Death Eater suddenly cried. 

"Protego!" Harry said immediately, what Cody recognized as the Shield Charm that they had learned in the D.A. The globe, which had been about to leave Harry's grasp, returned. 

"Oh, he knows how to play, little bitty baby Potter," said the woman. "Very well, then." 

"I told you, no!" Malfoy roared at her. "If you smash it -" 

"No, go ahead!" Cody said. "Smashing it sounds like a good idea to me!" 

"You keep out of this, you little traitor," Malfoy hissed, and Cody glared. 

"I'm not a traitor, Malfoy, you're the one that's fighting against the good guys!" Malfoy growled. 

"That one looks familiar," said one of the males. "He looks a great deal like Mallory Gregor, did she have a son?" 

At this, Lucius looked speculatively at Cody, who returned his stare with great wariness. "He does," Lucius said wonderingly. "Surely not." 

Cody frowned. "Who's Mallory Gregor?" he asked, his curiosity overcoming his fear for the moment. 

"Never mind that," said the woman's voice from Harry's other side. She pulled off her hood, revealing the face of the woman who had been in the Daily Prophet, after the Azkaban breakout. Bellatrix Lestrange, the one who had tortured Neville's parents. 

Cody glanced quickly at Neville, who stared at the woman with an expression of the utmost hatred, an expression that looked completely alien on Neville. 

"You need more persuasion?" said Bellatrix Lestrange. "Very well." She turned to the Death Eater beside her and pointed at Cody. "Take the smallest one. Let Potter watch as we torture the little boy. I'll do it." 

Cody's face paled and he backed away, raising his wand. "You better not!" he cried, his voice a good deal higher than normal. 

Hermione and Ginny stepped in front of him, and he saw Neville step to Cody's side, so that he was shielded from the assorted Death Eaters. Cody felt a sudden surge of gratitude to have those kinds of friends, and sought out Neville's hand to give it a squeeze. That, if anything, would be what saved them. That kind of friendship, that kind of love, was not something the Death Eaters could ever understand. 

Cody peered around Ginny's robes to see Harry step in front of Lestrange. "You'll have to smash this if you want to attack any of us," said Harry. "I don't think your boss will be too pleased if you come back without it, will he?" 

The woman licked her lips as she stared at Harry, and Cody was not sure if she was amused, or mad. Angry, rather; Cody already _knew_ she was mad. 

"So," continued Harry in a voice that Cody thought was quite casual, considering the circumstances. As Harry talked, Cody looked around. There were about a dozen of them from what he could see, all covered with hoods, except for Bellatrix. So, not all of them had come; there were more than just twelve Death Eaters, surely. As he watched, one or two others removed their hoods as well, and Cody recognized the Slytherin that he had met in his second year, and then again earlier this year in Hogsmeade. The one who had told Cody not to say Voldemort's name. The red-haired Death Eater smiled, and Cody swallowed hard. Harry continued. "So what kind of prophecy are we talking about, anyway?" 

"What kind of prophecy?" Lestrange repeated, looking astonished. "You jest, Harry Potter." 

"Nope. Not jesting. How come Voldemort wants it?" 

Cody jumped in startlement as several Death Eaters hissed angrily at the mention of his name, the creepy Slytherin boy included. 

"You dare speak his name?" whispered Lestrange. 

"Yeah, names can't hurt people," said Cody, actually managing to manufacture a smirk for the Slytherin boy as he said it. The boy narrowed his eyes and hissed quietly at him, his hand tightening on his wand. Seeing this, Cody raised his own, just in case. 

"Yeah," Harry agreed. "Yeah, I've got no problem saying Vol -" 

"Shut your mouth!" Lestrange shrieked, making Cody wince. "You dare speak his name with your unworthy lips! You dare besmirch it with your half-blood's tongue, you _dare_ -" 

Neville's hand tightened on Cody's, and Cody returned the gesture and moved a little closer. The woman really was insane, and that somehow made her scarier than she would be were she not. Harry wasn't a half-blood, anyway! His mother had been Muggle born, but she herself was a witch! 

"Did you know he's a half-blood too?" said Harry. Cody winced. "Voldemort? Yeah, his mother was a witch but his dad was a Muggle. Or has he been telling you he's pureblood?" 

The Death Eaters were not entirely pleased with this statement. 

Losing her temper, Lestrange flung a Stunning Spell at Harry, but Malfoy deflected it so that it hit the shelf above them all. Two orbs smashed, releasing little ghostly figures of people, who rose from the orbs and began speaking. But between Malfoy and Lestrange's yelling, and the fact that two figures were speaking at once, it was impossible to tell what they were saying. 

Lestrange was shrieking, sputtering, how Harry dared speak Voldemort's name, and Lucius was snarling that they needed the prophecy... Finally, Lestrange calmed enough that she was not trying to zap Harry with her wand. 

"You haven't told me what's so special about this prophecy I'm supposed to be handing over," said Harry. Cody caught a glimpse of him whispering to Hermione, but could catch the words. 

"Dumbledore never told you the reason you bear that scar was hidden in the bowels of the Department of Mysteries?" Malfoy sneered. 

"I..._what?_" said Harry. "What about my scar?" 

"Can this be?" Malfoy said, beginning to laugh in amazement. Some of the other Death Eaters laughed as well. "Dumbledore never told you? Well this explains why you didn't come earlier, Potter, the Dark Lord wondered why you didn't come running when he showed the place where it was hidden in your dreams. He thought natural curiosity would make you want to hear the exact wording." 

Guess Voldemort doesn't know everything, Cody thought. 

"Did he?" said Harry. "So he wanted me to come and get it, did he? Why?" 

Cody looked up as Ginny turned toward him and whispered urgently, "Smash shelves on Harry's word - pass it on." He saw Hermione telling Ron, and then Ron telling Luna. He tugged Neville's robes, and when he leaned down, Cody whispered, "Smash shelves, when Harry says." 

"Okay," Neville whispered back. 

Malfoy still sounded highly amused. "Why? Because the only people who are permitted to retrieve a prophecy from the Department of Mysteries, Potter, are those about whom it was made, as the Dark Lord discovered when he attempted to use others to steal it for him." 

"Bode," Cody whispered, remembering Harry telling him about seeing Bode at St. Mungo's. And remembered at the Quidditch World Cup, that Mr. Weasley had said he worked here, in the Department of Mysteries. 

"And why did he want to steal a prophecy about me?" 

"About both of you, Potter...about both of you. Haven't you ever wondered why the Dark Lord tried to kill you as a baby?" 

"Someone made a prophecy about Voldemort and me?" Again, the hisses from the Death Eaters, and an angry growl from Bellatrix Lestrange. "And he's made me come and get it for him? Why couldn't he come and get it himself?" 

"Get it himself?" Lestrange shrieked with sudden, insane amusement. "The Dark Lord, walk into the Ministry of Magic, when they are so sweetly ignoring his return? The Dark Lord, reveal himself to the Aurors, when at the moment they are wasting their time on my dear cousin?" 

Not knowing Sirius' relationship to her, Cody wondered who she meant by that. 

"So he's got you doing his dirty work for him, has he?" said Harry. "Like he tried to get Sturgis to steal it, and Bode?" 

"Very good Potter, very good," said Lucius. "But the Dark Lord knows you are not unintelligen-" 

"NOW!" Harry cried. 

Cody's nerves, on end to begin with, sizzled with adrenaline as he raised his wand to the shelves, and along with the other students cried, "REDUCTO!" And all of a sudden, shelves began smashing everywhere. Dozens and dozens of prophecy orbs smashed, little representations of the Seers who made them rising from the broken glass and all talking at once. Taken by surprise, the Death Eaters paused (some flinched or ducked) just long enough to give the seven students a way out. 


	53. Year 5, Chapter 16: Cody's Battle

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 16: Cody's Battle**

"RUN!" Harry cried, and they all bolted for it. Cody ran as fast as he could, ducking between two Death Eaters, and again thanking whatever powers there were that he was small. He felt someone grab his robe, but used his wand to rip the fabric, and he got away. 

He was not as fast as the others, but Neville paused for a split second and seized Cody's hand once more, pulling him along. Cody had to run as fast as he could to keep from getting dragged along. 

As soon as Cody and Neville had burst through the door, Hermione pointed her wand at it and cried, "Colloportus!" and the door sealed itself off. 

"Thanks," Cody whispered to Neville, who smiled weakly back and nodded. 

"Where - where're the others?" Harry gasped. 

Cody looked around and gasped; Ginny, Luna, and Ron were not there with them. 

"They must've gone the wrong way!" said Hermione. 

"There's gotta be other ways out of that room though, right?" Cody asked. 

"Listen!" Neville whispered. 

Lucius Malfoy was giving orders. "Leave Nott - leave him, I say!" Nott...Theodore Nott was a boy in Cody's year in Slytherin, another whose father was a Death Eater. "The Dark Lord will not care for Nott's injuries as much as losing that prophecy! Jugson, come back here, we need to organize! We'll split into pairs and search, and don't forget, be gentle with Potter until you've got the prophecy, you can kill the others if necessary." 

And as Malfoy began telling them where to go, Cody had an idea. "Harry!" he said as loudly as he could. "Give me the prophecy, I'll carry it in my pocket!" He put a finger to his lips as Harry started to say something, and quickly whispered so only Harry, Neville, and Hermione could hear, "If he doesn't know who has it, maybe they won't just try an' kill the rest of us!" He did know if it would work or if the Death Eaters even heard, but it was worth a try. 

Hermione's eyes widened. "Good idea!" 

"Neville, here!" Cody called. 

Getting the idea, Hermione said, "No, give it here!" 

"Who's got it?" Harry said. "Okay, good, let's go!" And with Harry still holding the orb, they ran away from the door. 

Behind them, someone collided with the door that Hermione had sealed, and Cody giggled shrilly. He was more scared than he had ever been in his life. 

"Stand aside!" growled a man's voice. "Alohomora!" 

The door blasted open, and everyone dove underneath the desks in the clock room, except Cody, was small enough to fit behind a grandfather clock. He clenched his teeth against a whimper of fear, not sure what he would do if he saw one of his friends get killed. 

"They might have run straight through to the hall," said one man. 

"Check under the desks," said a second. They were both men, and ones whose voices Cody did not recognize. He bit his lip, hard, and hoped that the others could handle it. He risked a peek out from under his clock, and saw the two men stooping to check under the desks. 

"STUPEFY!" came Harry's voice from under one of the desks, and the Death Eater flew backward, hitting Cody's clock, which knocked him back into the wall, and then fell over. Cody yelled in pain and staggered, his hand to his face. He felt his eye swelling and hissed; that was going to be a heck of a shiner. 

The second Death Eater had spun to face Hermione, who was standing up to get a better aim with her wand. The man pointed his own wand and snarled, "Avada -" 

Cody gasped, and Harry tackled the man around the knees. Neville overturned the desk he was hiding under and pointed his wand at the struggling pair. "Expelliarmus!" he cried, and both Harry and the Death Eater lost their wands. 

The fighters ran for the end of the room for them, but Cody was closer, and if the Death Eater didn't have his wand, he couldn't curse them! As Neville yelled for Harry to get out of his way, Cody darted out and grabbed both wands, and then sprinted for cover. Neville called the Stunning Spell, but missed, and hit the shelf right next to Cody instead. He ducked and ran for Harry and the others, as the Death Eater lunged for him. Cody paused just long enough to take the Death Eater's wand and snap it over his knee. The man snarled. 

Cody would have been caught then, but Hermione sent her own Stunning Spell at the Death Eater, and hit him square in the chest. He fell, his head heading right for a collision with the glass jar that contained the little hummingbird egg. 

Shaking, Cody went over and handed Harry his wand. 

"Thanks," he said. 

"S-sure." 

"Look out!" Neville cried, pointing. He had a look of revulsion on his face. 

The Death Eater's head had not broken the jar, in fact had gone through it as if it weren't solid. And it was beginning to get smaller, and look younger...until a baby's head sat on the man's burly shoulder. 

"It's time..." whispered Hermione. "_Time_..." Time? _Time_ was in that jar? How did _that_ work? 

A crash and a scream from a nearby room caught their attention, and Harry called loudly for the missing ones of their party. Were they all right? Had they already been hurt...or worse? 

The now baby-headed Death Eater had woken and was failing around the room, paying no attention to the people within. The four youths sprinted for the door at the end of the room, the one that lead into the main hallway, but before they got there the door burst open once more and two others burst in. Having lagged behind again once more, Cody screamed and ducked behind one of the other grandfather clocks, while the other three ducked into one of the doors along the sides of the room. He heard one Death Eater burst into that room, but could hear the other still in this one, chuckling. "Ah, cornered, are y -" he began to say, but at that moment, Cody shoved the clock as hard as he could, toppling it on the man. And then he ran. He didn't think that he could possibly think fast enough at the moment to try any kind of spell; he had to get somewhere and collect his thoughts. 

The way to the hallway was blocked, as the Death Eater angrily shoved the clock off of him, and so Cody sprinted back through the door that led into the prophecy chamber, hoping that the rest of the Death Eaters there were gone. He burst through the door, spun, and repeated the incantation Hermione had used to seal off the doors. "Colloportus!" he cried, and to his amazement, it worked! He heard a commotion from somewhere inside, and hoped the others were all right. He heard the Death Eater collide with the door then, and decided it was time to run. He took off down the aisle. He hoped desperately that the injured Nott was not still here, or if he was, that he was incapacitated. 

The place was deserted once more, and Cody ran along the wall, peeking at each row as he passed them. There had to be thousands of prophecies! He only had a couple of seconds to be fascinated before he heard the Death Eater growl, "Alohomora!" and the door opened. Cody caught a glimpse of him looking both ways, spotting Cody, and raising his wand. Cody gasped, and ducked into one of the aisles, not bothering to run too much farther in. He knew there was no way he could outrun a fully grown man, and so he raised his wand, ready to fight. 'I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die,' he thought frantically. 

"Dolohov!" shouted a voice from in the time room. "Get in here, we need help!" 

"But one of them's in here, the Slytherin!" 

"I don't care, we've got Potter in here, he's the one we have to worry about!" 

Dolohov growled, and Cody heard the door slam again, and Cody slumped against a shelf, shaking with relief. He wiped his eyes, not having realized until now that he was crying, and took in a big breath. I'm alone, he thought. That could either be good, or bad. It possibly meant that he wouldn't run into anyone, as they were busy with the others. But then if he did meet anyone, he would have no backup, and would be outnumbered at least two to one. 

After a few moments, he listened carefully, and then headed for the opposite side of the prophecy room. He had been right in assuming it had several other doors, and he cautiously tried one of them. It was open, and the room beyond was empty for the moment. He stepped in and closed the door, sealing it as he had sealed the first one. "Lumos," he whispered, and frowned when his wand did not light. "Lumos!" But again, it did not light. Wondering if perhaps his wand had somehow been damaged, he took a step forward, and cried out in startlement as he was suddenly floating around. It was then that he realized that he was looking not at simple blackness, but at stars, and as he drifted farther into the room, he also saw tiny planets. He was in a room of simulated outer space, and even with what was going on that night, he stared in wonder for several minutes. 

It was not completely like space, Cody realized, else he would not be able to breathe. But it might explain why his wandlight could not be seen. There must be something here in the magic that created the vast room that interfered with it. 

It took about a minute for Cody to be able to float to the other end of the room, and when he bumped gently into the wall, he felt around for a door. Finding one, he wrenched it open and pulled himself out. He fell immediately to the floor and took a big breath, orienting himself. 

He was in another hallway, and he looked around, his wand up and ready. By now, however, he was completely lost, with no idea where anyone else might be. 

He carefully opened a door and stepped inside. It was not dark in here, but lit by a dozen warm candles. It was eerie in the room, for while there was a great deal of noise going on, there seemed to be an unnatural silence underneath it. He looked around in fascination. 

In one corner was a model of the earth, about three feet wide, hovering in the air. As Cody watched, captivated, he saw the water moving, and the clouds drifting, and when he touched an ocean, his hand came away wet. "Neeeat!" Despite the seriousness of the situation, Cody found that the working models delighted him. 

Next to the earth was a planet about the same size, and Cody saw that the land masses were sort of familiar, but it had a red haze around it, and tiny volcanoes erupted all around it. Was this the beginning of Earth? Or Earth sometime in the past? 

On one wall was what looked like a chart showing how man might have changed from the apes. For several moments he watched the poster-sized picture, which was really just an animated, magical evolutionary scale. 

Another planet Cody recognized was Jupiter, with all of its moons orbiting it, and next to it a large moving model of Io, one of Jupiter's moons. It was in a state much like the reddish Earth. Cody glanced at a piece of paper on a nearby desk, and it was full of sloppy cursive. The word on the top read "Creation". Another paper was written in neat print, and was titled "Origins of Man". 

That's what the Department of Mysteries is, Cody thought in wonder. All of the questions of mankind, the mysteries of the world, were there for study. Wizards and witches who were called Unspeakables by the rest of the Ministry worked on trying to solve and understand those questions. Time, Space, Prophecy, the human Mind... Cody suspected that the black veil and the stone archway might have been a room in which to study Death. What other wonders were in this place? 

Lost in wonder, Cody was very badly startled when the door was slammed open and two figures entered, looking grimly around. Neither was hooded, and for the briefest of moments, Cody thought it was Ron and Harry, as neither was all that big and one was redheaded. But half a second later he recognized one of them, the Slytherin with the red hair. Eyes widening, Cody raised his wand. "Stupefy!" he cried, and was rewarded when a jet of red light hit the bigger one. Taken by surprise, the man was flung backwards and collapsed, half in and half out of the doorway. 

But the Slytherin now spotted Cody and raised his own wand. "Stupefy!" he cried, and Cody yelled, "Protego!" The Stunner struck what seemed like an invisible shield and flew back at the Slytherin, who ducked it. He narrowed his eyes. "Not bad, DeDannan," he said. 

"Yeah, thanks," Cody said with some degree of sarcasm, backing away as the boy walked forward. "I always thought you'd end up a Death Eater." 

The boy smiled. "I am highly complimented." 

Cody snorted. 

"Lucius rather thinks that you're a traitor, DeDannan. Said that no self-respecting Slytherin would ally himself with a lot of high-minded Gryffindors." 

"Oh yeah? Well I always wondered why the Sorting Hat put me in Slytherin. I woulda rather been in Gryffindor." 

"Obviously you haven't the courage." 

"I'm here, aren't I?" 

The redhead nodded slowly. "I suppose you are." 

"Who are you, anyway?" 

The redhead smiled. "I supposed there's no reason not to tell you. My name is Dustin Tiller." 

Cody blinked. "You're Kyle Tiller's brother?" he asked in tones of the utmost surprise. "Why didn't he tell me?" 

At this, Tiller laughed aloud. "Did you honestly expect the righteous fool to admit that someone such as myself was related to him? He preferred to pretend that he had no brother, and truth to tell, I was quite happy to play along. I wanted to claim him no more than he wanted to claim me." 

Cody only stared, too shocked by this to say anything. 

Tiller continued. "Nott was right, you know. You do look a great deal like Mallory Gregor. She your mum?" 

Cody blinked, and kept his wand up in a defensive position, just in case the young Death Eater tried a surprise attack. "My mom's adopted, she's a Muggle." 

"I know that, I meant your birth mother, DeDannan. Do you know nothing of her?" 

"No, the orphanage didn't have any records," said Cody warily. "So...so who _is_ Mallory Gregor?" 

He shrugged. "I never met her, but I've seen pictures. She was a Death Eater that was killed in the service of the Dark Lord." 

Cody's eyes widened, partly in indignation. "Then she's not my mom! Not even my first one, it couldn't be her. She wouldn't've served Voldemort!" 

Tiller hissed like an angry cobra, and raised his wand, his eyes narrowing. "I told you not to say the Dark Lord's name! You are not worthy to speak the name of so great a wizard!" 

"He can't be all _that_ great," Cody scoffed. "If he was even too scared to come here himself." This was not something he would have dared say within Voldemort's earshot, but Voldemort was not there, and it was worth it to see the look on Tiller's face. It was contorted with sudden wrath. 

"You DARE!" he snarled. "STUPEFY!" 

With a yell, Cody ducked, feeling the searing of the Stunning Spell fly past his face. He darted behind a desk, narrowly avoiding another Stunner. He knew that if he got himself knocked out, that he'd be dead, if Tiller so chose it. 

"I shall tell the Dark Lord what you dared to say of him!" 

Yeah, great, Cody thought. He popped out from under the desk, and grabbed Tiller's leg, sinking his teeth into it. Not expecting a non-magical attack at all, much less such a feral attack, Tiller yelled and shook Cody off, retreating several steps. This gave Cody a chance to take cover behind Jupiter and send a Disarming Spell at his adversary, but it went wild and knocked a pretty little glass model of a dinosaur off of a shelf, where it shattered. A few shards flew past his face, but he hardly noticed the small cuts they left. Cody found himself very grateful he was not fighting a full grown Death Eater. He had the idea that Tiller was a bit more inexperienced than the others, else Cody would not have had a chance alone. 

"Impedimenta!" Tiller cried, and the jinx caught Cody in the chest, knocking him backwards into the wall. He slumped, stunned for a moment, and saw Tiller's feet running at him. He rolled to one side as a Stunner came at him once more. He stood desperately, snatching a little moon from around the working model of Jupiter. He hurled the moon (Ganymede) at Tiller, who knocked it out of the way with a Banishing Spell. 

And then Tiller cried a curse that Cody did not recognize. 

Not able to duck in time, Cody howled in pain as he was knocked asprawl on the floor, a searing, bloody line opened from his shoulder to his wrist. He dropped his wand and lay for a moment, stunned, and then clenched his teeth against a sob. Blood was soaking the tattered sleeve of his robes, which sent a shock of panic through his mind, and it hurt like nothing he had ever felt before. Letting a strangled sounding cry, he staggered to his feet and grabbed his wand with his left hand, as Tiller approached. 

"Give up yet, traitor?" the Death Eater snarled, glaring at Cody from behind Europa. He batted the little moon out of his way. 

"No way," Cody growled through clenched teeth, tears streaming down his face. "Do you?" 

Tiller laughed derisively. "Hardly. But I _am_ finished playing around. Avada Ke-" 

Cody screamed in alarm, and for the briefest of moments, intended to try a desperate Shield Charm, but then the memory of something "Professor Moody" had said during their first lesson came to him. 

_ "Not nice," Moody had said. "Not pleasant. And there's no countercurse. There's no blocking it."_

The Killing Curse could not be blocked. Cody dove for cover once more, as a jet of green light issued from Tiller's wand and hit the wall behind him. The Killing Curse. Tiller had tried to _kill_ him. A boy with whom he had shared a common room, whom Cody had seen doing homework, and practicing spells, just like him, had tried to kill him. The shocking seriousness of that nearly set Cody's mind numb. 

Tiller raised his wand once more, and Cody pointed his own. His left hand felt awkward and clumsy. "Accio wand!" Cody yelled. 

"Protego!" The wand, which had twitched a bit in Cody's direction, returned to Tiller's hand. 

Cody ducked down, trying the Summoning Spell once more, but it failed. It was nearly impossible to perform his spells with his left hand! 

Cody might have died that night had it not been for a single stroke of luck. The second Death Eater, whom Cody had Stunned when they first entered the room, groaned. Distracted, Tiller spun around, and Cody took full advantage of the opportunity. "STUPEFY!" 

A red jet of light hit Tiller right in the back, and he dropped. Cody cried the Stunning Spell once more, hitting the other Death Eater, and as he was only half conscious he could do little to avoid it. 

Panting for breath, Cody watched the two for a moment, making sure that they did not stir; then he ran from the room, clutching his arm. He had to find the others, and get his arm tended. He knew he'd been badly hurt. 

Cody wandered for only a few moments before finding the time room, which was now empty. The time room led back into the first dark hallway, and that led to the lift, and the main room. He hoped fervently that Harry or one of the others would be there. 

The problem was, Hermione's red X's had faded, and Cody had no clue which was the right door. Well, no choice but to try them all. But first, he used Hermione's spell, "Flagrate!" to put an X on a door. Now that the urgency of impending death was not present, it was a little easier to use his left hand. He tried the marked door, leaving a smear of blood on the knob. It ended up being the locked one. 

He did this for three more doors, before finding one that led to the lift. He ran into it, and pushed the button for the main floor, wincing as the cage-lift rattled alarmingly. "Silencio!" he growled, pointing his wand at it, and to his amazement, it worked. The lift now ran silently up until finally it stopped. 

Taking a big breath, Cody ran into the main room. 

Harry Potter was there, but so was Bellatrix Lestrange. They seemed to be facing off. "You've got it, Potter!" she was shrieking. "And you will give it to me! Accio Prophecy! Accio Prophecy!" 

Harry laughed, and as it did not sound quite sane, Cody was a little worried. "Nothing there!" Harry cried. "Nothing to summon! It smashed, and nobody heard what it said, tell your boss that!" 

"NO!" she shrieked. "It isn't true, you're lying! Master, I tried, I tried! Do not punish me!" 

"Don't waste your breath!" Harry yelled, his eyes narrowed, his fists clenched. "He can't hear you from here!" 

A terrifying voice answered Harry, a voice that made Cody whimper in fear. "Can't I, Potter?" it asked. 

Harry's eyes opened wide as a figure appeared in the middle of the room, his wand pointed at Harry's chest. Harry did not move, only stared in horror. 

Voldemort. 

And he was not happy. 


	54. Year 5, Chapter 17: Epic Clash

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 17: Epic Clash**

Cody remembered his first year, when one of his detentions involved going into the Dark Forest with Hagrid to look for a slain unicorn, and perhaps what was killing them. He, Harry, and Malfoy had come across that creature, and Cody remembered the sense of evil and taint and horror that he had felt on seeing it. And now, Cody felt that intensified a dozen times over, a terror almost too intense to bear. How did Harry find the courage to face a being so horrible? How could Harry look into Voldemort's unnatural eyes, his white face, resembling more a snake's than a man's? 

Cody didn't remember screaming, but he must have made some kind of noise, for both Voldemort and Harry turned to look at him. And Voldemort was the last person in the world that Cody wanted to look at him. 

Harry's expression was horrified. "Cody, run! Now! Get Lupin, anyone, they're here!" 

Cody did not need to be told twice; his pain temporarily forgotten in his terror, he ducked back into the lift he had used, hoping both that he was far too insignificant for Voldemort to bother with, and that Harry could survive until help came. He frantically beat the DOWN button, crouching down as the lift began to descend. He nearly fainted with relief as Voldemort turned back to deal with Harry. He hoped again that Harry would be all right. 

He ran down the hallway and through the door toward the dark circular room, but before he could open it, a figure burst from it, making Cody back away several steps in alarm, raising his wand. And then he saw who it was: _Dumbledore_. Dumbledore looked as grim and frightening as he had that one night last year when Barty Crouch was caught, but to Cody it was the most wonderful thing he had ever seen. 

"V-V-Voldemort," Cody gasped. "Up there - _with Harry!_" 

At this, Dumbledore's eyes widened for a second, and he vanished. Cody blinked, and ran again for the lift. 

"What -" he heard Voldemort's pitiless voice say from inside the room, as the lift approached. And then, whispered: "Dumbledore!" Cody heard Voldemort cry, "Avada Kedavra!" and saw a flash of green light, but had no doubts that Dumbledore could not be so easily killed. 

As the lift rose into the main room, Cody crouched near the floor against the side and watched. 

The golden statue that had sat in the room was now in many pieces; the statue of one of the humans had pinned Lestrange to the floor, and the one of them was shielding Harry from the fight. And Dumbledore and Voldemort were facing off. Cody knew he was watching an epic battle. 

"It was foolish to come here tonight, Tom," said Dumbledore (and how weird was it to hear Voldemort's birth name?) "The Aurors are on their way -" 

"By which time I shall be gone, and you dead!" Voldemort growled. He tried once again to kill Dumbledore, but the spell was badly cast, and it missed. 

Dumbledore sent a spell Voldemort's way that Cody had never seen before, and Voldemort conjured a silver shield to deflect it. A sound like a deep-toned bell rang through the room, making Cody shiver. "You do not seek to kill me, Dumbledore?""said Voldemort. "Above such brutality, are you?" 

As calm as ever, his face showing no fear, Dumbledore said, "There are other ways of destroying a man, Tom." It occurred to Cody then that Dumbledore was calling him Tom on purpose, refusing to use the name that struck fear into the hearts of so many. He referred to Voldemort as a man, called him by his birth name. Reminding himself, and others for that matter, that Voldemort was not an evil god, or an invincible supervillain; only a wicked man. "Merely taking your life would not satisfy me, I admit." 

"There is nothing worse than death, Dumbledore!" 

"You are quite wrong. Indeed, your failure to understand that there are things much worse than death has always been your greatest weakness." 

Voldemort did not answer, except to send his Killing Curse at Dumbledore, who was saved by the golden centaur statue, who took the full blast of the curse and shattered into several tiny pieces. It occurred to Cody then, that he was watching _statues_ moving, and thought that Dumbledore must have made it happen. 

He watched in horror and fascination as a long trail of fire, like a whip, emanated from Dumbledore's wand; he snapped this, and it wrapped around Voldemort. But the fire turned then into a snake, which turned on Dumbledore. They were within ten feet of where Cody crouched, hiding. 

Voldemort vanished, which made Cody very nervous, but then he appeared again on the pedestal where the golden statues had once appeared. And both he and the snake attacked. 

"Look out!" Harry screamed from behind the statue of the wizard. 

A jet of deadly green light flew at Dumbledore as the snake reared to strike. There was a strange cry, and a brilliant red bird swooped in from thin air, swallowing the streak of green light from Voldemort's wand. Cody had only time to register that it had been Dumbledore's phoenix, Fawkes, before the bird was gone in flames, and had fallen to the floor as ash. Cody gasped, but then noticed that a tiny bird moved among the ashes, and breathed a sigh of relief. A phoenix. They didn't die. 

Dumbledore destroyed the snake, and pointed his wand at the water in the fountain. It cascaded over Voldemort and closed over him, trapping him in a transparent prison. Voldemort seemed to fight for a few moments, and then vanished. 

"MASTER!" shrieked Bellatrix Lestrange. 

He's done it, Cody thought. Voldemort was either destroyed, or fled...surely he could not fight against Dumbledore! Taking in a deep breath, Cody shakily walked out into the room, and he saw Harry trying to get out from behind the statue that protected him. 

And then came Dumbledore's sharp, worried voice. "Stay where you are, Harry!" 

Cody's eyes widened at the fear he heard in Dumbledore's voice, and it was that, more than anything, that caused another surge of fear-adrenaline to go through his system. He frowned, and then looked down to see the baby Fawkes look up, making a strange sort of crooning cry. He bent and scooped the tiny bird up and retreated towards the wall, not wanting him to get stepped on or harmed. He put the little bird in his pocket. 

And then he heard a scream from Harry, and looked to where he stood. A look of agony was on Harry's face, and a voice that was not quite his came from his mouth. "Kill me now, Dumbledore..." it said. 

Cody gasped and backed up against the wall, next to a dead fireplace. He watched, horrified. Voldemort had _possessed_ Harry, his spirit was in Harry's body, maybe right next to his_ own_ spirit, how horrible could that be? 

"If death is nothing, Dumbledore, kill the boy," the voice said. Cody glanced at Dumbledore, who looked scared, scared for Harry. And for a moment, Cody thought Harry _had_ died, for he slumped to the ground. But no, no, he had moved, and he was breathing. Cody began to cry once more, this time in relief as Dumbledore ran to Harry. 

And then, all at once, the room was plunged into chaos. 

Beside Cody, in the dark fireplace, a green fire suddenly burst into life, making him scream in fright and stumble backwards several steps. As he watched, all of the fireplaces on the wall burst into green flame, and suddenly there were wizards everywhere. Ministry...they were Ministry. 

"He was there!" cried a man with a ponytail, pointing towards the remains of the statue. "I saw him, Mr. Fudge, I swear, it was You-Know-Who, he grabbed a woman and Disapparated!" 

"I know, Williamson, I know, I saw him too!" Cody turned to see Cornelius Fudge, who wore his pinstriped cloak over a pair of striped pajamas. Cody felt a strong disgust for the man, for his stupid shocked expression, for his gibbering mouth. You stupid jerk, he thought. If you'd only listened! If you just would listen to people, this wouldn't have happened! "Merlin's beard," Fudge went on. "Here...here, in the Ministry of Magic! Great heavens above...it doesn't seem possible...my word, how can this be?" 

At this, Dumbledore spoke, and told Fudge that there was a group of Death Eaters bound in the Death Chamber, awaiting Fudge's decision on what to do with them. Fudge seemed rather shocked to see him. 

"Dumbledore! You - here - I - I - " Fudge looked around at the several Aurors that had come with him and cried, "Seize him!" But no one rushed forward. 

"Cornelius, I am prepared to fight your men - and win again!" Dumbledore roared. "But a few minutes ago you saw proof, with your own eyes, that I have been telling you the truth for a year! Voldemort has returned, you have been chasing the wrong men for twelve months, and it is time you listened to sense!" 

'Yes!' Cody thought fiercely, looking at Dumbledore with the utmost admiration. 'You tell him.' 

"I - don't - well... Very well. Dawlish! Williamson! Go down to the Department of Mysteries and see... Dumbledore, you...you will need to tell me exactly - the Fountain of Magical Brethren! What happened?" 

"We can discuss that after I have sent Harry back to Hogwarts," said Dumbledore. 

"Harry - Harry Potter?" Seemed like Fudge was not quite on top of things tonight, for again he was shocked, seeing that Harry Potter was there in the Ministry as well. 

Dumbledore said he would explain everything once Harry had been sent back. He walked over to the severed golden head of the wizard statue, and said, "Portus," pointing his wand at it. It glowed blue, and Cody realized he had just seen a portkey being made. And amazingly, Fudge began sputtering that Dumbledore could not just make an unauthorized portkey, right in front of the Minister of Magic. 

Dumbledore was less than impressed. "You will give the order to remove Dolores Umbridge from Hogwarts," he said. "You will tell your Aurors to stop searching for my Care of Magical Creatures teacher so that he can return to work. I can give you half an hour of my time tonight, in which I think we shall be more than able to cover the important points of what happened here. After that, I shall need to return to my school. If you need more help from me you are, of course, more than welcome to contact me at Hogwarts. Letters addressed to the headmaster will find me." And as Fudge sputtered weakly, Dumbledore turned his back on him and spoke quietly to Harry. He held out the head-portkey, and Harry put his hand on it, and vanished. 

Once Harry was gone, Dumbledore turned to Cody. "Are you all right?" he asked kindly. The fierce, furious expression was gone from his face, and Cody was glad of it. 

Cody blinked as most of the people turned to look at him, most of them not having realized that he was there. "Y-yes, sir." Cody whispered. "A-and I-I've got Fawkes, h-he's in my pocket." 

"Go ahead and keep him for the moment, Cody," Dumbledore said softly. 

"Y-yes, sir. But...but the others...are they -" 

A voice beside him made him gasp and jump, swinging his wand around; but it was only Lupin, and Cody was never so glad to see him. Lupin looked as scared and upset as Cody felt, and he did not then know why. 

"Cody!" said Lupin, going to him. "You're alive, thank goodness, Ginny had said you'd gotten separated from the group." He hurried over and put his arm around Cody, drawing him in close. It send a jolt of pain through the boy's injured arm, but he did not care, he only burst into tears once more and cried into Lupin's robes. 

"The other students," said Dumbledore. "Are they all right?" 

"There're some injuries," said Lupin, still holding Cody. "But they are all alive. Moody and Kingsley have taken care of getting them and Tonks out of here, they got the two Ministry officials that came down to do it. Kingsley went with them, he's got a few injuries to tend, but Moody should be up here soon to join us." 

"All right. I must tell the Minister here the story of what has happened. Minister, perhaps someone here can take Cody back to Hogwarts as well, so he can be tended?" 

Sniffling, his chest hitching a bit, Cody raised his face to Dumbledore. "S-sir? C-can...can I stay?" He was highly reluctant to leave Lupin's side, and even as scared as he was, he wanted to stay and see what happened. 

Dumbledore smiled, and nodded. "You may stay." 

"Thanks," Cody whispered. Though he did not stray from Lupin's side, he made himself stand a ltitle straighter, and kept his wand in his hand. This seemed to offend the Minister in the extreme. 

"Well at least lower your wand, child," said Fudge irritably. 

But Cody shook his head quickly, and refused to put it away. "N-not after tonight." 

"My dear boy!" Fudge blustered. "Surely you don't think anything can happen with several Aurors, and the Minister of Magic standing right here, you are quite safe!" 

At this, Cody looked the Minister right in the eye and spoke in a low voice, tears still streaming down his face. "You made fun of Harry for telling the truth. Harry's my friend, and you insulted him an' made him look like a liar. You didn't believe Professor Dumbledore about Voldemort when he came back a-an' look what he did. You made a lot of kids, even little kids like me and first-years miserable all year." Fudge looked stunned at Cody's words. "You put Umbridge in the school, an' let her give kids detentions where she made them cut into their hands with her quill when they told the truth, you let Filch use a whip on my best friend for punishment." He swallowed hard and wiped his eyes. "You're the _last_ person I feel safe around." 

"Listen to the innocent," Dumbledore said quietly to Fudge as the minister stared at Cody as if he'd sprouted a couple of spare heads. "Harry and myself have told you the truth for many months, and instead of trusting us, and working with us to fight Voldemort, you instead chose to turn your back, and discredit everything we said. And look what has happened." 

"I...well, I...I mean..." Fudge trailed off, and was quiet. 

There was the pop of someone Apparating nearby, and Cody saw that Alastor Moody had joined the group, looking as grim as ever. Dumbledore began his story. 

"Voldemort has been using Legilimency for several months now to send Harry visions of the Department of Mysteries, showing him where the Prophecies are kept, hoping that he would come and retrieve a specific one so that he could listen to it. When that did not work, he sent Harry a vision, a false vision, of Sirius here as a prisoner, causing Harry to believe that he was in trouble. And as Minerva McGonagall had been incapacitated..." He cast a very stern eye over a few of the men present, who looked very ashamed of themselves, "...and as neither Hagrid nor myself could be present, there was no one there that Potter could trust. He had gotten a message to Severus Snape, but as he was contending with Dolores Umbridge at the time, he had no way of knowing if Professor Snape had understood his message. He and the other students came here, hoping to help, and walked into a trap." 

"I - I see," said Fudge weakly. He sank into a chair whose arm and half of its back had been blasted off during the fight. 

"Professor Snape _had_ understood, and checked to see if Sirius was at his home or not, saw that he was, and went back to check for Harry. When he found Harry missing, he assumed he had come here, and alerted certain people. And as you see, we came here tonight to find several Death Eaters and the students from the school. We fought, in the Death Chamber, and managed to corral the Death Eaters in that room. I do not believe that it was all of them, however." Dumbledore looked around at the wreck of the room and then looked back to Fudge. "The statue was destroyed in the course of the fight with Voldemort, in this room. But perhaps that is for the best." 

"What do you mean, Dumbledore?" asked Fudge, his brow furrowing. "The Statue of Magical Brethren has been here for -" 

"Perhaps," interrupted Dumbledore. "But it told a lie. It put humans above those magical beings who are not human, and that is a lie. It is a falsehood of our arrogance. And it is a misrepresentation of our relationship with those with whom we share this earth. In believing that we are better than those who are not human, we have cut off those who would be our allies." 

Cornelius said nothing, only sent his shocked gaze around the room, looking at each of his Aurors in turn. None of them said a word. 

"Have I answered your questions, Cornelius?" asked Dumbledore. 

"Yes...yes, you have, Dumbledore," Fudge said quietly, looking suddenly exhausted. "If I...if I need to know anything else, I shall write you at the school." 

"Cody," whispered Lupin suddenly, and with some alarm in his voice. "You're hurt!" 

Cody blinked, and looked down at his right arm, and bit his lip. His robe sleeve was torn nearly in shreds, and his arm and side were both covered in blood. "Y-yeah," he said unsteadily. "I fought one of the Death Eaters." 

"Cody, that looks serious, why didn't you tell someone?" 

Cody shrugged, and then winced. "I f-forgot, I-I came up here an' saw...saw Voldemort, an' I was so scared I forgot. I remember now, though." He clenched his teeth as he looked at his arm. Somehow, it was worse now that he had been reminded of it. 

"I see," said Lupin softly. "I think had I come face to face with him I would have been pretty terrified, myself. Let me get it wrapped, at least, we'll get you back to school, and Madame Pomfrey can fix it up right." 

"O-okay." He watched, as Lupin stood and took out his wand, and then gasped, realizing that Tiller and his friend probably were not in the Death Chamber with the others. "Professor! Sir!" he said anxiously. He seemed to have interrupted Dumbledore's goodbye to Fudge, but he didn't care. "There were two Death Eaters in a room, I dunno what it is, there's big planets, an' the Earth with volcanoes on it, and papers about Creation, there's two Death Eaters there, one of them's Dustin Tiller!" 

Moody frowned. "What do they look like?" 

Cody described Tiller and the other one. "Th-they were Stunned." 

"I don't remember seeing anyone like that in the Death Chamber," Lupin said as white bandages were conjured from his wand and wrapped themselves around Cody's arm. 

"I must go, Cornelius," said Dumbledore. "I will leave you to your search." And with that, he smiled at Cody, and then Disapparated. 

"I'll go and see if those two are still there," growled Moody, and he walked toward the lift, his peg leg thumping on the floor. He disappeared, and Cody sighed, suddenly feeling utterly drained. He leaned against Lupin. 

"You've all been through a lot tonight," said Lupin quietly, and Lupin seemed to have gone through a lot himself, that night. "You ready to go?" 

"Y-yeah," said Cody. "But...but I wanna wait an' see if they got Tiller." 

Lupin nodded. "All right." 

When Moody did come up, he reported that the Creation Chamber was empty, and that no one fitting Cody's descriptions had been with the main group of captive Death Eaters. "They must've gotten away," he snarled. "The cowardly..." 

"We will have an alert put out for them, then," said Fudge. "As well as Bellatrix Lestrange, and...and...You-Know-Who." 

"I'll see to getting a damage report," said a witch who was standing near Fudge. "Maybe Dawlish can send a letter to the Daily Prophet? Surely we'll need to tell them something." 

As the witches and wizards around them began dispersing to their tasks, Lupin asked Fudge if they might use one of the fires to get to Hogwarts. Distracted, he told them to go ahead. "Come on, Cody," Lupin said, leading him over to a fireplace and tossing a bit of Floo powder into it. The green fire sprang up, Cody let himself be led into it. "Hogwarts!" said Lupin in a loud voice, wrapped part of his robe around Cody's shoulders, and held onto him tightly. Cody felt a nauseating lurch, and though last time he tried Floo travel he had liked it, now he only felt sick. 

The journey was brief, and very soon, Cody and Lupin arrived in the fireplace in what turned out to be Umbridge's office. "Sorry," Lupin said at the look on Cody's face. "But this was where I always came out when I used Floo, when I taught here. And so this is where we ended up." Gently, he picked Cody up and walked to the door. 

Hermione and Ron were in the hospital wing when Cody got there, lying asleep on the beds. Cody was feeling a little faint by that time, and only looked at Madame Pomfrey for a moment before she came over, concern on her face. "Oh my...you too, child. Put him over here, on this bed." She bustled over to a bed next to Hermione and patted it, and Lupin set Cody down. 

"A-are you going to stay?" Cody asked Lupin. 

"Would you like me to?" he asked quietly. Cody nodded, and Lupin smiled. "Then I will stay." 

"Thanks." He clenched his teeth, trying not to cry out, as Madame Pomfrey carefully removed his robes, and the shirt underneath. Cody hissed as he looked at the damage, looking at the deep, thick, bloody line that ran nearly the length of his arm. It started at his shoulder, and Cody realized that had he not dodged, the curse would have hit him in the face. And if it didn't kill him, it would have done some serious damage. He bit his lip, trying very hard not to show how terrified he was at the sight of all the blood. 

There was a squeak from his pocket, and Cody's eyes widened. "H-hold on, Fawkes is in my robes pocket, P-Professor Dumbledore's ph-phoenix. He said to keep hold of him for now." 

Madame Pomfrey searched Cody's robes and took the tiny hatchling from the pocket, and smiled at him. "Remarkable. I have never seen one this young before." She gazed at it a moment before setting it next to Cody on the bed. 

"Thanks." 

"You're welcome." She glanced over to Hermione, and then to Cody once more. "Miss Granger got hit with this same curse," Madame Pomfrey murmured. "Not as badly, though hers hit her across the chest." 

Cody winced, and glanced over to Hermione's sleeping form. 

"She'll be all right," said Madame Pomfrey. 

"Wh-what about Luna, an' Ginny, an' Neville, are they okay?" 

The nurse smiled, as she went about gently cleaning Cody's arm and side with a cloth soaked in what smelled like essence of murtlap. Whatever it was, it was taking the pain. "They're all fine, their injuries were easy enough to fix, having been inflicted by physical means. You, and Miss Granger, and Mr. Weasley, I'm afraid, will be here for a little while yet." 

Cody sighed, but said nothing. He glanced out the window and was shocked to see daylight; never had he been awake for so long. No wonder he was exhausted. 

"You've lost a lot of blood. Until I can get this healed, you're going to have to take a blood replenishing potion several times a day, along with a few others. Here." She handed Cody a glass cup of a reddish liquid, and Cody gulped it down. It did not taste bad, kind of like the wine his mother sometimes drank, and would let Cody have a sip of now and then. "Now go ahead and lay down, child. We can get you cleaned up the rest of the way tomorrow. For now, just sleep." 

Too exhausted to do anything but obey, he lay down on the soft bed, making sure he didn't squish Fawkes. And within thirty seconds of lying down, Cody was asleep. 


	55. Year 5, Chapter 18: It All Starts Here

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 18: It All Starts Here**

When Cody woke up, he wasn't sure where he was. Feeling disoriented, he tried to figure out why the bed he was in was neither his bed in the Slytherin dorm, nor his bed at home. But then he looked over at Hermione, who was sitting up and reading a copy of the Daily Prophet, and remembered; he was in hospital wing. "Ow." He carefully sat up and was immediately confronted by Madame Pomfrey, who was holding a tray with five glasses on it. "You'll have to take these before you take any breakfast," she told him, and he blinked at her, not fully awake. "Now most don't taste very good, but you'll need to drink them for that curse wound to heal." 

Cody sniffed at one and wrinkled his nose; it smelled like turpentine. He clamped his mouth shut and shook his head. 

Madame Pomfrey set the tray down and put her hands on her hips. "You'll find, young man, that any amount of stubbornness that you can muster, I can outdo ten times over." 

A challenge, that was! "No way! No grown-up can be as stubborn as me." 

"I wouldn't bet on it," said Madame Pomfrey, with her "don't-mess-with-me" look. "I'll tie you to the bed and force them down your throat if I have to." 

"I'd listen to her if I were you," said a voice from the foot of his bed. Cody blinked as he saw Graham Pritchard sitting there, looking serious. "She _did_ that to me once when I refused to take her Pepper-Up potion." 

Cody looked uncertainly at Graham, and then at Madame Pomfrey, scowling thunderously at her. "That isn't fair!" 

"Well now, whoever said I was fair?" said Madame Pomfrey, her tone far less stern now that she sensed victory. "Come on now, get it over with and I'll get you some chocolate." 

"Okay...okay." Cody sighed and picked up the worst-smelling one, and downed it as quickly as possible. He noticed that there were many people in the room, and most were watching with interest. 

"It's nice to see that someone else has to take the foul things," said Hermione, as Cody clenched his teeth together to avoid spitting the liquid out again. 

The rest of them were not as horrid, but they weren't pleasant either, and when all five goblets had been downed, he stuck out his tongue at Hermione. 

"Here, now, that wasn't so bad." Madame Pomfrey came over with a bar of chocolate, which Cody took with thanks. "You'll have a few more to take before bed, it's a particularly nasty curse you and Miss Granger got hit with, and there are a lot of effects to counteract." 

Cody scowled at his arm, which was bandaged from shoulder to wrist. He hoped it was healed before he got back home, else the hot Florida summer was going to be quite sucky. He turned to Graham, and smiled a little. 

"Professor Snape told me you'd gotten hurt," said Graham, "but wouldn't let me visit you until this morning. I tried to sneak out, but I got caught by the Bloody Baron." 

Cody's smile widened, and he got up on his knees so he could lean over and give Graham a one-armed hug. "Thanks," he said. 

Graham hugged back. "Neville told me the whole story. That had to be something else, going in there." 

"At least Fudge believes, now, he saw Voldemort with his own eyes," Hermione said, picking up the newspaper again. "And he even made a statement to the Daily Prophet about it...he still won't say his name though, the prat. Called him Lord Thingy here." 

"Lord _Thingy_?" Cody snickered. 

"And it says in the paper that the dementors have revolted, and are likely taking orders from Voldemort." 

Cody's eyes widened, and he shivered. "That's...not good," he said. "I wonder if there are dementors in America." 

"Probably not in Florida, that's where you live, right?" Cody nodded. "I'd say it's too sunny and hot there for them. No doubt there's creatures just as horrible, though. Lethifolds, maybe." 

"Thanks a whole lot!" 

But Hermione did not seem to have heard. "It actually praises Harry here, though, how he was a 'lone voice of truth, perceived as unbalanced, yet never wavered in his story...forced to bear ridicule and slander' -" 

"Yeah, by the Ministry!" said Cody indignantly. 

"The article from the Quibbler is in there, though," said Ron. "Luna said her dad sold it to the Prophet for a good deal of money." 

"Yes," said Luna, who was reading The Quibbler upside down as usual. "We're going to Sweden this summer to try and catch a Crumple-Horned Snorkack." 

"A what?" 

"Don't ask," said Ron with a grin. "Oh, and Fred and George's swamp is gone, except for a bit by the wall that Flitwick kept. I think he did it as a sort of a monument to the twins." 

Cody laughed delightedly. "Awesome!" 

"And Dumbledore is back as headmaster," said Ginny, from where she lay curled up at the foot of Hermione's bed. She looked like a red-haired cat. 

"What happened to Umbridge?" asked Cody. 

Ginny gestured to a bed on the far side of the hospital wing, where Cody saw her short, squat form lying still. She did not look injured. "What's wrong with her?" 

"She's sulking," said Neville. 

"Oh." Cody looked at her for several more moments, before shrugging, and turning back to his friends. After the ordeal at the Ministry of Magic, Cody found that he was no longer all that frightened of Umbridge anymore. Only disgusted. "So who's gonna be teaching Divination?" he asked. 

"Both Firenze and Trelawney," Hermione told him. 

"Cool! I like Firenze. Where'd Lupin go?" 

"I think he had things he needed to do," said Ginny quietly. "You know, for the Order." 

"Oh." Cody was a little disappointed, but at least he had been there. He hoped he would come and visit again. 

The conversation turned to Harry's prophecy, and Cody found out that it had been smashed. "I wish we could've found out what it said," said Hermione. "But at least it can't fall into Voldemort's hands, now." No one winced when the name was said, now, and Cody supposed that having faced his Death Eaters, no one was afraid of Voldemort's name any more. It certainly was nowhere near as bad as Voldemort himself! 

Harry took his leave to go and visit Hagrid, and Cody's face lit up. "Okay! I'll go too!" 

"You most certainly will not!" This, from Madame Pomfrey, who had just come out of her office. "You will stay in this hospital wing until you've healed!" 

Cody gaped at her. "Until I heal! But that could be days!" 

"It very well may be," agreed the nurse. Cody noticed that Harry was taking the opportunity to slip out of the room. 

"I can't stay here for days! I'll go crazy!" 

"Oh nonsense," said Madame Pomfrey. "You need your rest. Now settle down or I shall have to give you a sleeping potion." And with that, she returned to her office, Cody scowling after her. 

"I know, mate," said Ron, his tone sympathetic. "Hermione and I have got to stay, too." 

"Besides," said Hermione. "I think Harry wants to be alone for a bit." 

"How come? Because of Voldemort?" 

"Well...maybe partly. But I think it's more because of Sirius." 

Cody frowned. "What about him? Hey, where is he, anyway? I didn't see him and Lupin didn't say wha..." He trailed off at the look on Hermione's face, indeed on everyone's face except Graham's - he looked just as bewildered. 

"Sirius is dead," said Hermione softly. 

Cody gasped, and gawped at Hermione. "D-dead? He...he _can't_ be dead, though! How...how could he...how did -" 

"Bellatrix Lestrange," said Hermione, her voice not quite steady. "She hit him with a Stunning Spell, knocked him through that stone archway." 

"Th-the Death Ch-Chamber,"Cody whispered, a nasty chill washing over his body. 

"Yes. So...so he's gone." 

"Oh no..." Cody sank down onto the bed and pulled the covers up, fighting tears. He did not know Sirius well, but he did like him, and he knew that Harry had loved him as if he were his father. How horrible must Harry feel? 

Cody felt Graham's arm around him, and shifted his position so he was sort of curled up next to Graham on the bed. Graham kept his arm around Cody's shoulders. 

"He died helping to protect Harry," said Ginny quietly. Her voice was very somber. "And he died fighting the Death Eaters. I think...I think if he had to die, that's how he would have wanted to." 

Cody nodded his head in agreement; Ginny was probably right. But that didn't make his death any better. Cody had thought they had all made it through all right, and it had been an awful shock to find out otherwise. It was so unfair, Sirius had lived in Akzaban so long, then just two years after escaping, he... Biting his lip, he gently stroked Fawkes' head; the little bird was still there on Cody's bed. The little bird crooned, and Cody found it was a very comforting sound. 

Little was said of the adventure the rest of the day, and Cody was very quiet. He spent most of the day either talking quietly with Graham, or lying in bed and thinking dark thoughts. 

He ended up being in the hospital wing for nearly four days. Graham came to visit him every day, and Neville often came up to see him and Ron and Hermione. Dumbledore came down to see how they all were, and to retrieve Fawkes. He thanked Cody for looking after him. Cody was rather sad to see Fawkes go. 

Hagrid also came up to visit, and that was one thing that did cheer Cody up greatly, was seeing Hagrid back. For that matter, he did not look like he had been beaten up by something huge, either. When he mentioned that, Hagrid only smiled, and said Hermione could tell him the story. 

She did, too. When Cody found out that Hagrid had brought an unwilling giant back to the forest and kept him tied to the trees while he tried to teach him how to exist in a civilized world, Cody was shocked in the extreme. "And...his name is Grawp? An' he calls you Hermy?" Cody's eyes widened as he made a sudden connection. "And Hagrid...does he call Hagrid 'Hagger'?" 

Hermione frowned. "Yes, how did you know?" 

"I heard him! That was him I heard! When you guys were in the forest?" 

"Ohhh. Yes, that was him. He's the reason we got away from the centaurs." 

"Wow..." Leave it to Hagrid! 

"Well anyway. At least we'll be getting out of here soon." 

"I hope so. I'm sick of reading, I want to go out and play." 

"I'm sure you do," she said sympathetically, and then she added, "Oh! Professor McGonagall is back, also!" 

Cody gasped, his eyes lighting up. "She is? Is she okay? Was there perma..whatever damage?" 

Hermione laughed. "She's fine, Cody. She'll have to take it easy for a while, but she's okay." 

Quite cheered by this, Cody settled back down to read his book. 

--- 

The next day, Madame Pomfrey proclaimed Hermione and Ron well enough to leave the hospital wing. But Cody was not healed, and Madame Pomfrey did not want him to leave. Hermione had told Cody that the reason she had not been hit as badly was that she'd used the Silencing Charm on the Death Eater who dealt her the blow, and thus the curse had no spoken words behind it. Cody had not been that lucky. 

But he didn't think that it would keep him in hospital _this_ long! "Aw, Madame Pomfrey, have a heart!" Cody pleaded, as Hermione and Ron got ready to leave. "Pleeeease? It only hurts a little bit, I'll be really careful, I'll take my potions, I promise, can't I leave, too?" 

"If you let him leave," said Ron helpfully, "You won't have to listen to him going crazy from inactivity." 

"He _is_ an eleven year old boy," Hermione pointed out with a grin. "They weren't made for long periods of rest." 

Cody nodded vigorously in agreement, giving Madame Pomfrey his most endearing look of hopefulness. Finally, she sighed and nodded her head. "Very well, Mr. DeDannan, you may leave. BUT - you will come here every night for me to check your dressings, and to make sure you take your remaining potions. And be careful not to use that arm!" 

Laughing, Cody nodded his head. "Yes, ma'am! Thanks!" 

She sighed, rolling her eyes to the heavens. "Well, go on then. Go on, before I get any more gray hairs!" 

Cody did not need to be told twice. 

They had already had lunch in the hospital wing, and so Cody spent the afternoon with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Neville joined them for a spell as they walked around the ground, Cody occasionally chasing a butterfly or tossing a stone into the pond. Hermione brought up the subject of Sirius Black here and there, but was usually hushed up by Ron. When that happened, they usually turned their discussions to Umbridge and Voldemort, and the morons at the ministry. 

The night at supper, when Cody headed for the Slytherin table, he caught sight of Draco Malfoy, who looked less than happy. When Draco looked up and saw Cody, his eyes narrowed in an expression of sheer fury. It was not a pleasant look. Crabbe and Goyle's looks were quite hostile as well, and no wonder. Their fathers were all in Azkaban. And Cody had been a part of the group that was responsible for them being there. Cody bit his lip breifly and headed for where Graham was sitting. 

For that matter, as Cody walked along the table, every one of the Slytherins that looked at him had an expression of malice, or at least dislike, on their faces. It was not a sight that made Cody fantastically reassured. 

A hand suddenly gripping his injured shoulder made him hiss and spin around, knocking the hand away. "Ow! That hurt, you git!" 

"Good," came the low, growled reply. It was a girl that Cody thought might be a fourth-year; he didn't know her name. But he had seen her in the common room. "My dad didn't get caught in the ministry," she whispered, smiling ghoulishly. "And he says that he will repay you for Stunning him. And I hope I'm there to see it." Cody watched her, a bit alarmed, as she turned on her heel and joined a group of girls on the other side of the table. 

"Yeah...great," whispered Cody after a moment, watching her talk. Her father must have been the one that he met in the creation room, along with Kyle Tiller's brother. 

"They've not been talking too nicely about you," Graham whispered as Cody sat down next to him, looking uneasy. "A lot of them, whose parents are...you know...Death Eaters, who vowed violence on you, and the Gryffindors you were with." 

Cody sighed. "Perfect." He had the idea that being a Slytherin was going to be a lot more hazardous next year. 

The food had not been on the table for thirty seconds, before Cody stood abruptly. "I'm going to sit with the Gryffindors," he said quietly to Graham, who nodded in understanding, and sighed. 

"What's going on?" asked Neville as Cody slunk over and crept onto the bench next to him. 

Cody glanced back at the Slytherin table, where several students were glaring at him. He turned back around. "Just want to eat somewhere friendly," he muttered. 

Neville also glanced around and then nodded. "Ohh, yeah I don't blame you. Guess the common room isn't going to be all that fun, is it?" 

Cody shook his head. "Graham said a lot of the Slytherins threatened us, the ones that went to the Ministry." He sighed. "It's sure gonna suck next year. Wish I could switch to Gryffindor." 

"That's all right," said Ron. "If Malfoy or anyone else messes with you, we'll see that he regrets it." 

Cody smiled at him and nodded. "Thanks." With a last glance at the Slytherins, Cody turned around and ate. 

He was quite reluctant to return to his common room that night, and did so at the very last moment. (Going to the hospital wing to have his bandages checked and to take his one remaining evening potion was a good excuse to delay.) When he slipped in, there were several Slytherins still in the common room. Cody had his wand unclipped from his belt loop, and easily accessible in his robes, just in case. But no one tried to hex him, they only either ignored him, or gave him a hostile look. Cody did not stick around; he went straight to the dorms and breathed a sigh of relief. 

"Professor Snape was here," came a voice, making Cody jump about a mile in the air. But it was only Graham, sitting on Cody's bed and grinning at him. 

"Sheesh, give me a heart attack, won't you!" Cody exclaimed. 

Graham looked totally and completely unabashed. "I think I already did. Anyways, Professor Snape came in and said that if he heard of one curse being sent your way or even my way out of vengeance, there would be consequences. I think he kinda respects you, Cody. He knows you're loyal to Dumbledore, anyways." 

Cody smiled a little bit. "That's good," he said quietly. "I might not like him very much, but I guess I respect him too. And for the same reason." 

"Well anyways, I'm sleeping in here tonight." Cody raised a brow. "Well Malcolm Baddock promised to introduce my head to a metal hammer for nailing him with that spitwad, and as hitting me with a hammer isn't technically a curse, he reckons that he can get away with it without too horrible a punishment. He said my blood would be worth a detention or two." 

"Sheesh, vicious, much?" 

"Yeah, just a little." 

Cody shrugged agreeably. "I don't care, my bed's big enough. Anyways, I think I would rather have you here. You know, as backup." 

The two boys turned to each other and grinned. "We make a good team," said Graham. 

"Yeah, we do. I bet if you'd been at the Ministry with me, neither one of us woulda got hurt. At least not this bad." Cody scowled down at his arm. "I've had to do everything left-handed, and it's not easy! I'm just glad I don't have any school work left, it would be impossible. Cursing Tiller was hard with my left hand, too." 

"I bet. Cody, wasn't that the friend you always write to? Tiller?" 

"Well, not the Death Eater. But it's his brother." 

"Oh, blimey, that's not good." 

"I know. He said that Kyle pretends they're not related, an' I don't blame him." 

"You gonna tell him?" 

Cody frowned, thinking for several moments. "I don't know," he said. "I'll have to think on that. But anyways. I met him in my second year, he was a seventh-year then. I said 'Voldemort' in the common room. Marcus covered my mouth while everyone else told me off." He felt a sudden, sharp longing for days past, for thigns to go back they way they were in his second and third year. Flint was still there, an the other Slytherins weren't as horrible... The Death Eaters and Voldemort weren't around... He bit his lip, choking back a whimper of unhappiness. "That seventh-year, I didn't know his name then, said not to use the 'Dark Lord's' name. That it was not for those such as us to say. Or something like that. As if Voldemort was a god or something." 

Graham snorted. "A god. Right." 

"Yeah that's what I said at the Ministry. That if he was so great how come he was scared to come here himself." 

Graham's eyes went very wide. "And with You-Know-Who right there in the Ministry?" he said in an awed whisper. 

Cody winced and shook his head. "Well I didn't know he was there, then! I don't think he _was_ there yet, anyways. I wouldn't say that right to his face, he'd kill me! Anyways Tiller tried to Stun me then got me with the Impedimenta Jinx. I bit him on the leg, though. Then he got me with this curse." He looked at his bandaged arm. "I only Stunned him because he had his back to me, when the other guy woke up." He bit his lip, realizing that he was shaking a little bit. "He tried to kill me. I was really, really lucky." 

"Avada Kedavra?" Graham asked. "The Killing Curse that Moody showed you guys last year?" 

Cody nodded. "Yeah. That thing is scary. I mean scarier even than the Muggle ways of killing people." 

Graham looked uneased. "Um...maybe we shouldn't talk about this right before bed." 

Cody nodded in complete agreement. "Good idea. Well at least I only have to take four potions now. One at night, and three in the morning. And the really evil one I don't have to take any more." 

Graham snickered. "It was fun watching though." 

Cody gave him a _look_. "Thanks a lot! I'll remember than next time YOU have to take a nasty potion." 

Graham only grinned. 

--- 

The next day was a highly gleeful one for Cody: Umbridge left. She tried to sneak out during dinner time, but Peeves, seeing her go, made an unholy racket and chased her out of the building. He had a bag of chalk in one hand, and a walking stick in the other, and was taking turns smacking her with them. 

Laughing, Cody joined several other students in running out into the entrance hall and outside, to watch her leave, cheering and waving, and the best part is, the Heads of House only pretended to try and scold their students. Even Snape could be seen with a smirk on his face, sitting back at the Staff table, and Cody heard McGonagall say when he got back that she had let Peeves use her walking stick. Cody went to bed quite happy that night. 

The Leaving Feast was a sad one, but Cody was also glad to be getting home. He said his goodbyes to Lee Jordan, who would not be back next year (he told Lee he was a git for the insults during the Quidditch match, and only got a grin in return), and the few other seventh-years he had made friends with. He wished they'd stay - he hated goodbyes. Even if they kept in touch, it wasn't the same as seeing them in school everyday, of wondering what insults Lee was going to come up with next, or what evil pranks the Weasley twins were going to pull on Percy or Filch... Cody sighed and headed out to the coaches to be taken to the Hogsmeade train station. 

On the train, Cody and Graham sat with Harry and the others. It was mostly quiet, except for Malfoy and his two thugs trying to ambush Harry in the corridor. The thing was, when Cody and Ron came out to see what happened, there were three large slugs in Hogwarts robes lying on the floor. He blinked, and then looked up and laughed. They had been right outside a compartment full of D.A. members! "Awesome!" 

Ernie MacMillan looked at Cody and gave him the thumbs-up, which Cody returned, and then ducked back into their compartment. 

"It hasn't really started, yet," said Hermione, looking at the Daily Prophet. Cody felt a chill at her words. "But it will." She set the paper down and Cody looked through it. It was full of tips on defense, reports of people hysterically phoning the Ministry to say they saw Voldemort right on their street, and the Ministry's attempts to track down the Death Eaters. 

There was some discussions about the people that Ron's sister had dated, and about the things they had learned in the D.A. and if anyone had gotten in trouble for Stunning Professor McGonagall. They speculated on if Umbridge had been sacked or not, and whether Peeves would truly be exorcised from Hogwarts as Filch had said. 

And all too soon, the train ride ended. 

Cody followed his friends through the magical barrier into King's Cross station, and saw that three people were there, apparently waiting for Harry. Moody (with a bowler hat over his magical eye; it looked weird), Tonks, whose hair was pink, and Lupin. Cody grinned and waved energetically to them with his left hand. His right was still healing, and Madame Pomfrey said he would have to take his potions for another two days. She said him being so small had not helped matters. Ron and Ginny were helping Cody with his things. 

The Weasleys greeted Harry, and said hello to Cody, who said hello back. And the twins were there, also! Cody ran over to hug them, looking with a raised brow at their jackets. They were a bright, lurid, scaly green. The twins, on Ron's query, said they were dragon skin. Apparently, their joke shop was doing well. "I'm gonna miss you guys," Cody sulked. "Hogwarts wasn't the same without you guys there." But he couldn't wait to visit their joke shop in Diagon Alley! 

George looked rather touched. "Thanks, kid. I suppose it was awful quiet once we left." 

At this, Cody giggled. "Not...exactly." He went into a very condensed version of the events after the twins' departure. 

"Peeves obeyed our orders superbly!" Fred cried, delighted. "I must send him a thank-you letter." 

Laughing, Cody nodded. "I bet he'd love that!" He then turned to Lupin, who was talking to Harry. Harry asked what the adults were doing there. 

Lupin smiled. "Well, we thought we might have a little chat with your aunt and uncle before letting them take you home." 

"I dunno if that's a good idea," said Harry. 

"Oh, I think it is," Moody growled. "That'll be them then, will it, Potter?" 

Grinning widely, Cody looked up at the twins. "C'mon," he said to them. "Let's go. I don't wanna miss this!" 

Mr. Weasley joined the other adults as they approached the Dursleys, and Cody and the twins followed along behind. Cody saw that Ron and Hermione had followed, also. 

"Good afternoon," said Mr. Weasley to the Dursleys. "You might remember me, my name's Arthur Weasley." 

Dursley Senior turned the same shade of purple that Umbridge often achieved, while the woman kept looking nervously around as if frightened anyone would see her. Cody grinned at her and held up Merlin's cage, enjoying her look of revulsion. He let the bat out of his cage and let him crawl onto his shoulder. None of the Dursleys looked entirely impressed with Merlin, who screeched happily. 

"We thought we'd just have a few words with you about Harry," Mr. Weasley went on. 

"Yeah," said Moody, his voice rougher than normal. "About how he's treated when he's at your house." 

Puffing up, Dursley turned to Moody and blustered, "I am not aware that it is any of your business what goes on in my house!" 

"I expect what you're not aware of could fill several books, Dursley," said Moody. Cody giggled. 

"Anyway, that's not the point," said Tonks. Cody suspected that the Dursleys took quite a lot of offense to her bright pink hair, and the torn jeans, and wizard rock group T-Shirt. "The point is, if we find you've been horrible to Harry..." 

"...and make no mistake, we'll hear about it," Lupin promised. 

"Yes," said Mr. Weasley. "Even if you won't let Harry use the fellytone..." 

"Telephone!" Hermione whispered. 

Moody stepped a bit closer. "Yeah, if we get any hint that Potter's been mistreated in any way, you'll have us to answer to." 

'Yes!' Cody thought and grinned, nodding his head. It was about time someone defended Harry. It should have been done long ago, as horrible as the Dursleys were to Harry. 

"Are you threatening me, sir?" Dursley demanded furiously. 

"Yes, I am," Moody agreed pleasantly. 

"And do I look like the kind of man who can be intimidated?" 

"Well..." Cody watched eagerly as Moody leaned forward, pushing back his hat. His electric blue eye peered right into Dursley's face, which was suddenly looked very shocked. Dursley stumbled backwards into a luggage cart. "Yes," said Moody. "Yes, I'd have to say you do, Dursley." After letting Durlsey get a good, long look at him, Moody turned to Harry. "So, Potter...give us a shout if you need us. If we don't hear from you for three days in a row, we'll send someone along." 

"Me too!" said Cody. "Call me if you go there, Professor, I could take the Knight Bus to Harry's house, an' my bat can meet all his neighbors." There was a gasp from Mrs. Dursley at this suggestion. 

Moody smiled. "I'll do that, DeDannan," he said. "Bye then, Potter. 

"Take care, Harry," said Lupin. "Keep in touch." 

"Harry, we'll have you away from there as soon as we can," said Mrs. Weasley. She hugged him. 

"We'll see you soon, mate," said Ron. 

"Really soon, Harry," said Hermione. "We promise." 

"Bye Harry...I'll send you a lot of letters in bright green ink," said Cody. 

Harry looked at them all for a moment, and nodded, as if he could not bring himself to speak. He smiled, and waved to them; Cody waved back. He watched him leave and sighed quietly. It felt very weird, going home, just when all of this was starting. He almost felt like he was abandoning his friends. 

"Well," said Ron. "I guess we'll see you next year." 

"It's gonna be weird to be a sixth year," whispered Cody. "I-I mean...it's almost over." 

"No," said Hermione. "Not over. We may leave Hogwarts, but that doesn't mean it's over." 

"That's right, mate," said Ron. "I've got a feeling that it's all just beginning." 

Cody nodded. "I guess. I'll miss Hogwarts though. An' I just...I feel weird going back to America an' leaving you guys here." 

Ron grinned. "Don't worry. If things go bad, you'll be gettin' a call tellin' you to get yourself back here. Don't think you're off the hook." 

Cody could not help but grin; his friends would not leave him out. And he would not abandon them. "Okay. Bye guys." He hugged everyone, including the twins and Graham, and then headed outside to summon the Knight Bus. 


	56. Year 5, Chapter 19: Dark Heritage

**_Author's note: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer._**

**Chapter 19: Dark Heritage**

The bumpy bus ride did get old... While yes, it was fun, it was also difficult to not get bumped around inside the bus. And Cody's arm was still sore. He was glad he had carefully wrapped the vials of potion that Madame Pomfrey had given him to take for the next couple of days, else he feared they would break. 

The Knight Bus arrived outside of Cody's house at about five in the afternoon, as Florida was five or so hours behind London, timewise. Sore and irritable, Cody dragged his trunk out of the bus and put it on the curb. Then he went back in for Merlin. A noise from the second level of the three-story bus caught his attention, and he looked up, but only saw the hem of a black robe disappearing up into the second level again. He frowned, watching for a moment, then shrugged and carried Merlin out of the bus. 

He glanced back as the Knight Bus went on its way, and caught sight of a wizard through the dusty windows. He saw mostly a silhouette as the bus zoomed away, but the light struck his face for just a moment, and from the brief glimpse, Cody thought there was something familiar about him. 

But then he could just be paranoid, too. 

"Cody!" Samantha, looking taller than Cody remembered her, ran at him and threw her arms around him. He grinned and hugged her back. 

"Hi, Samantha...you got taller!" 

"Yeah! Mom said that we'll have to get new school clothes next year because mine won't fit any more." 

Cody grinned and looked down at his school robes, which he was still wearing. "I got taller too, my robes are way too short. I gotta get some new ones before next year, too." 

"Did anything exciting happen at your school this year?" 

Cody laughed and did not stop for a few minutes. He saw Mom coming out of the house and waved rather tiredly to her. "Yeah," he finally said. "Yeah. You could say that." 

Cody told the tale over supper that night, and would not have been surprised if his sister's eyes were to fall on the floor. For that matter he would have been surprised if his mother's eyes didn't follow. 

"My goodness, Cody," said Mom faintly. "You fought Death Eaters? 

Cody nodded. "Yeah. It wasn't my idea, believe me! But they kinda snuck up on me. I thought they'd all gone after the others, but those two didn't." 

"And you were injured?" 

Cody nodded, indicating his bandaged arm. He had taken off his school robes and changed into Florida clothing. "It's almost healed though. Madame Pomfrey says that I might have a scar but it might fade. It won't be a bad one if it does leave one, she said. I gotta change the bandages one more time, and take the potions I have tonight, and tomorrow. It's not bleeding anymore, anyway." 

Mom looked a little faint. "I...I've got to admit, Cody, the casualness of how you're talking about this... You've got courage." 

Cody beamed at the praise. "Thanks. I was really scared, though. I mean, he tried to _kill_ me. And I'd shared a common room with him! But it turned out okay." He frowned as a mental image of Sirius Black flashed across his consciousness, and he sighed a little. "Mostly. But the curse he got me with, it hurt a lot, but it doesn't hurt now." He shrugged. "You kinda get used to getting hurt at Hogwarts." 

"I see." 

"It's okay though, Madame Pomfrey is really good." Cody grinned. "Besides, it makes me tough!" 

Mom finally nodded. "Yeah, it does make you tough. And I can't believe how much you've grown. Not just taller, either. I'm very proud." 

Cody smiled. "Thanks." 

"Oh! Tony sent a letter here for you, said you'd be coming home the next day anyway so he would just leave it here. It's up on your bed." 

"Oh, awesome! Thanks!" Cody ate quickly, eager to see what Tony had written. 

Once he got up to his room that night, he carefully rebandaged his arm and took his night potion. He climbed onto his bed (which was made; Mom always made sure his room did not get too dusty, and that his bed was all nice and neat for when he got back). He broke the seal on the letter and opened it. 

_ Dear Cody, With the help of a wizard I know who is a clairvoyant..._

(A what? Cody wondered.) 

_ ...and some old records and photographs, we managed to find out who your birth parents are. I hope you're sitting down, because you won't like it. But it explains a few things. Several things, actually._   
_ Your father's name was Justin Gregor, and he was a wizard, of course, from a fairly long line. He was actually English, came to America several years before you were born. I never met him, but know from reputation that he was a good man, very much against the Dark Arts._   
_ Your mother's name was Mallory._

Cody's eyes widened, and his mouth hung open. It had to be a coincidence. 

_ She was also from England, of course, she was married to your father for a few years before they came to America. It was your mother's decision to move to America, and your father willingly agreed._   
_ This will come as a shock, Cody, but I believe that you can handle the news. Mallory Gregor was one of Voldemort's Death Eaters._

For several minutes, Cody could only stare at that last sentence, reading it over and over, as if it might change if he read it enough times. It did not, of course, change the slightest bit. Biting his lip, he forced himself to read on. 

_ It explains a possible reason why you got the letter from Hogwarts; your parents were citizens of England, and never got their citizenship here in America. The Muggle authorities never knew they were here. It also explains why you were sorted into Slytherin house._   
_ Mallory Gregor was here to scout out those in this country who might be interested in Voldemort's ideals and methods. After all, there are many in America from old British wizarding families, from the first settlers who came to New England. Not to mention the multitudes of other pure blood wizards of other racial backgrounds. Voldemort was indeed trying to slowly, slyly expand his power to other countries, wanting to assure a following here beforehand. The Death Eaters in the States exist greatly from Mallory Gregor's recruitment. And it spread quickly. Sorry to say there are many in this country who are power hungry, and many more who enjoy causing misery and pain. It was not a difficult task to get followers here. And she was the link between the American Death Eaters and the English ones._   
_ They were fairly old when they had you, old, at least, for being first time parents. They lived in New York at the time, an ideal place for recruiting people without attracting a whole lot of attention. There are more wizards in New York than any other city in the country, except San Fransisco and Salem. When Voldemort disappeared, that did not stop her recruitment; if anything, it made her more determined to gain him followers._   
_ Now keep in mind that your father, Justin, knew nothing of this until shortly after you were born. When he did, he confronted her and she killed him._

Shaking, Cody set down the letter, shaking his head at it as if to deny what it had just told him. That couldn't be. It just couldn't be! His mother couldn't be a Death Eater, she couldn't have killed his father! It wasn't right! He bit his lip hard, looking down at the ivory parchment, with its irrefutable black lettering on it, and swallowed hard. He felt his chest trying to hitch and tears trying to flow, and he clenched his fists angrily. Why did Tony have to send this? Why did he have to find out? Why did Cody have to ask him? 

_Not asking wouldn't change what happened_, a little voice inside his head told him. _It would just make you ignorant of it._

Shut up, Cody told himself. He hated when he thought of things that he desperately wanted to deny. 

Once again, Cody went back to the letter, dreading what else he might find, but not able to tear his eyes away. He had to know. 

_ She moved to Florida with you after that, leaving an unsolved death in the State of New York. You were scarcely a month old. And it was not your father's death that alerted the Aurors here to her presence. She of course had continued her recruitment in this state for Voldemort's horde, and one of the witches that she was trying to recruit alerted the authorities._   
_ You were not quite three months old when this happened. While she was out, having left you with a wizarding family in the neighborhood to baby-sit, she was apprehended by Aurors, and killed in the struggle. The wizarding authorities knew of Voldemort of course, and knew how dangerous he was. His disappearance only made them more nervous, for no one believed he was truly dead. And knowing that this woman was recruiting for him here, they had labelled her as "dangerous", and so those who were sent to deal with her had permission to kill her if they had to. And they did. She fought hard, and killed two of them before it was over._   
_ The authorities never knew that she had a son. When she did not return, the wizards who had been baby-sitting you went to the Muggle police; the two adults were both recruits of your mother's, and knowing that she had been killed by the Aurors, they felt that if they were to keep and raise you, that you might be a threat to them, and simply handed you over to the police, claiming you had been abandoned. You ended up at the orphanage with no records of your family._   
_ Obviously, you know what happened from there. You spent the beginning of your life in the orphanage, then were adopted by your mother. And at seven, I still don't know why you got the letter so early, or why there was that period of months when time stayed still here while you attended. I can only assume there are greater powers at work._   
_I know that all this must come as a shock, Cody. If you need or want to talk to me about it, send me a letter, and I will gladly come over. Or you can visit me, if you would be more comfortable doing that._   
_ I hope that this answers some of your questions, and explains some things that you've been wondering about for a while. Again, if you want to talk to me, write back._

_ Sincerely, Tony Barado._

Cody stared at the letter for a very long time, wiping his eyes with the back of his left hand. Finally he sat up and folded the letter into fourths, and stashed it away in the drawer of his dresser where he had been keeping all of his letters. He wondered if this was how Kyle Tiller felt, having a Death Eater for a brother. 

Finally, Cody did pull out some clean parchment and his bright green ink, and write to Tony. The letter was quite short, saying that he wanted to visit Tony the next day, if he could. He sent it off with Merlin and then climbed into his bed, feeling very tired. Leaving his window open for Merlin to return, he crept under the covers and turned off his bedside lamp. He heard his mother come up to check on him and feigned sleep, but despite his fatigue, it was a very long time before he actually attained slumber. 

Tony came over to pick Cody up the next day. All that Cody told Mom was that he was going to visit Tony Barado, and gained her permission. He did bring Merlin with him though, on his leash. He got quite the complaint about it from the bat, but at least Merlin put up with it. "The stupid Muggles'll try and take you or something stupid if they see you not on a leash. I'll take it off when we get to Tony's, okay?" 

Merlin looked disgruntled, but said nothing, only hung upside down onto Cody's robes. Cody grabbed his wand and clipped it to his belt, and went outside to wait. 

He did not wait long. Very soon, a car arrived, with Tony in the driver's seat. Cody got in the car and buckled up. 

Neither of them said anything until they got to Tony's house, which was a small house near the beach. "It's a private stretch of beach," said Tony. "So hardly anyone ever comes here. I like my solitude when I'm at home." 

"I like it," said Cody, smiling a little. "Can I visit you more often?" 

"Absolutely. Well, come on in. I've got an owl, but she's a very friendly one, I think she'll get along okay with Merlin." He led Cody into the house, which was nice and bright, and had a lot of Hawaiian decor. "I also like Hawaii, in case you couldn't tell. But it's too far away from most of what goes on in the wizarding world, and I like to keep on top of things." 

Cody nodded, and sat down on a couch that was sea-blue with palm trees all over it. He took the leash off of Merlin's leg and let him fly around once making sure it was all right with Tony. 

"There's a bowl over there on that stand with water if he's thirsty. That's where Makani's cage is." 

Cody looked over to see an open cage with a pretty gray owl in it. As Merlin went over to investigate, she gave a curious hoot. Cody watched carefully to make sure that they wouldn't fight, as Merlin was still quite young. He strongly suspected Merlin to be a magical creature after all, as he was growing very slowly. When it was clear the two animals would not fight, Cody turned back to his friend. 

"You okay?" Tony asked. 

"I guess so." Cody bit his lip. "I guess...I guess I coulda been okay with...with my mom being a Death Eater. I mean not okay, but you know. But she killed my dad." 

"That's understandable." 

"I guess my Sword of omens was with me when she left me with the other wizards..." Scowling, Cody looked down at the carpet, thinking about that night in the Ministry of Magic. After a moment, he looked up at Tony. "Do you know what happened at the Ministry of Magic over there?" 

"I heard," he said. "I heard the basic gist of it. Group of students went there to rescue someone, walked into a trap. But it put their Ministry onto the fact that Voldemort is back." Tony gave Cody a searching look and then guessed, "You were one of the students, weren't you?" 

Cody nodded. "Yeah, I was." He gestured to his bandaged arm. It was healed, pretty much, and didn't think he needed the bandages, but Madame Pomfrey said that if she found out he had not followed her instructions to the letter, she would come to America after him. And Cody had no doubts that she would. "That's how I got hurt, I fought one of the Death Eaters. He tried to kill me; man, that was scary. But not as scary as seeing Voldemort." 

"You saw him!" 

"Yeah, he came after Harry. But Dumbledore kicked his butt." He absently rubbed his arm and then asked, "Tony? Do you have any pictures of my mom and dad?" 

There was a moment's hesitation before Tony said, "Yes, I have a couple. Well, not of your dad, but of your mom. Are you sure you want to see them?" 

Cody nodded firmly. "Yes, I definitely wanna see them...please." 

"All right." Tony stood up and disappeared into one of the doors in the hallway for a few moments. Cody looked over to Merlin, who was squeaking quietly, talking to Tony's owl, he assumed. "All I have are these two," said Tony once he emerged, walking over and handing two photos to Cody. "One is from the British Ministry, this old one here. This was shortly after she joined Voldemort's ranks. This other was taken three days before the Aurors caught up with her." 

Cody took the pictures and stared at the first one. It was a headshot only, of a woman who held her head high, and looked quite arrogant, in Cody's opinion. But what struck him was how much she did look like Cody. Her eyes were the same clear brown, her hair the same mousy brown color. She even had freckles, like Cody did. The photograph looked to the side every once in a while before looking back to the camera. He hardly noticed when Tony got up to get a glass of what looked like Sprite. "Care for anything to drink?" 

"No," Cody said, his voice sounding very far away to him. "Thanks." The second picture showed an older version of Molly Gregor, and he realized that this picture was taken about two months after she had killed her husband. It showed her walking from a house on a darkened street, looking furtively around. It was a view from above, like a surveillance photo. 

He gazed for a moment, and then looked up to Tony. "You work in the government, don't you?" he asked. "Not just in the magical creatures department, either." 

Tony's eyes widened, and he choked on the sip of Sprite he had just taken. He stared at Cody for a moment, before asking who had told him that. 

Cody, whose suspicions had just been confirmed, nodded. "I thought so. Well...these pictures just don't seem like pictures you'd have. They're like the kind you always see in spy movies. And like when someone from the wizard government here wrote to Umbridge an' told her to quit trying to expel me. _Thanks_ for that, by the way! I woulda written to you, but Umbridge had Malfoy and a bunch of other Slytherins reading all the mail that went out or came in. So I wasn't sending mail." 

Tony was still looking quite surprised at Cody. "You're welcome," he said after a moment. "They realized how valuable you could be as a link between here and there." 

"And all the stuff that you know and can find out, I kinda just guessed." 

Tony laughed quietly, nodding his head. "Not bad, Cody. You're a smart kid. There is something here very much like the Order of the Phoenix. Yes, I know of that. Probably more than you do. Only ours is not a covert, independent group, and it's much larger. Members in every state, just about. That's all I'm gonna tell you, though, at least for now. If ever you need to know more, you might be cleared to know it. But not for now." 

"That's okay." Cody sighed and set the pictures of his mother down and turned away from them. It was very disturbing, looking at someone who looked so much like him, and knowing that she had done horrible things. "At the Ministry, the Death Eater I fought... Well he was in my House. He was seventh-year when I was second." He told him about what had happened in the creation room of the Department of Mysteries, and what Dustin Tiller had told him of Mallory Gregor. "I told him that his head was full of rocks. Well not those words, but that's what I was thinkin'. Guess he was right. But then I insulted Voldemort, an' he got all mad an' attacked me so we fought." 

"I see." Tony put a hand on Cody's uninjured shoulder and shook him gently. "You taking this all right? Seriously." 

"Yeah." Cody took a big breath and smiled a little. "I guess...I guess it was just, you know. It was a surprise." He bit his lip as hard as he could against the sudden urge to cry, and the resulting pain banished the urge for the moment. "There's other things, too. I fought along with my friends and all, and now that it's all gonna start over there, I feel like I'm kinda bein' a coward, all safe over here while they're over there, an' all." 

"That's understandable," said Tony, taking another sip of his soda. "But it isn't as if you have the choice. You live here in America. And quite frankly, with everything that we have found out, and you've told me, you may be no safer over here than over there. And here, you're a good deal more isolated, for that matter, especially where you and your mom and sister live, over by the woods there. So while yes, you are separated from your friends, I don't think it could be said that you are hiding in any sense of the word." 

Cody smiled at Tony and nodded his head. "Okay. Thanks." 

"You're welcome. Things will get dark over there, of this I'm certain. And possibly here too, I don't know how strong a following Voldemort managed to get over here. But Cody, it's not as if you can't travel to England fairly easily. You just have to wait, and watch. And be ready for whatever comes." 

Cody did not answer, but he thought long and hard on Tony's words. 

After that, he and Tony spent some time talking of other things, generally having a nice visit before Cody headed home. And Tony really was right. Things would happen, and Cody would do what he could. It was all anyone could do. 

--- 

**Author's Note: I do have further adventures for Cody planned and written, but as they take place in Year 6, I must wait for Book 6. Which, incidentally, I eagerly await. When I first heard of Harry Potter, I had little interest in it, as it was very popular. And I have found that when it comes to some things, my tastes don't tend to be "popular". But when I saw Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone and Chamber of Secrets paperbacks on sale at Zany Brainy, I decided to try it. I was instantly hooked. Ms. Rowling, you are a master writer, indeed! As Book 4 had come out recently by the time I got interested, I was able to read Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire without waiting. And when Order of the Phoenix came out, I was there on midnight the first day and spent all of Sunday reading it. Can't wait for Half-Blood Prince! Thanks, Ms. Rowling. Both for the great world you've created for book lovers, and for giving us fanfic writers that world to explore.**


	57. Y6 Chapter 1: Letters Parcels and Trolls

**HIDDEN HERITAGE**

_Author's Note: This adventure is loosely based on a plotline that was run in a roleplaying game that I play; White Wolf Changeling. My character in that genre is a seven-year old boy named Cody DeDannan, who had an adventure in a realm that is based on what people dream. In this realm, he found Hogwarts Castle, and was able to go through the first two years of it, along with the students from the Harry Potter stories. (We haven't gotten to the other years, yet!) And so, that inspired me to write this._

_This story contains the HP stories seen through Cody's eyes. Please realize that as this takes place in the same time frame as Harry's years at Hogwarts, this fanfic involves a great deal of direct quoting in order to show things through the main character's eyes. Any descriptions, I have put into my own words, but a great deal of the dialogue is quoted._

_Furthermore, that which I have directly quoted, I lay no claim to whatsoever, and the same goes for any characters that are taken from the books. My original creations (that is, my character concepts, which I use in other capacities), however, I do claim. No one may use them without my permission._

**And so I come to my plea: Ms. Rowling (and those associated with her), please don't sue me! I claim nothing that came from you, whether it be a scene, a character, a place, or a story. I have written this fanfiction because, frankly, it's what I always wished would happen. (Yes, I am a 28 year old adult.) I have written this fanfiction because I love your world and want to be a part of it, and so I made my character in order to enjoy it. : ) I certainly make no money with this, only the enjoyment of sharing my imagination with others.**

**Oh, and to all you who might live in the U.K.: In trying to keep the whole setting accurate, I have done a lot of research online, as well as asking my dad (who is from England) and my friend (who lived in England for a year) about things like slang, terms, weather, and the like. So if I screw something up, please don't lynch me! :grin: Though if anyone does spot that kind of mistake, feel free to let me know!**

_Note: The first two years are not my best...but come third year I started getting a little more comfortable with my main character; I get to know him a little better and things start to flow a bit more. The first two years are still good; I just think the later ones are better! And don't worry, I don't make any ridiculous changes in the storyline!_

_And so, with that, I invite you to enjoy this story!_

**Chapter 1: Letters, Parcels, and Trolls**

The first month or so of Cody's summer vacation was fairly uneventful, but full of letters. He had a lot of people to write to, and a lot of people to catch up on news with. He often wrote his letters out in the backyard, under the spectacularly hot sun.

The first person he wrote was Lupin. Cody asked if Lupin was okay, and what he was doing (that he could write in a letter) and if he knew if dementors lived in America or not. The answers to those were: he was doing as well as could be expected; he was not doing anything that he could risk sending by owl, but he could tell Cody some of it when next he saw him; and that Lupin thought there might be some dementors up north, but other than that, he wasn't sure. (Lethifolds, however, did live in Florida according to him, which did not make Cody very happy. He wished he'd been able to learn the Patronus Charm.) Thinking of Lupin, Cody wondered idly what it looked like when he transformed, and decided he wanted to see it once.

He detailed a nice, long letter to Kathy Skinner, telling her of the events of his fifth year. She wrote back, saying that she couldn't believe that Cody went into the Ministry of Magic and fought with Death Eaters, and that Cody was lucky he didn't get more badly hurt, else she would have come to his house and kicked his rear end. This had amused Cody to no end, and he was touched she was that worried about him. He wrote back saying that at least it proved he could fight.

Cody's communication with Flint was a bit cautious, not even mentioning the fight at the Ministry. He didn't know how much Flint supported Voldemort and his Death Eaters, and Cody liked Flint. Better not to know. He did find out that Flint was still in the reserves for the Falmouth Falcons, and hoped to make the team proper by summer of next year (though he had gotten to play in a couple of games recently.) Cody told him that Slytherin had played miserably during fifth year, but hopefully that would improve. Although he did not tell Flint, Cody wasn't sure if he would stay on the team. After the events of the year, and the fact that at least half the team had parents among Voldemort's people... He'd have to see how that one went.

Cody and Graham exchanged several letters over the summer about what was going on in England and America, and they planned a visit sometime before school. They had not yet decided who would be visiting whom, but they did know there would be a visit somewhere in there!

Harry got several letters, as promised, filling him in on what was going on in America. Which wasn't much, really...the Death Eaters in America were being disturbingly quiet, according to Tony Barado. Some of Cody's letters just had silly stuff in it, or simple, friendly chat. In one letter, Cody drew a very silly picture of Vincent Crabbe making a stupid face. He figured that Harry might not want to talk about the serious stuff constantly, and Cody himself certainly did not want to. He wrote the same sort of things to Ron and Hermione, as well.

He wrote to Charlie, in Romania, who told him all kinds of scary stories involving the dragons he helped to deal with out there. Cody thought that Charlie was either very brave or very crazy to work with dragons!

Cody and Neville talked about whether they would pass their O.W.L.s. Neville was not confident about his Potions exam, though he had done quite well with Herbology. No surprise there! Cody took the opportunity to insult Fanged Geraniums. Neville was amused, but at least expressed his sympathy. He said he had never showed Cody his MimbulusMimbletonia, and would have to do so the next year.

Cody was glad to have so many people to write to; he liked getting letters.

One letter that took a very long time to write was the one to Kyle Tiller. On one hand, Cody did not think Kyle would feel very good, learning what his brother had done. But on the other hand, it felt weird not telling him. Finally, after the normal greetings and news and conversation, what Cody said was this:

_I met your brother this summer. I hope you're not upset that I found out who he is...but we sort of had a...disagreement. I don't know if you know, but me and some of the other kids from the school ended up going to the Ministry of Magic to rescue someone (it ended up being a trap...long story) and a bunch of Death Eaters were there. Your brother was there...Dustin. I kinda know how you feel. I just found out my birth mom was a Death Eater, too. Which sucks. Anyway I wasn't sure if I was gonna tell you but finally figured you'd want to know. I remember him from second year, it's kinda creepy._

It was more than just creepy, but Cody wasn't sure how to convey that. He looked over his letter and nodded; that looked okay. If Kyle asked, Cody would tell the story, but otherwise he left it at that.

In Kyle's answer, he told Cody that he knew about Dustin's joining Voldemort's ranks.

_He joined them about six months after leaving Hogwarts. Mum and Dad weren't entirely thrilled, to say the least. Needless to say, Dustin does not live at home, he left as soon as he turned seventeen. I'm sorry that you had to meet him like that, and also sorry that you learned such unpleasant news about your birth mother. If I might ask, what went on that night? I heard a little bit about it, but not very much._

Cody told him the whole story; how they had thought Sirius Black was there and how the Death Eaters cornered them in the prophecy room. How they'd scattered, and how Cody had gotten separated from everyone else, and met Dustin Tiller and the other Death Eater. He told Kyle how the fight had gone, and how Dustin Tiller had nailed Cody with that nasty Slash-Curse. And of how Tiller had tried to kill him.

Kyle was angry to find out his brother had tried to kill Cody. Said if he ever met his brother again there would be "words to be had". That was how Kyle said it, but Cody suspected that fists (or wands) might be involved in that conversation. Cody wrote that he was glad that Kyle was that angry on Cody's behalf, but not to get into trouble. After all, Kyle was right there in England, where everything was going on and thus in more danger.

Cody also wrote Tony on a regular basis, which was a lot quicker to do, since he lived only on the other side of town. Tony would often tell Cody how the investigations were going (what he was allowed to tell), and the things he heard about America's Death Eaters.

As the summer holiday wore on, the letters from overseas got a bit grimmer. Voldemort had not shown his face, per se...but his handiwork was evident - there were Muggle killings, and even the death of two wizards, Amelia Bones and Emmeline Vance. Cody did not react well to this news; he had never met Amelia Bones but knew who she was, and knew her niece. (Susan Bones was in Hufflepuff and had been in the D.A..) He had not known Emmeline Vance, either, but she was in the Order of the Phoenix. Cody was at once glad and unhappy to be in Florida. Glad, because things seemed to be safer here, but unhappy because he did not like feeling like a coward, and felt that he couldn't do anything to help from where he was.

After that, he took out a subscription to the Daily Prophet. It cost a little more to get it Flooed to America, but that was all right. At least he would be able to know what was happening.

He nearly cheered when he found that Cornelius Fudge had been sacked, and a new Minister put in his place. Scrimgeour...Cody's first impression on seeing the picture in the paper was that he was looking at a relative of Lion-O's. Cody hoped that this one would be a little more effective in fighting Voldemort, but then he didn't really think anyone could be as bad as Fudge had been.

He tried not to let on too much of what was happening in England when talking to his mother; Cody knew that she would just worry.

He received the fireworks he had ordered during the school year from the Weasley twins, and set them off on the Fourth of July. There were the huge Catherine wheels, the pink piglets and shooting stars, and fireworks that spelled out names and words. (One even spelled out Cody's entire name! Cody was delighted at the surprise.) All of the fireworks were bigger, brighter, and longer-lasting than anything the Muggles could get their hands on.

His neighbors were amazed by the wizarding fireworks, and kept asking him where he had gotten them. He only said that they had been a gift, so he wasn't sure. Not entirely true, but close enough! Cody thought that he probably had broken some kind of wizard law or another, setting them off in front of the Muggles, but who was to know? He wrote the twins to tell them his neighbors' reactions, and they were quite pleased.

Aside from letters and newspapers, Cody did little having to do with magic. He did not have any summer homework for once, which was nice, and he figured that since fifth-years had had to deal with exams, the teachers decided to be nice and not inflict any other work on them.

---

Two weeks into July, Cody got a letter from Hogwarts, with his exam results on them. Cody excitedly opened this and read down the list, wincing in advance in case there was anything there he did not like.

_Ordinary Wizarding Level Results_

_Pass grades_  
_Outstanding (O)_  
_Exceeds Expectations (E)_  
_Acceptable (A)_

_Fail Grades_  
_Poor (P)_  
_Dreadful (D)_  
_Troll (T)_

"Troll!" cried Cody in astonishment. "Troll, there really is a troll grade!" He gawped for a moment and then burst out laughing as he looked down the list of grades, but the laughter stopped abruptly as he saw that there was a "Troll" right on his own paper!

_Astronomy O_  
_Care of Magical Creatures E_  
_Charms A_  
_Defense Against the Dark Arts O_  
_Herbology P_  
_History of Magic T_  
_Potions E_  
_Study of Ancient Runes E_  
_Transfiguration A_

Well, he already knew he was going to fail History of Magic, though he was utterly apalled to see that he had gotten a T in it. And though he had hoped otherwise, he suspected he would fail Herbology, too, and he was right. That miserable Fanged Geranium! But his Outstanding O.W.L.s in Astronomy and Defense Against the Dark Arts pleased him very much--thanks to the D.A.! He distracted himself for a moment by trying to pronounce the list of grades, getting a word that sounded like "oeeopdaya".

Except for the T, it could have been worse!

An A in Transfiguration. He was not sure what McGonagall required to continue with Transfiguration, but he had the feeling that Acceptable might not do it. He hoped that was not the case, he liked Transfiguration, but he didn't think that Flitwick was as strict with Charms. He knew that he had not gotten a good enough grade in Potions to continue the class, as Snape demanded an "Outstanding". He sighed quietly; how bad would that look when and if he wanted to get a job within the wizarding world if they saw he had not even made a grade good enough to continue classes? And he would miss taking them. Maybe he could retake the tests.

But still, seven O.W.L.s with two Outstandings and three Exceeds Expectations was not bad at all. (If one were to ignore the T.) Maybe there would be a way to make it up somehow.

He showed his mother, who expressed her pleasure and pride at his grades. She asked why he had failed the other two. His face very red, he went through the Tale of the Fanged Geranium.

"And History of Magic...I was never good in that class. I never remembered all the dates and stuff, and Binns is so boring! I can never sit still! And I don't like the class at all. That makes it hard to do good in it."

"Well." Frowning a bit, Cody looked at Mom, who clarified, "Do 'well', not do good."

"Oh." Cody grinned, and shrugged. "Either way, means the same thing." He snickered at the _look_ Mom gave him. "Anyways, seven O.W.L.s is good! I bet Hermione gets all Outstandings in hers. She's really smart. I bet_ she_ didn't get bitten by a plant."

"You're not going to forgive that plant for a while, are you?" Mom asked.

"No! It bit me! I didn't get bitten in Care of Magical Creatures where they had knarls, but I got bitten in Herbology, is there something wrong there?"

Mom laughed, and nodded her head. "You know, there really is," she said. "I'll stick with the normal kind of geranium, myself."

"Flowers shouldn't bite," Cody grumbled. "I should send one to Dustin Tiller." He scowled darkly for a moment, then shrugged. "Oh well. Coulda been worse. I remember when Fred Weasley told us that there was a "T" for "Troll". I didn't know if he was kidding or not." He felt his face growing hot again, like there was a dragon breathing fire behind his cheeks. "I can't believe I got one."

Mom shook her head, chuckling. "I wouldn't worry too much about it, kiddo. You did well enough in everything else. Troll... And that's a legitimate grade! But then stranger things have happened in that school of yours."

It was very true. Hogwarts was a very unique place.


	58. Y6 Chapter 2: The Dark Mark

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 6**  
by Hyena Cub

**Chapter 2: The Dark Mark**

It was July twentieth that it happened, something that made Cody wish he had never heard of wizards, or Harry Potter, or Hogwarts - or Death Eaters. Mostly those.

Cody was at Tony Barado's house for the evening, just visiting for once without any pressing business to take care of regarding the wizarding world. The pair enjoyed the nearby beach as the sun warmed the waters and the sands. Cody was trying (and failing miserably) to keep his balance standing up on an inflatable raft floating in the rippling ocean, and Tony was watching and laughing. They were both having a lot of fun. It was nice to just enjoy playing, without worrying about magic, once in a while. Tony had said once that since Tony left alone, and had no family nearby, he enjoyed Cody's visits.

As the two ate dinner, they watched Merlin and Makani, Tony's owl, have some sort of disagreement that ended with Merlin retreating to hang from Cody's shirt, squeaking with annoyance at the owl. Cody grinned, and pet Merlin's head. "Don't get into fights with owls," he advised. "They have beaks."Merlin made a noise that might have been indignation, but did not bat Cody in the face with his wings, which meant he wasn't _too_ irritated.

"Well, it's beginning to get dark," said Tony after chuckling over the exchange. "I'd better take you home."

"Okay." Cody stifled a yawn and stood, stretching as tall as he could go. "Tony, you know what Diagon Alley is, right?" Tony nodded. "Is there a place like that here in America?"

"Of course there are. There are several as a matter of fact. Hidden streets and towns of the wizarding kind. There's one in Miami, and one in Orlando, and I think Tampa and Fort Lauderdale have some. Miami would be closest to here, I believe; I'll take you there some time."

"I wonder if it's different than Diagon Alley," Cody said as he followed Tony to his car and got in.

"Likely." The car started quietly, and they backed out of Tony's driveway.

Cody remembered Graham's fascination with the car when he had visited last year and could not help grinning. Maybe he and Graham could visit Diagon Alley together that year. "I gotta get some more bright ink. I could only find green at Diagon Alley. I need some orange, and blue, too. Maybe yellow."

Tony chuckled, and shook his head as he began driving towards Cody's house. "Your teachers don't object to your using neon ink? Yellow seems like it would be very difficult to see - maybe if you found black parchment that it would write on."

"They don't care. Some want me to take tests with black, or other dark colors. But otherwise they don't care. And the neon stuff's more fun. Black parchment would be great if I could find ink that would show on it."

"Yeah, I noticed last time I visited that your school trunk is neon green. You certainly can't be missed when you're carrying that."

Cody grinned. "Nope!"

There was a sort of companionable silence over the car then as Tony drove through the dark, quiet streets. But as the two neared Cody's street, a strange, subtle sort of trepidation settled over the child, as if something was very, very wrong. He glanced at Tony, and saw that he, too, seemed to be feeling it. "Tony?"

"Yeah...I know." Frowning, Tony looked around, slowing down the car for a few moments as he did. "Something's up." He sped up again, his expression suddenly alert and watchful. It was quite a difference from the laid-back, easygoing look Cody was accustomed to seeing; he was visibly ready for trouble, and it was a reassuring sight. Cody's hand strayed to his belt loop, where his wand was clipped, and unfastened it so that he could have it ready. The whole thing might turn out to be nothing, but he didn't think so; he had a bad feeling in his gut.

As Tony's car neared the street on which Cody lived, a sudden, sick, green light illuminated at least five blocks' worth of houses, and to Cody's horror, a huge shape formed itself in the sky. It was a shape he had seen only once before, at the Quidditch World Cup, when BartyCrouch had sent it into the sky, a shape that had sent hundreds of people into a panic: the Dark Mark.

"The Dark Mark!" Cody cried in a tone of utter disbelief, as if he could not possibly be seeing what he was seeing. "But that's Voldemort's sign! How could it be _here? _The Death Eaters--" He broke off and stared in horror as they neared the location of the Mark. "Tony, that's my house! _It's over my house!_" He rocked back against the seat as Tony floored the accelerator before he could even finish. He sat up, gripping the dashboard hard enough to dent the vinyl, his eyes riveted on the dark form of his own house. "Hurry!" As they sped down Cody's street, Cody began shaking, his eyes wide with sudden fear. How? How could it be over his house? _Why? _His mother, Samantha--were they still alive?

Cody didn't know what he would do once he got there, and didn't care. All that mattered was that he _got_ there. Snatches of memories from D.A. meetings streaked through his mind, the spells and hexes they'd learned, and he hoped desperately he could remember them when they got there.

_If there's need,_ said the little voice in the back of his mind, the one that told him unpleasant things when he didn't want to hear them. _If it's not already over._

Tony stopped the car in front of Cody's next-door neighbor suddenly enough to throw Cody against the seatbelt. Cody noticed peripherally that there were several bewildered Muggles standing outside and looking nervously up at the sky. He noticed with a sort of distracted anger that none were approaching,none had come to see if the people in the house were all right. He could understand right then why some wizards hated Muggles.

Cody fought with his seatbelt for a couple of seconds before hurling it off of him, and scrambling out of the car. Merlin, still hanging from his robes, screeched in confusion, and Cody looked down in startlement. He hurriedly put the little bat on the car seat and told him in a shaking voice to _stay_. He looked frantically over at Tony, who had his wand out, and was already heading for the house. There was an agonized scream from within; Cody gasped and sprinted inside, recognizing his mother's voice.

"Cody, wait!" Tony yelled, as Cody flew past him.

"They use the mark when they kill!" Cody cried as he ran in, flinging open the door.

As he ran into the darkened living room, he heard his sister crying, and his mother shrieking something unintelligible. On the razor edge of panic, now, Cody ran for the stairs, not even hearing Tony bursting through the doorway behind him, awkwardly navigating the dark, unfamiliar house.

Cody took the stairs two at a time, his blood pumping so forcefully that he thought it might burst his veins. Or his heart. He heard a male voice in his mother's bedroom, and heard a laugh that he recognized; a horrid coldness swept over him. Tiller's. It was Dustin Tiller's.

The door to his mother's room, where the screams were coming from, was locked. Furiously, Cody yelled, "Alohomora!" and flung it open, skidding to a halt as he saw five people within: his mother, a look of terror on her face, crouched in the corner like a trapped animal; Samantha hiding behind her, sobbing in fright. Facing them stood two figures in black robes, and one in jeans and a muscle shirt. None were masked; one was Dustin Tiller, the other the Death Eater that Cody had Stunned in the Ministry. The third he didn't recognize at all.

The three Death Eaters turned to face Cody, and Tiller smiled unpleasantly. Cody thrust his wand forward and shrieked a Stunning Spell, wishing that he knew something worse, something that would hurt! He wished he knew the Cruciatus Curse!

Tiller ducked the Stunner, and it very nearly hit Cody's mother. Cody did not try it again; instead, he ran into the room, ducking a Stunner from the man he didn't recognize, and tackled Tiller around the knees. Taken by surprise, Tiller was knocked off balance, and Cody pummeled him, all his fury and fear pouring out in a flurry of fists.

He heard one of the others growl, "Colloportus!" and a moment later, someone collided with the door. He heard Tony curse, and try the Alohomoraopening spell. But the man uttered something that Cody did not recognize, a charm that Tony's "Alohomora" did not work against. He heard Tony ramming against it, trying to break in, but the doors were heavy oak.

Dustin Tiller wrenched his wand hand loose from beneath him, and Cody lunged forward to seize it, sinking his teeth into Tiller's wrist. The young Death Eater yelled in pain and rage, and dropped his wand.

They grappled for only a few moments before Cody was hit with an Impedimenta Jinx that knocked him off of Tiller and almost right into Mom's dresser. He nearly lost his wand, and had to grab it from the floor, performing a Shield Charm that saved him being Stunned. He became aware of Mom crying, pleading with the Death Eaters not to hurt Cody, but Cody knew that wouldn't do any good. If anything, such pleading would make the Death Eaters all the more determined to cause harm.

For the first time, Cody felt fear for himself as he realized the situation. He was alone, facing three adult Death Eaters, and each more powerful than he. He couldn't dodge Stunners forever, and what if they used something worse? If only he could take them by surprise!

Cody threw out a Stunning Spell that the man he did not recognize ducked. Cody hissed in frustration, then dove behind the bed as Tiller snarled, "Sectumsempra!", and Cody recognized it as the curse Tiller had nailed him with not even two months before. The purple, fire-like energy of the Slash-Curse hit the window, cracking it.

The boy stood as two of them cornered him between the bed and the wall, their wands pointed at his chest. Backed into the corner, feeling like a trapped animal himself, Cody hissed, "Leave me alone!" His wand was aimed at them, but his hand shook.

"Now why would I do that?" said one of the men, the one that had been with Tiller in the Ministry. "Surely my daughter passed my message along to you? Things happen to those who oppose the Dark Lord and his servants. You will be an example of this."

"I _won't!_ " Cody cried. "Petrificus Totalus!"

The curse caught the man off guard, and he went rigid, falling onto the floor, but while Cody was cursing him, the other man hit Cody square in the chest with an Impedimenta Jinx. Cody was thrown against the wall, and he lost his grip on his wand once more. He shook his head to clear it and lunged for the wand, but the unrobed Death Eater darted forward and brought his booted foot down hard on Cody's hand. Cody yelled and began kicking at the man's foot, but Cody was too small to do much damage. The man grabbed up Cody's wand and tossed it to the other side of the room.

"Ow! Lemme go, let _go_!" Cody yelled at the top of his voice. He didn't hear Tony trying to get in anymore, which worried him. Were there other Death Eaters here? Had Tony been hurt, or killed?

He kicked the man hard in the knee; he was barefoot, but his heel connected, and the man growled in pain. He lifted his foot from Cody's hand, but the boy had no time to get up, because the foot instead shoved him viciously onto his back and planted itself on Cody's chest. Cody balled his hands into fists and was about to try and fight, until the man brought his wand right up to Cody's throat and jabbed it underneath his chin. "If you move, I swear I'll kill you," the man said, and for the first time, Cody noticed he didn't have an accent. An American one, then. He suddenly remembered the previous year, when Graham had visited; they had seen a man lurking about the playground, possibly watching them. He had the feeling it had been this American wizard.

Trying very hard not to panic, Cody lay still, listening for what was happening to his mother and Samantha. His sister was still crying, but his mother was quiet; seeing her young son fighting a wizard's battle must have been fairly shocking.

"Bronwen," said Tiller. "Unbind Avery, will you?"

"You do it," said the American. "I'm not about to give this little brat the chance of slithering away."

From on the other side of the bed, Tiller did as he was asked, and Avery groaned. Cody heard a few curses grumbled, and watched the man rise.

The American suddenly grabbed Cody by the front of the shirt and hauled him up, bringing him over to slam him against the wall. His wand never wavered from Cody's face.

"Can I kill him now?" Avery growled, also approaching.

"No," said Tiller, and Cody vaguely wondered how Avery came to be taking orders from a relatively new Death Eater. "Let him watch his family die, and then kill him."

A terrible cold doused Cody's chest. "NO!" he cried, suddenly fighting as furiously as he could manage. He half expected to be hit with a jet of green light, but he wasn't; the American, Bronwen, only growled and slammed him back against the wall. "Lemme go!" Cody howled. "You can't kill them, leave them alone! LEMME GO!"

"Give me a hand, here!" Bronwen growled, and suddenly Avery was there was well, grabbing one of Cody's arms and pinning it back against the wall. Bronwen, did the same with Cody's other arm, effectively restraining him, and allowing them to stay out of the way of Cody's kicking feet. Helpless, Cody continued to yowl at the top of his lungs to be let go.

"I don't think so," said Tiller nastily. He turned and hit Cody's mother with an Impedimenta Jinx, knocking her sideways, and away from Samantha. Then he Stunned the little girl, and she dropped.

Cody shrieked in fury, and called Tiller a word he had never used before-- "Bastard!"

Tiller only laughed in amusement. "Such language from so young a boy! I may have to teach you some manners before I kill you." He stepped between Samantha and her mother, as Mom tried to shield her. Tiller held his wand to Mom's chest, but he did not kill her just yet. Instead, he smiled cruelly, and said, "_Crucio!_"

Cody's eyes widened as he heard the curse, and redoubled his efforts to free himself, as his mother collapsed to the floor, screaming. "STOP IT!" Cody shrieked, tears suddenly streaming down his face. "STOP, LEAVE HER ALONE!"

Tiller did for a moment, leaving Mom curled up on the floor, shaking. "Don't like seeing this, DeDannan?" he asked, his tone calm and casual. "Pity. You shouldn't have opposed the Dark Lord's followers. Especially living here, far away from Dumbledore."

"I hate you!" Cody spat, on the edge of hysteria.

Tiller raised his brow. "Is that so?"

"I wish you were dead, I hate you, you coward, I wish you were dead!"

Tiller walked up to Cody, his hand raised threateningly. "You seem incapable of keeping your mouth shut, boy." He glared at Cody for a moment and then smiled, lowering his hand. And instead of striking Cody for his defiance, he turned his wand on Cody's mother once more, hitting her again with the Cruciatus Curse. Cody howled for him to stop, fighting to get loose, but Tiller did not stop for an entire minute. When he raised his wand yet again, he did not use Cruciatus, but the Slash-Curse, hitting Cody's mother across the face with purple fire. She cried out weakly as a line of blood opened itself across her nose and cheeks. Again, across the chest, and again, hitting her in the throat.

Knowing how nasty the curse was, Cody began sobbing, utterly helpless to stop Tiller from hurting his mother. He wished he had never heard of Hogwarts, that he had never longed to be a wizard. 'I'm done now,' he thought, 'stop it, stop everything, let it go back the way it was...I don't want any more magic!' But of course nothing happened. If the wizarding world ever had been anything less than reality, it was definitely reality now.

Tiller turned toward Cody once more, his smile betraying his enjoyment of Cody's horror and his panic. "Once your mother is dead, DeDannan, I'm going to start on your baby sister. You think she'll scream as loud?"

Before Cody could say anything in response to this promise, several loud cracking noises echoed in the room. Suddenly there were five more people there - two women, three men - all wearing robes of a blue, light, cool material, and all holding wands in their hands. The Death Eaters recoiled at this sudden intrusion, and Tiller turned furiously to the other two. "Go!" he shouted, and Disapparated. One of the women shot a Stunning Spell at Avery, but he let go of Cody and ducked it. He and the American both Disapparated as well.

Cody barely looked at the people that had come to his aid, but sprinted over to his mother, grabbing her hand. "Don't be dead, don't be dead, don't be dead..." he whimpered, and looked up at the newcomers. Two of them were already kneeling next to Cody's mom, and another was checking to see if Samantha was all right. "Help, please, you gotta help!" There was _blood_, too much of it!

"Easy," said one of the men, putting a hand on Cody's shoulder. "We'll get her to the hospital, we've got a portkey here to get us all there fast. Here, take hold of this. Your sister will be looked after." The man handed Cody an old shoe, and the boy gripped it, not letting go of his mother's hand. The wizard also grasped the shoe, and put Mrs. DeDannan's hand on it. As soon as all three were touching the item, Cody felt the unpleasant jerk of a portkey in his gut, and clenched his teeth against sudden nausea. In a whirl of bodies, Cody, his mother, and the wizard all landed in a jumble on the floor of what Cody could only guess was a wizard hospital.


	59. Y6 Chapter 3: Last Day

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 6**  
by Hyena Cub

**Chapter 3: Last Day**

The adult wizard held on firmly to Cody's mother, presumably to keep the injured woman from arriving the same way Cody did (hitting the floor hard and falling on his face). Cody looked briefly around to see he was in what looked very much like the emergency rooms he saw on TV, except that everyone here was wearing robes of some kind. Two women with long, white robes hurried up with a floating stretcher, and used a Levitation Charm to get Mom onto it. Cody, seeing little else now but his mother, stood from the floor followed after them.

Mom was taken into a room that Cody saw was full of potions and magical artifacts of Healing, but Cody was not allowed in the room with her. At first he was set to throw an unholy tirade, but the wizard that had come with Cody grasped his arm. "You don't want to distract them," he said quietly. "They will need their concentration."

Feeling very, very scared, Cody capitulated and wandered dazedly over to a nearby bench, sinking down into it. The wizard came over and sat next to him. "My name is Henry Fletcher, by the way. I'm with the local magical police force. And your sister is with Tony Barado, he's looking after her for now. Oh, and your little bat cub is there too. Pup. Whatever they're called. They're both fine."

Swallowing hard, Cody wiped his eyes and looked up at the man. "Wh-what...how'd you know that, I mean..."

"As soon as Tony realized he couldn't get into the room, he drove as fast as he could to the nearest outpost of the local magical government, and told them what was going on. He told us exactly where your home was, and what room you were in so we could Apparate there."

Cody frowned in confusion. "But...but why couldn't Tony -"

"Apparate?" Cody nodded, and Henry Fletcher smiled a bit. "Tony can't \Apparate\, he could never learn how. There are some mages, wizards, who are incapable of Apparating. Don't know if it's a mental or physical reason, but they can't. And so he did what he could."

"I-I shoulda never ran so fast...I shoulda waited," Cody said miserably, feeling himself wanting to sob again.

The man shook his head. "Had you waited, it could have been worse. You bought your mom and sister some time. I would have done no less, seeing my family in danger. And had Tony been trapped in there as well, he would not have been able to get help."

Cody nodded numbly and turned his gaze back at the door behind which he knew his mother was fighting for her life. What if she died? What would he _do_ if she died?

There was little said for the next two hours or so, and Cody sat still the entire time, mostly staring at the door. Fletcher got up a couple of times to get some coffee, but Cody hardly noticed it. He watched patients and wizard Healers walking past every once in a while; the Healers all wore strangely-styled robes of varying colors. They were of a sturdy material, short-sleeved, with V necklines. They came to just below their knees and had several external pockets, and all had a red cross on the left shoulder. He wondered, distractedly, if they were styled after Muggle doctors' scrubs. He also noticed that the blue robes of the magical police had a stylized badge embroidered in gold above the left breast and right sleeve. The left had the county name embroidered on it.

After a while, Cody fell into a fitful doze, draped partly off of the bench, his arm hanging almost to the floor.

He was wakened by someone shaking his shoulder gently and sat up, his eyes bleary and unfocused. "Wha...izzat..." he mumbled. He blinked and vigorously rubbed his eyes, and found himself looking into Remus Lupin's eyes. He blinked again, trying to comprehend why Remus Lupin was here in America. His brain could not make sense of it. "...um..."

"We got contact with him about a half hour ago," said Fletcher from behind Lupin. "And he came."

Feeling a surge of gratitude, Cody stood and went to Lupin, who enfolded the boy in his arms. Cody cried into his robes, which seemed to be something he was doing a lot lately. After a moment, Cody pulled away. "Wh-what're you doing here?" he finally asked.

Lupin sat on the bench, motioning Cody to sit with him. "Well, Tony Barado finally got hold of me; we do know each other though we've never met in person until today. Told me what \happened. And while yes, this is of some interest to...to certain people..." The Order, Cody thought. "...I also wanted to come here and be with you. I know how frightening this must be, but it is worse to face such things without anyone familiar around you."

And was that ever true. Feeling extremely grateful, Cody nodded and leaned tiredly against Lupin. "Thanks," he whispered. It was nice to hear his familiar voice, and strangely, his English accent sounded more normal to him than the American ones of everyone else there.

"Cody, it'll be..." Lupin began, and then seemed to change his mind. "Have faith," he finally said. "That's all you can do."

Cody did not sleep again, only sat on the bench next to Lupin for a little more than an hour. Occasionally he would look at Lupin's tired face, looking old for his age, but somehow full of warmth. He would take in Lupin's patched robes, also somehow very comforting, and be glad that Lupin was there.

But mostly he would look at the door, hoping that he would see his mother walk out of it.

When finally the door did open, out walked one of the Healers; a moment later, the other came out as well. The look on their faces was not encouraging. One bowed her head and walked away down the hallway, but the other came and knelt in front of Cody, her hands and wand streaked with blood. She looked like she was about to cry. At first she seemed not to be able to say anything, or perhaps she was trying to figure out _what_ to say.

As Cody looked at her, he knew. He knew somewhere in his heart, in the place that always told the truth. But he wouldn't listen to it. He couldn't. He still looked at the witch, a desperate hope in his eyes, expecting her to say perhaps that his mother was badly hurt, but she would make it, or that his mother had pulled through and was now resting. But the witch said neither of these.

When she did finally speak, it was only three whispered words: "I'm so sorry."

Cody stared for a long moment, and then he was on his feet, pushing the witch out of his way and tearing himself from Lupin's grasp. He bashed face-first into the locked door, growled, and pulled out his wand, using the Alohomora Charm to unlock it. He heard someone coming after him but he didn't care, he had to see his mother, to see that the witch had been mistaken, to see that she was not really dead.

The figure on the bed was covered in a sheet, and a bit of red spotted the place where the figure's face would be. Feeling a rush of annoyance that someone had covered his mother's head, (it was surely hard to breathe that way!) he yanked the sheets off of her. Even after the Healers worked on her for so long, she still wore way too much blood.

As he looked at her lifeless body and the horrid injuries still on her skin, that little place in Cody heart told him once again that his mother was dead, but again he did not listen. He grabbed her hand, which was still warm (that meant she was alive, right?) and shook it, hard. "Mom! Mom, wake up, you _have__to!_" But she did not wake, and Cody was getting angry. "Quit ignoring me!" he shouted as loudly as he could, the panic beginning to overtake him. "L-look at me, wake UP!" He felt a hand on his shoulder and jerked furiously away, climbing onto the bed to grab his mother's shirt. He realized vaguely that _were_ she alive, shaking her was not exactly going to soothe her injuries, but he was beyond reason. He didn't even know what he was shouting anymore, only that his mother was not waking up.

Finally, Cody collapsed half on his mother's body, crying so hard he could barely breathe, and this time when the hand gripped his shoulder he didn't move. When the hand pulled him off of the bed, and someone was picking him up and holding him, he did not fight. He didn't even care who it was. All he could do was cry, and even that he could not do hard enough.

After several minutes, when Cody was too exhausted to cry any more, someone gave him something to drink. Feeling dazed, and somehow not really real, Cody took the goblet and downed whatever it was without question. It ended up being a Calming Draught, which took the edge off of his hysteria.

Cody did not remember much detail of the next two hours. Once he had calmed somewhat, slipping into a dazed state of numbness, a group from the magical police force came to talk to him, to find out the names of the wizards who had attacked Cody's family. Cody gave them Avery and Dustin Tiller's names, and said he only heard the American one's last name: Bronwen. Said that they were Death Eaters. A couple of the mages present raised eyebrows at this, but no one refuted it. They only wrote it down. Cody told them in dull tones what had happened that night, that he had been visiting Tony, how they had seen the Dark Mark on his street. They asked if anyone else had seen, and Cody said some of the Muggles on his street had seen it. He heard a witch mention that they would have to think of a good story to explain the Dark Mark.

Finally, the questioning was over, and the law enforcement mages left.

"Come on," said Lupin quietly to Cody. "We're going to Tony's house. We'll be spending the night there. You need some rest."

"A-are you staying?" Cody whispered.

"Yes. I will be staying."

"Okay." Cody was not crying now, he felt unreal enough that he didn't think he could cry if he tried to. That was okay, he supposed. At least the panic was gone.

When they reached Tony's house, Cody curled up on the couch for the remainder of the night. He heard Lupin and Tony talking in the kitchen, he assumed over cups of tea. Did Tony even have tea? Maybe it was coffee. And who cared, anyway?

Cody was exhausted, but he did not sleep, not for a long time, though when he did, he slept quite deeply. He didn't even dream.

---

When he did wake, it was late in the morning, and he was surprised to see his little sister curled up next to him. But she was not asleep. When Cody sat up, she looked at him with wide eyes. Cody looked at her for a moment and held his arms out to her, and she leaned up next to him. Cody wondered where Tony and Lupin were. "A-are you okay?" Cody asked her.

Samantha nodded her head. "Who were they?" she asked in a little voice.

"Death Eaters," Cody whispered. He was feeling himself trying to cry again and he didn't want to. He had things he had to tell Samantha, and he didn't want to cry, not yet.

"Wh-why'd they attack me and Mommy?"

Cody bit his lip hard. He tasted blood, but that was okay, it cleared his mind for a moment. "Because they don't like me," he said quietly. Samantha frowned, not understanding why she and Mom had been attacked, if it was Cody they didn't like, and Cody tried to explain. "They...they know I would be really upset if they hurt you guys, so they m-made me watch them hurt you guys." He almost added that they had planned on killing Cody afterwards as well, but decided that might be best left unsaid.

"Oh." Samantha looked down at her toes for a few moments before asking, "Where's Mommy?"

Oh man, Cody thought, feeling a strange sort of panic rising in his chest. She doesn't know. And Cody would have to tell her. He took several deep breaths, closing his eyes to try and steady himself. It was not even twelve hours since Mom had died, and Cody was still trying to accept it himself. And it wasn't easy. He stood up and paced a few steps until he could speak. "Sh-she's gone, Samantha."

The little girl sat up straight, frowning at Cody, as if she suspected he was playing a joke on her. "What do you mean? Gone where?"

Cody opened his eyes to look at her, and saw no way that he could make the news any less horrible, or shocking, and so all he could do was just say it. "Mom's dead," he whispered. "They hurt her, a-an' she got hurt bad enough th-they couldn't save her..." Tears welled up in his eyes, even as he tried to clench them back.

Samantha's reaction was not one that he had expected. She stood from the couch, looking furiously at him. "It's not true!" she screamed at the top of her voice "You're lying, she's _not_ dead, she isn't! You told a lie, Cody!" Shaken out of his tears for the moment, Cody gaped at her, shocked by her accusation, and the intensity of her fury, and could not think of a thing to say. How could he lie about something so horrible? "Take it back, Cody!" Samantha shrieked, tears beginning to flow. She got up from the couch and began hitting her brother in the chest with her fists. "Take it back, Cody! Take it back!"

Cody hissed as Samantha's fists struck him, and he wondered frantically if she really did think he was lying - would she hate him for it? He found that thought a frightening one; what if she was so mad at him she would want to leave? Then he'd be totally alone! This wasn't what was supposed to happen, was it?

Though he backed away several steps, Cody did not attempt to stop his sister hitting him, and after a while, the little girl dissolved into sobbing. Finally, Samantha ran out of the room, and he heard a door slam down the hallway. Guest room, Cody supposed, turning around to stare down the hallway, feeling dazed. Again there was that feeling of unreal numbness, as if he were just watching some kind of movie or something, washed over him. Surely this was not all happening. It was all too horrible to _really_ be happening.

"Cody." Cody turned around to see Lupin standing behind him, his expression grave. Tony was in the doorway that led into the kitchen, watching quietly.

"I-I - does she - I-I mean she..." Cody stammered.

"Shhh," said Lupin quietly, gently putting an arm around Cody. "She is not angry with you," he said in his hoarse, calming voice. "And no, she does not truly believe that you are lying. She's just scared. Her mind wants her to think that you are lying, because the truth is too horrible."

It was true. It _was_ too horrible. It was too horrible to have happened. Shaking, Cody leaned against Lupin, who smoothed back his hair.

"Give her a bit of time, Cody. Then go in and see her."

"O-okay." Cody swallowed and wiped his eyes, and then asked tentatively, "Wh-what...what's going to happen to us?"

"Come on over and sit on the couch," invited Lupin. Cody nodded, and let himself be steered back over to the couch, where he sat down. "Tony, I don't suppose you could make some tea? There are some teabags in my traveling bag."

"Sure, Remus." Tony disappeared into the kitchen, and Lupin turned back to Cody. "First of all, you and your sister will be taken care of. No matter what you choose, you _will_ be taken care of. We'll see to that. And you'll stay together." Cody had worried about that. He had heard of times when orphaned kids got separated because "it was best" for them. He always wondered how taking away someone's sister or brother was best for anyone, especially when it was all they had left. "Cody, do you have any other family?"

"I...my...my m-mom's...my mom's family," he finally stammered. "I only met them once, though. They're in another state."

"I see," said Lupin quietly. "Well first, let me tell you what will happen. Your mother will be buried in a graveyard close to the hospital she was taken to, unless you have objections to this. The funeral will be in a couple of days. A few members of the magical community here are going to take care of all the details, so you don't have to worry about that. They are also going to take care of making sure that her family, and the people at her work are informed of what happened, and take care of dealing with the Muggle police."

"Okay..." Cody whispered.

"There are a couple of wizards watching your house in case anyone returns there, and when you're ready, we can go in and get your things." He sighed quietly, thinking for a moment before going on. "In case you worried, you will not be getting into trouble for the magic you performed, this obviously was one of the instances in which underage wizardry is permitted."

Cody nodded; he had not thought about that risk, but now that it was mentioned, he found he was relieved.

"And then...well as I said, you will be taken care of. It's just a matter of who you would feel most comfortable with taking you in. The Weasleys have been told, and they said that they're willing to make room for you. Molly said she'd never let you be turned over to another Muggle orphanage, or to some foster home where you didn't know anyone. Tony has also said that you can stay with him. You can, if you choose, stay with your mother's family, if they are able to take you and your sister in." Lupin paused once more, stroking Cody's hair, and Cody could feel his hand was shaking the smallest bit. "And...and I would also be happy to take you in if you were to so choose."

Cody looked up at Lupin, not knowing what to say. It was, after all, a lot to absorb. His first reaction was a surge of rejection for the entire idea. He was not going to leave his home, and no one could make him! He could stay there and take care of Samantha himself! He could handle it!

But the wave of defiance was a short one. As stubborn and angry and confused and afraid as he felt, he still knew that was impossible. Perhaps the wizarding world would _consider_ the idea, so long as someone were to come by to check on them once in a while, but the Muggles would sooner or later get involved. And though Cody felt sure he could handle a bunch of Muggles so long as he had his wand, it could lead to some nasty consequences. And as he thought about it, the idea of being there alone if perhaps Tiller came back to finish the job... He shuddered a bit and huddled against Lupin's worn robes.

Lupin gave Cody a reassuring squeeze. "You don't have to decide anything now, Cody," he said quietly. "Go ahead and think on those choices. We all want whatever is best for you. Talk it over with your little sister when she is calmer and decide only when you're ready." Cody nodded numbly.

Tony came in then, with two mugs of tea, and gave one each to Cody and Lupin before heading back into the kitchen. Lupin thanked him, and Cody only took his mug, not able to say anything aloud at the moment. He sniffed at the tea; it smelled very good. He took a couple of cautious sips, and began feeling a little calmer, a little more rational.

"One of my favorite teas," said Lupin with a bit of a smile. "I always make this when I am afraid, or upset. It's a slightly magical brew, has a few magical herbs in it, but mostly it's common, everyday herbs that the Muggles use in some of their teas. It's soothing to the nerves."

Lupin was right. Whatever was in the tea was indeed calming him down, much like the Calming Draught he had been given at the hospital did. He suspected they shared some ingredients.

"I'm going in to talk with Tony a bit," said Lupin. "Will you be okay?"

Cody nodded his head, and watched as Lupin rose and disappeared into the kitchen where Cody assumed Tony was sitting, perhaps drinking his own cup of tea. Cody sighed and slumped back on the couch, holding his own cup. For a moment he let his mind wander, feeling that if he thought on this too long, his brain might explode. He understood now about Pensieves. He wished he had one to sort out his thoughts.

He settled back into the soft, warm cushions of the couch, drawing up his knees and letting his eyes wander on the different bits of furniture in the room. He looked over to Makani, Tony's owl, who sat unusually quiet on her perch. He looked over the Hawaii-themed items in the living room, made somehow mocking and sinister even in the sunlight from outside.

Cody brooded for several minutes as he finished his tea; then setting the empty cup down on an end table, he rose and walked over to the room he thought his sister had run into. Listening at the door brought the sound of muffled crying to his ears, and he tentatively knocked. "Can I come in?"

At first, he didn't think Samantha would answer, but after a few moments, he heard an "Okay," from within, and he opened the door.

The room was small, with a dresser and a bed. Samantha was lying on the bed, all curled up, clutching a stuffed animal she must have brought from home. Cody sat on the bed, not sure what to do, or what to say. Finally, he took hold of her arm and pulled her up so that he could hug her, and was very relieved when she let him.

"I don't want Mommy to be dead!" she wailed into Cody's shirt.

"Me neither," Cody whispered. He had lost count of how many times he had cried in the last twenty-four hours, but found he didn't much care. What else _could_ a person do when their mother was dead? How could they _not_ cry? But he was finding a strange thing: as he held his sister, and tried to comfort her, it also comforted him. It was good, sometimes, how that kind of thing worked out.

After a while, Samantha's sobs subsided, and it was then that Cody told her everything that Lupin had told him. He expected the same sort of defiance from her as he had experiences when Lupin mentioned leaving his house, but Samantha did not say anything. Perhaps she, too, was drawing the same conclusions. "I don't care where we go," she whispered. "Just so they don't take you away."

"They won't," Cody said firmly. "And if they tried, I wouldn't let them. Ever."

He was glad that Samantha was not truly mad at him. On top of everything else, that would have been too much to take. He already felt horribly about his mother's death, and felt deep down that it was his fault. On one level, the Death Eaters had only come to his home because Cody had been with the group in the Ministry of Magic. Tiller and Avery had wanted revenge on Cody, else they never would have come. And he assumed that the American was someone they had had contact with.

But on a deeper level, Cody thought of his Harry Potter books, and how much he had wished that he could be a part of that world. Of how the magic of imagination had somehow made this fantasy come true, and it had led to this. Now that the initial shock of the attack and his mother's death was beginning to wear off, he found he could not get this thought out of his mind, or stave off the suffocating feeling of guilt from his chest.

He closed his eyes for a long time, before opening them, having once again exerted a sort of tenebrous control over himself for the time being. "Well..." he said softly to Samantha. "Maybe...maybe we should go and get our stuff tonight..." What time was it, anyway? "You think you can do that?"

Samantha nodded her head, rubbing at her red, puffy eyes.

"O-okay, I-I'll tell Lupin then okay?"

"No, don't leave!" Samantha said plaintively.

Cody nodded immediately, and settled back onto the bed. "Okay," he said. He could always tell Lupin later. He had the feeling that Samantha would fall asleep soon, anyway. She looked as exhausted as Cody felt.

He had been correct; Samantha did fall asleep not five minutes later, and Cody carefully let her lie on the bed. After a moment, he covered her with the blanket and crept from the room.

---

That night, Cody and Samantha returned to their house to collect what belongings they would be able to take. Lupin and Tony both came with them, and their wands out, just in case. Neither child had a whole _lot_ of belongings, as Mom had always encouraged them to play outside, or to read. Both did have a lot of books, however, and Lupin said that they should be able to take most of their things.

Cody had a toy chest full of toys, a dresser full of clothes, a video game unit, his books, a few board games, and some clothing in his closet. Samantha had much the same (she had Cody's older-model Nintendo unit). They would have to leave their furniture behind, but that was all right, they could always get more furniture. Cody also had his school trunk, Merlin's cage, and his broomstick and Samantha had a box full of art supplies like glue and crayons.

The difficult thing would be deciding what to do with Mom's stuff.

Cody and Samantha both went into her room and looked around, and that simple act was more difficult than Cody would have ever thought. The bed was neatly made, as Mom did always had done. The room smelled faintly of the oils that she liked to heat, and the soaps that she used in the bath; they were smells that Cody associated with her. She could have very easily walked in just then, asking curiously what Cody was doing. It was enough that he started crying all over again.

In the end, Cody and his sister both took a few little things that reminded them of her. She had three photo albums in the closet, and Cody insisted on taking those as well, and he crammed them into his toy box. He felt the mad urge to keep those photos safe, to protect them, as if they were living beings.

He left anything he had gotten her from the wizarding world behind. He told Lupin he could have them if he wanted. The wizarding world had killed his mother, Cody didn't want to take the things he had given her from that world. (Though Samantha did take the moving dragon picture.)

It was well into night when Cody and Samantha were finished gathering their things together. Tony and Lupin used their wands to reduce everything in size so that they could transport it in Tony's car, and Cody wondered why they could not do the same with the furniture.

"We could," Lupin said. "But there is not going to be a lot of room in my flat. Anything that can be left behind, that does not mean a great deal to you, we want to leave. It's not a matter of transporting it, but of having a place to put it once we reach our destination."

Cody blinked. "But weren't you staying at Gr--" he cut himself off, then lowered his voice a great deal as he repeated, "Grimmauld Place?"

Frowning, Lupin shook his head, and answered in a voice just as low as Cody's. "No. The Order had to abandon headquarters temporarily. There was a question of ownership once Sirius...passed away." Lupin closed his eyes for just a moment before continuing. "He left everything to Harry, but we worried about the house's enchantments and whether or not it would now belong to Bellatrix Black..Lestrange...or not. As you can imagine, that could be a slight problem if we were still there."

Problem, Cody thought. That was rather an understatement.

"And so I have a small flat nearby. If it ends up being all right, we will be moving in there."

"Okay," said Cody, biting his lip. He looked around his room, and at his furniture, and realized that this would probably be the last time he ever looked at it. This thought was somehow too awful to bear, and so he turned away from the room and instead latched himself onto Lupin's robes.


	60. Y6 Chapter 4: Changes

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 6**  
by Hyena Cub

**Chapter 4: Changes**

The next few days were a blur of tears and sorrow for Cody. The funeral was held, and there were very few people there. It was explained to Cody that there would be a second ceremony at a local graveyard for the Muggles that were Mom's friends and relatives, but Samantha and Cody would not be present for it. There was the possibility of more complications than they needed. Cody found he was happy about this. He didn't think he could take that many people, all mourning his mother, and he really didn't want to deal with a bunch of Muggles. With the exception of Samantha, Cody wasn't really feeling all too friendly toward the Muggle population at the moment.

Cody asked what would happen to their house, and Tony said that they were going to sell it, and auction off what was left in it. They would be able to exchange the money for wizard gold, which would be put in Cody's vault. Cody thought that he could use some of it to get himself and Samantha some furniture once they were settled in, wherever they would end up. He wondered, briefly, about that vault. It would have had to have belonged to his birth mother, or his father. He remembered his first day in Diagon Alley, when the little owl had delivered the package that contained his vault key, a key that resided in his school trunk at the moment. Who had sent that owl? He wondered. Could some of his blood relatives be alive still? And the vault was in Cody's name. It was something that he might, in time, want to find out.

But for now, he had quite enough to deal with.

---

It was nearly a week before Cody had decided that he wanted to live with Lupin. He did not know Tony that well, and the Weasleys had enough kids to feed and clothe. And Cody had always felt a connection to Lupin. It had been a painful, difficult decision to make, though. It meant saying goodbye to hot, sunny Florida, and living in a country that by Cody's standards never got very warm. It meant leaving everything that was familiar to him: the beaches, the sun, the playground that was by their house, the woods.

On the other hand, Cody had been living several months a year in England for the past five years; for him, the adjustment would not be as hard as it could be. Maybe it was for the best that the setting change so dramatically. The familiarity of Florida would only keep reminding Cody that his mother would never be there to enjoy the sun again.

Samantha would have the biggest adjustment to make, but she had repeated that so long as she was with Cody, she did not care where they lived. She did not say so in so many words, but Cody had the clear intuition that even she might prefer living abroad, if only to escape the pain of staying in the same state where she had lost her mother.

When Cody told him, Lupin had seemed very touched, and told Cody he was happy he had decided to come and live with him. He also mentioned that he believed Cody would be safer in England, closer to Dumbledore, despite the fact that Voldemort was there, too. America was a big place to keep track of Dark wizards.

They would be moving into Grimmauld Place; Lupin said that Dumbledore had determined that it was safe; Harry had proven his ownership over Kreacher (who thankfully had been sent to work at Hogwarts and was out of the house).

---

Moving was an adventure in several ways.

First of all, the full moon was approaching, and Lupin was somewhat distracted with this. The Wolfsbane Potion let Lupin remain in control of himself, but he still had to transform, which was not entirely pleasant. Cody was very surprised that Snape still made the potion for Lupin, knowing how much Snape disliked him, but he supposed it had been Dumbledore's request.

Secondly, three of the minor members of the Order of the Phoenix were all there during the move for security reasons, for there had been a lot of nasty things happening in England; disappearances, murders, and violence. Their presence was distracting and a little intimidating

Thirdly, the move itself was one big pain in the neck.

Lupin had to first move all of his belongings to Grimmauld Place. Not wanting to use the Floo network in England, knowing that Voldemort had spies within the ministry (where Floo travel was regulated), he used magic to teleport them to Number 12. (It was a spell Cody didn't recognize, but thought it might be a sort of Vanishing Spell.)

Then there were Cody and Samantha's belongings in America to deal with. To get them to England, they used the American Floo network, which Lupin felt fairly safe doing. Voldemort might have a following in that country, but Lupin said he doubted very much if he had much of a hold in the government; it was too big, and Voldemort didn't have that kind of manpower. Yet.. Once the children's belongings were in England (in Lupin's flat), Lupin used the same teleportation spell to get them into Grimmauld Place.

The whole affair took only a day and a half, but it was still a big pain, in Cody's opinion. He was very glad when it was over with.

After touring Grummauld Place, Cody and Samantha decided they wanted to live in the attic, which Lupin readily agreed to, and the two of them helped Lupin in getting all of their belongings up there. Samantha said she did not mind sharing a room, especially since Cody would be going back to Hogwarts in the fall, and the attic room would be hers, anyway. Samantha would be going to one of the public primary schools. It would be strange for her, adjusting to a life in a completely different country, but she said she was excited about the adventure. Cody supposed it would be a good distraction from Mom's death.

Cody himself had entered a mild state of mental numbness. As the shock wore off, Cody's mind began erecting a sort of mental barrier that shielded the horror of it from the main part of Cody's mind. He was able to distract himself, to not think of what had happened, to concentrate on the changes that were being made in his life. And from what he could tell, Samantha was doing the same thing. At some point, Cody would have to deal fully with it again, but for now, he was coping in the only way he knew how. As nig a pain as the move was, he was glad of the distraction.

There were dressers and wardrobes in the house already that they were able to clean up and use, but no beds. Cody decided he wanted to get a bunk bed at Diagon Alley, as opposed to a Muggle furniture store because the auction and the sale of his mother's house were still being dealt with, and all he had was wizard money. Once the bunk bed was in Grimmauld Place, he and Samantha spent an antire day arranging the attic to their liking.

Cody liked Grimmauld Place, especially since all of the stuff the Order had not thrown away during their purge of the place had ended up in the attic. There was nothing inordinately dangerous in there as far as Lupin could determine, though he told Cody to be careful all the same if he happened to rummage through them.

It was a good thing, too. Cody discovered a pair of sugar tongs that attacked him as soon as he opened the box, and he'd had to get Lupin to remove them from where they had clamped on his upper arm and refused to let go. It gave him a bruise, and Cody decided to keep them and sic them on the Slytherins if they annoyed him too much that year.

Then there was Mrs. Black's portrait, which still, unfortunately, hung in the hallway. At first, she scared the heck out of Samantha with her screeching and yowling, but the little girl got used to her surprisingly quickly. Cody took to having insult fights with the woman, as he had the previous Christmas. It seemed like ages away, when he had stayed here with Harry and the others, with Sirius and the Weasleys. Sirius was still alive, Mom was still alive, and Cody was enjoying the adventure. He supposed he still was, when he didn't think too much about the people they had lost.

Lupin himself was not always around, but there were some times when members of the Order would come and visit. They never let Cody listen in, though that didn't keep him from doing so sometimes anyway. He had to be careful not to get caught, however, and he had no Extendable Ears. He began noticing how haggard and thin Lupin was looking, but when Cody asked, Lupin waved off his worries. "It's bound to put some stress on us," he said. "It'll pass." But Cody wasn't so sure.

---

Five days after Cody and Samantha had settled into Grimmauld Place was the full moon. Cody had asked if he could watch Lupin change, which had earned him a very strange look, but Lupin said he did not see the harm in it. He had taken his Wolfsbane Potion, which let him remain in control of himself during the transformations. He still turned into a wolf, but he kept his human mind.

Samantha, of course, had been told that Lupin was a werewolf, and it had taken some convincing on Cody's part to reassure her that he was not dangerous. She believed him, but when it came time for Lupin to change, she decided that waiting in the attic was a grand idea.

"It doesn't hurt you, does it?" Cody asked. He glanced out the window, where the sky was still light. Lupin had a couple of hours, yet, maybe three, before he was to transform. Cody asked him once if he had to see the moon before he turned into a wolf, and Lupin said that no, he did not. That even if he didn't see the moon, after a while, the full moon's power would get to him. Seeing it only hastened the transformation.

Lupin shook his head, sighing a bit. "No. It's not exactly comfortable, but it is not painful to me, and the Wolfsbane Potion helps. I am used to it by now, but when I was younger... It took me a great deal of time to get used to the feeling of my bones changing, and fur to sprout from my skin."

Cody winced. "Wow. I bet it did. Did it hurt before you used the potion?"

"Yes, I still had the instinct to attack, even though there was no one nearby when I was in the Shrieking Shack, and so I turned on myself. I had no more control of it than my transformations." He smiled a bit. "I have not met many people who actually would want to see a werewolf transform. Most people are terrified of them."

"Nah, I know you'd never hurt me." Lupin smiled, seeming flattered by this expression of trust. "You're not insulted or anything, are you?" Cody asked suddenly. "Me wanting to watch you?"

"No," said Lupin quietly. "Had most people asked, I might have been. But I know you mean no disrespect. I also know that you are too curious for your own good!"

Cody shrugged agreeably. It wasn't as if he could deny it! After a moment, he looked up, having decided to talk to Lupin about everything that had been bothering him, and now seemed as good a time as any. "Professor -"

"Hold on a moment, Cody. I'm not your teacher any more, I am your guardian. And so if you would like to call me Remus, or Moony, you are certainly welcome. In fact I think I would like that."

Cody smiled a bit, and nodded. "Okay... I think I like Remus."

"Then Remus it is."

Cody sighed, thinking about what he was going to tell Lupin, wondering if he would think Cody was mad, or perhaps lying. But he had to tell someone. Even through the emotional block in his mind, even through the distractions, and the activity, there had been that clutch of guilt around his heart. That clutch was too strong for anything to break, and if talking about it could ease it... "I...it..." Cody bit his lip for a moment and then burst out, "It's my fault she died!"

Lupin blinked, a little startled by Cody's sudden burst of tears, and this guilt-ridden cry. He stared at Cody for a moment then walked over and put an arm around his shoulders. "Cody," he said softly. "Why do you say so?"

"B-because it is!" As hesitant as he had been a moment ago to tell, it seemed now as if he could not stop. He told Lupin about the Harry Potter books, about how he read them as soon as he had learned how to read, how he had wished he could go to Hogwarts. He told about the owl he had gotten, and how time had sort of stopped, to get Cody on the right track of autumn and summer. How little by little, Cody began to forget what was in the books, and after a while couldn't even find the books. They had not shown up when he and Samantha moved their belongings, and Cody was certain they were gone forever. He told of the owl that had delivered his key, and how there was gold in his vault at Gringotts. He told Lupin everything.

When the tale was done, Cody turned to Lupin, his eyes wide, half expecting to see a doubtful expression on his face. Lupin looked shocked, at least at first, but there was no disbelief. After a moment, a contemplative look came over his features. "Hogwarts...was in a book you read," he said slowly. "A fiction book. A story."

"Y-yes, I-I'm not lying, I swear."

"No, no," said Lupin. "I do not think that you are. And what was the author's name?"

"J.K. Rowling," said Cody. "Rahling...Rohling...I-I dunno how you say the name."

"Hmm. I have never heard of such, even among the Muggles." He looked down for a few moments, and then back to Cody. "And you believe that had you not wished this, had not invoked the magic of imagination, that your mother would still be alive?"

Cody nodded miserably, wiping his eyes with the back of his hands.

"I see. First of all, Cody, please know that I do not think you are mad, or lying to me. Some people don't realize it, and surely most Muggles don't realize it, but imagination is one of the most powerful and natural forms of magic. Unfortunately, one of the most uncontrollable. Not many wizards attempt to deliberately bend such to their will, as it is not easily done. But do not believe that it was entirely your doing that you traversed into this world. Now...I do not know everything about this matter, but I've been around, and have heard much. There are several dimensions on this earth, several different realities that co-exist. It is one of the things that the Department of Mysteries studies, if I'm not mistaken. And amazingly enough, there are Muggles who know of these worlds. Muggle children, mostly, though there are some adults who have not forgotten how to travel."

Cody felt very confused thus far, but continued to listen; it was very interesting.

"When a child plays pretend, he is traveling into one of the many worlds through his imagination. It's a great deal more than the simple pretending that most adults see. They travel in spirit and in mind to the other worlds that exist. Most fiction stories you can think of are real in some way, shape or form. The writers who write the books have simply peeked into that world and put it on paper. Sometimes the worlds meld, and those who have not forgotten about magic, and have not forgotten how to travel, can see those other worlds. That is where a lot of Muggle literature has come from. That's one reason there are so many different forms of fairies and unicorns and the like in their stories...because of the different worlds.

"This world is real, Cody, and always has been. Since long before this J.K. Rowling was born. But it seems to me that she did not forget how to travel, and did not forget the magic, and she caught a glimpse of this world. Now perhaps she thought it a dream, or even her own idea, but she was able to write this story, this world, down for others to share. You were simply able to travel, physically, into this reality."

This did not make Cody feel any better. "So...so it my fault," he whispered. "I traveled to this world an' dragged my mom an' Samantha into it, and -" He cut himself off, not able to speak anymore for the lump that was hitching from his chest into his throat. Maybe it was his heart; if felt like it might be.

At this, Lupin shook his head. "I don't believe that it is, Cody. This world exists whether or not you read about it. It is my belief that what has happened would have happened whether you read your books or not. I think that you were meant to be a part of this world, Cody, or perhaps were from this world to begin with since you do have a wizard's powers. Perhaps it was the books that traveled from another world. You could not possibly have known what would happen! And truth to tell, it is probably a good thing you did read those books before you were introduced to this world. It let you know what to expect, and how to deal with it."

"You...you think so?"

"I do."

Cody frowned, and then thought to ask something else that had been confusing him about the whole deal. "Time..." he said. "Time stopped for a while, for my whole first year. I stayed seven for two years, but then my second year it went straight again. It was beginning of summer when I went my first year an' when I came back it still was."

Lupin frowned. "What time of year did you go the second time?"

"End of summer, like, almost September."

Lupin nodded. "Ah. Well my guess here is that since you started your journey into this world in the summer, that time fluctuated to get you totally transported to our world. As you first came to Hogwarts at the wrong time, it adjusted itself to fit. For that matter, it may well be that you at first remembered what was in the stories also to make the adjustment into this reality a little easier. And you slowly began to forget, so as to complete the journey. That also explains your books. Having been the tools from that world that allowed you to see this one, they could not complete the journey."

"Oh. I guess that makes sense." Cody was silent a moment longer, and then bit his lip. "But...but those Death Eaters...they wouldn'ta come if...if I didn't -"

When Lupin's voice interrupted, it was stern. "Now don't you blame yourself for them," he said. "You did what you thought was the right thing, and that is always what you should do. You are not to blame for the likes of them. You know as well as I do that Voldemort's people look for any excuse to hurt people. It is not your fault, Cody. And don't let anyone tell you that it is."

Cody took a bit breath and let it out, finally nodding his head. He still felt horrible, but the guilty fist around his heart had loosened a great deal, which made it easier to bear. "Okay," he whispered. He wondered, briefly, if ThunderCats were real, too, but decided that he did not want to find out. This world had been quite enough to deal with!

He was quiet for a moment, and then frowned, still feeling troubled. "Do you know who Mallory Gregor is?" Cody asked, staring down at his toes.

Lupin cocked his head. "Yes. She was one of Voldemort's people, but has not been in England for quite some time. I'm not actually sure where she went, but I don't think she's in Europe."

"She went to America," said Cody, still studying his bare feet. "She's dead now."

Looking a bit confused, Lupin peered searchingly at Cody. "How do you know this?" he asked.

Cody shrugged. "Tony told me. And...she's the reason I got Sorted in Slytherin. She was my birth mom." He glanced almost guiltily up at Lupin's face, which looked surprised, but not shocked. That encouraged Cody to continue the story, telling him all that Tony had found out about Mallory Gregor, and where Cody had heard the name to begin with, and said that must be why Sirius' mother recognized him.

"I see," said Lupin at last. "How do you feel about all of this?"

"Well...not really afraid. Kinda upset I guess. That my mom was a Death Eater. An' that she killed my dad. But...but I guess it's not that bad. My real m-mom..." Cody clenched his teeth for a moment and continued. "My real mom wasn't her. It was Mom, when she adopted me."

Lupin put a hand on Cody's head. "Good. Do you fear that her alliance with Voldemort will affect you in any way?"

At this, Cody shook his head vehemently. "No way."

Lupin smiled. "I didn't think that it would."

Cody managed a smile, then, and feeling a whole lot better after this quasi-confession, he leaned back against the couch. He kind of wondered about his birth family, his father especially, but even his mother. A morbid sort of curiosity made Cody wonder who they might have been, but he didn't know how to go about researching it. He somehow didn't think that the local library had records on old wizarding families!

The two sat in silence for a few moments, until Lupin sighed wearily and stood up away from the couch, sitting on the floor, instead. "Tends to be safer for my furniture to keep away from it when I transform," he said by way of explanation. "I gain a great deal of weight, and my claws sometimes stick into the cushions."

Cody nodded his head, and though he was very interested, he also felt very sad for Lupin. There was a sort of terrible weariness in his eyes, and even though he knew Lupin was not that old, he seemed a lot older. He watched Lupin close his eyes, and caught the light of the rising moon outside the window.

At first, nothing happened, but then a low, strange sound caught Cody's ears, and as he watched, he realized it was Lupin's _bones_ growing, and creaking, and changing. The boy shuddered at the thought of what that must feel like, even if it didn't actually hurt! He winced as a muzzle suddenly pushed itself out of Lupin's face, the features melting like wax into that of a wolf's. He watched fur growing from Lupin's skin and saw a grimace on Lupin's face as fangs suddenly emerged. Cody wondered why Lupin didn't rip his clothing, but then saw that he was wearing an extremely baggy robe. He heard a soft sound in Lupin's throat, a sort of muted howl.

Cody had seen Lupin transform once before, in third year, after the night that they discovered Scabbers was a wizard who had been pretending to be a rat for twelve years, but this was different than it had been then. The difference was subtle, but quite evident to Cody. Lupin had failed to take his potion that time, and had surrendered completely to the beast.

Soon, the transformation was complete, and while Lupin looked mostly like a wolf, Cody saw certain differences. The face was a bit different, and his front paws looked somewhat like hands. He hunched over on all fours, but was quite a lot bigger than a normal wolf. As Cody stood up and peered at Lupin, he looked into the wolf's eyes, and did not see the eyes of a beast. He saw the eyes of a human, and saw the soul of a human behind them. The last time Cody had seen this transformation, Lupin's eyes had changed dramatically, becoming those of an inhuman creature. He giggled softly, feeling an unexpected rush of fondness for his former teacher. "Aw, you're a cute wolf." Lupin blinked, and then gave Cody a _look_. But Cody thought he might have seen a smirk in those eyes as well. "How long do you stay like that?" Cody asked.

Lupin looked at him for a moment, and shook his head, making a strange sort of low growl. Then he managed to splay one "finger" on the floor, and nodded up to the window, where a large full moon showed itself through the glass.

"Just one night?" Cody guessed, and got a nod from Lupin.

The newly changed wolf shook off the over-large robe and then shook his fur out. He sighed and headed tiredly toward his bedroom, where Cody knew he was going to rest.

Cody and Samantha had been told in advance what would happen during Lupin's transformations. As in werewolf form, Lupin could do very little that he could as a human, Cody and Samantha would be largely on their own. But then since starting at Hogwarts, Cody had been unusually independent for someone so young, and Cody said he could handle it. Lupin made sure there was enough in the kitchen that Cody could prepare for himself and his sister to eat that night without using the stove. Lupin had his own food for when he was in this form (if he got hungry enough to want some), which consisted of raw meat. Cody had tried some of it just for the heck of it and was not entirely impressed.

Cody sighed, and went up to the attic to see how his sister was doing. He found her reading one of her books. "Hi," Cody said.

"Hi," she said. Since their mother's death, Samantha had been somber and quiet, which was not much like her. At the ages of three and four, she had been a little shy, but had grown out of it. Now, it seemed, she had reverted; at least for the time being. "Is he done?"

"Yeah, he went to rest."

"Was it really scary?"

Cody considered for a moment, and then shook his head. "If it was a werewolf I didn't know, and he didn't have the potion I'd be scared. But I wasn't afraid of Lupin. An' it was kinda cool. I told him he made a cute wolf an' he gave me a dirty look." He giggled a little and was happy to see Samantha smile.

"Is he gonna rest the whole time?"

"Prob'ly not. I bet it really makes him tired, though."

"Yeah." The little girl yawned.

"You look tired, you gonna sleep?"

Predictably, Samantha shook her head, though Cody knew she'd fall asleep soon anyway. No matter what, she always resisted it. And Cody wasn;t gonna try to make her go to bed, not after he spent most of his life resisting bedtime himself! "Okay," said Cody. "I'm not goin' to bed yet, either." She nodded and went back to her book, and Cody slipped down the stairs.

Feeling a bit melancholy, Cody wandered back out into the main room and flopped on the couch, thinking about werewolves, and how the ministry dealt with them. He wondered if the new Minister would take back the law that didn't let Lupin get a job. He hoped so.


	61. Y6 Chapter 5: Mad Eye and Mail

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 6**  
by Hyena Cub

**Chapter 5: Mad-Eye and Mail**

A sudden, quiet knock at the door startled Cody and he sat up, frowning. He unclipped his wand, just in case, and stood quietly up, creeping out into the entrance hall. He was about to go and get Lupin when the wolf crept from his room and gave Cody an interrogative look. Cody shrugged. "Should I ask who it is?" he whispered, as whoever it was knocked again. Lupin nodded, and Cody called, "Who is it?"

"Alastor Moody," came a voice that was more a growl than anything else.

Cody looked to Lupin, who after a moment, nodded once more, but looked ready to spring if needed. Cody, keeping hold of his wand, walked forward and turned the knob, opening the door and taking a couple of steps back. It was indeed the grizzled, scarred form of Alastor Moody, but that did not necessarily mean a whole lot. "How do I know it's really you?" Cody asked suspiciously. After all, the first time he had met "Moody", it had turned out to be a disguised Death Eater. Cody did not hold his wand on Moody, but he was ready to if he needed.

Moody looked mildly surprised, his normal eye looking from Cody's face to his wand, and then he nodded in approval. "Very good, DeDannan. Constant vigilance - it's good to see." He glanced at Lupin, then back at Cody. He did not move forward or put his hand anywhere near his wand, which was sticking out just slightly from his robes. He seemed to be waiting for Cody either to let him in or demand proof of who he was.

Cody was at first not sure how to do this, and then he thought of something he could ask that only the real Moody would know. "What did you guys call yourselves when you went to Harry's to get him last summer?" Cody had not been there, but had heard the story.

Moody actually smiled a little, stepped in, and closed the door before replying quietly, "The Advance Guard."

Satisfied, Cody clipped his wand back onto his belt loop. He was fairly sure that no one that wasn't a part of the group could have known the answer to that. "Cool." Besides, who else could have known how to get to Number 12, Grimmauld Place? There were too many charms protecting it. Still, Cody was feeling paranoid.

"I just stopped by to see if you were all doing all right," Moody growled, stepping into the room. Cody glanced at Lupin, who winked, and nodded his approval. "I knew this would be the first time Lupin transformed while you and your sister were here."

"Oh." Cody smiled a little shyly and led the way back into the living room, sitting on the couch. "Thanks. We're okay. It was kinda cool watching Remus transform, though." He caught Lupin rolling his eyes, but he did not look unhappy as he lay down on the floor.

Moody raised a brow. "Remus?"

Cody nodded. "Yeah. He said I could call him that, or Moony. I like Remus."

"I see. You all right as for preparing meals, and everything?"

"Yeah, we got sandwich stuff, I can make for me and Samantha."

"That's good. Is there any word yet on the scum that killed your mother?"

Cody blinked, caught a little wrongfooted by the question. Although he had not known the real Moody that long, or met him often, one thing that he noticed right away was Moody's knack for being incredibly blunt. And sometimes it was difficult to respond to. In demeanor, he was not very different from the Death Eater who had impersonated him that year. "Umm...n-no," he finally said. "I...I don't think they caught them yet. An' Tony woulda told me if they caught the American one." Lupin got up, walked over to Cody and lay down right next to him as a gesture of comfort. Cody smiled and put an arm around him.

"I see," said Moody. "If I ever catch them, you can be sure they'll get what they deserve."

"Thanks," said Cody softly.

"No need for thanks," said Moody. "Those scum don't deserve to live. At the very least, they don't deserve to walk free among decent people."

Cody was not sure how to respond to that, and so said nothing. He did catch sight of Samantha poking her head in the door, looking at Moody, then retreating quickly. At Moody's interrogative glance, Cody explained that she was probably scared of him. "She's not used to all the magic stuff yet," he said. "'Specially since I couldn't do magic at home, she only heard stories about Hogwarts from me, and you're kinda scary looking. And then the Death Eaters did...." He gulped, then went on. "And she saw me do magic too, kinda scary magic...." He trailed off, shrugged, and then glanced up at Moody's eye. "And your eye is creepy."

Moody laughed rustily, and shook his head. "I see. You like to make a point about my eye being 'creepy', don't you, boy?"

Cody nodded agreeably.

With an impish smirk (which on Moody, looked quite bizarre), the old Auror cupped his hand to his face, and with a nasty squishing sound, popped the magical eye from its socket. Taken completely by surprise, Cody gaped for several seconds, his eyes wide, and then said indignantly, "Eu! Gross! That's gross!"

Lupin made a sort of chuffing sound that Cody suspected was laughter, and even Moody was smirking a bit. He tossed his eye to Cody, who through a good deal of willpower did not recoil from it. With a look of disgusted fascination, he picked the eye up from his lap, making sure to hold it firmly enough that it wouldn't spin around.

He looked up at Moody, who was still smirking in an amused sort of way, and Cody wondered at seeing this playful side of the ex-Auror. But then, Cody thought, surely he was not simply grim and grumpy all the time. It was nice to see that Moody did enjoy playing once in a while, even if he did have a demented sense of humor. "This..." Cody held up the eye, "...is gross."

Looking as if he were enjoying himself, Moody chuckled. "You're right. It needs to be cleaned. Do me a favor and put it in a glass of water, will you? It'll spin itself clean."

"Um, sure." Still looking at the unnatural eye, Cody stood, shook his head, and left the room, heading downstairs into the kitchen. He set the eye on the counter, where it peered at him, as Cody climbed up to get a glass. "Quit looking at me," he said to the eye. It did not listen, of course, and that brought up the question in Cody's mind about whether an eye could hear. It was an eye, after all, not an ear.

Cody got a big glass down from the cupboard, filled with water, and plopped the eye into it. It began to spin very fast, which was at once both disgusting, and very interesting. He watched for a few moments then called, "How long does it have to spin?" Unfortunately, his yell awoke Mrs. Black, who started to screech, and Cody sighed. He was still not used to being quiet around the stupid entrance hall!

"Five minutes or so!" Moody yelled back over the woman's cries. "I'll deal with the painting!"

"Okay!" And he continued to watch. Once about five minutes had passed, and Mrs. Black had quit yelling, Cody spilled out the water into the basin, and let the eye fall into his hand. It spun yet more, and Cody marveled again at how strange the eye felt, warm and smooth. He carried it back into the living room and handed it back to Moody.

"Thank you," he said. Watching Moody pop the eye back in, Cody said he was welcome. "Does it truly bother you?" Moody asked after a moment, sounding curious.

"No," said Cody. "Not too much, really. It's gross but it's kinda cool, too."

"Ah. Good." Moody stood and stretched a little bit. Lupin was still on the couch, looking a little forlorn. "Well, DeDannan, Lupin," said Moody. "I'm going to head off, then. I only wanted to see if you;d be all right for tonight. You be careful."

"I will," Cody promised. "Thanks for comin'."

"You're welcome." Cody saw Moody to the door, then closed and locked it. He thought it had been very nice of him to come by and see if they were all okay.

Cody turned to Lupin then. "Are _you_ okay?" he asked, going over to the couch.

The wolf turned to him and nodded wearily, getting down onto the floor. He rose slowly to a sort of hunched standing position and sighed, looking down on himself. It must suck, Cody thought, to look down and see that, when it's not what you wanted. On impulse, he hugged Lupin, and after a moment, felt the paw-hand hugging him back. It was strange, but no less comforting than it was when Lupin was human.

Cody had expected to be at least fascinated by the werewolf Lupin for quite a while, but he had adapted quite quickly to the idea. He supposed that he was used to magic by now, and the werewolf was so obviously Lupin, that it did not really seem strange at all. He yawned. "I'm gonna go to bed. I don't want to but my self is tired, so I guess I will anyway."

Lupin chuffed quietly and moved back down to all fours, which Cody suspected was more comfortable, and headed up the stairs to his room. Cody realized something then: of the four who had called themselves the Marauders, who had been the best of friends in school, Lupin was the only one left. Cody's skin broke out in prickly gooseflesh as he thought of how horrified Lupin must have felt at Sirius Black's death, not only having lost a friend, but knowing that friend had been the only one he had left. James Potter killed by Voldemort fifteen years before, Peter Pettigrew having betrayed them and gone over to the Dark Side, Sirius Black imprisoned for twelve years for a crime he didn't commit and then killed by one of Voldemort's Death Eaters.... Cody bit his lip. Who did Lupin have to comfort _him_ when awful things happened? Cody had Lupin, and his sister, and his friends, and the Weasleys, and Tony.... Who did grown-ups turn to when they felt horrible? Feeling like he was going to cry, Cody headed slowly into his new attic bedroom, vowing to be extra nice to Lupin.

He was surprised to see his sister was still lying awake, a book on the bed in front of her. But it did not look like she was reading it. "Hi," he said.

"Hi."

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Who's that creepy man? Is he the one you talked about?"

"That's Professor Moody. Well, not Professor, I guess, but he's a good guy though, even if he's scary looking. I swear."

Samantha did not look entirely convinced. "He's just...creepy. And...and Lupin's creepy too when he's a wolf."

Cody sighed; Lupin probably got that reaction all the time, even from people who knew that he was safe when he took his potion. "I know," he finally said. "But he's a good guy too. A really good guy. He wouldn't ever hurt you. Or let anyone else." He sat on the edge of the bunk; Samantha slept on the bottom bunk, as the higher one made her nervous. Cody was fine with that, he preferred the upper one.

"I want Mommy back," Samantha whispered.

And that explained why Samantha hadn't slept yet. Cody didn't blame her. Although in the daytime he could distract himself from the huge change that had occurred in his life, could keep himself from thinking about it, at night it was not always so easy.

Samantha was crying quietly, and after a moment, so was Cody. He moved over and hugged his sister, who held onto him almost tightly enough to hurt. For a good long time, neither moved. They only silently commiserated, neither really needing to say anything. For the first time in a long time, Cody let himself think and dwell extensively on his mother, and the fact that she was no longer with him. He let himself think of how short a time he had with her. She had adopted him when he was six, and at the age of seven, Cody had gone to Hogwarts, and saw her for less than half the year. And each year after that. He had spent only two Christmases with her, and then she was taken from him. The guilt seemed to clench him again for a minute, as he thought of how little he had seen her, and then she wasn't there anymore.

But after a moment he remembered his conversation with Lupin before he transformed. About how these things likely would have happened whether or not Cody had read about them beforehand. He remembered Mom telling him once that he had found what it was he should be doing in life. And he did not feel quite so bad.

Samantha had cried herself to sleep, and Cody felt exhausted as well. Lying Samantha down on the mattress and covering her up, he stood and dragged his blanket and pillow down from his bunk. And once he had turned out the light, he curled up with Samantha on her bunk, and closed his eyes.

---

It wasn't an easy thing, figuring out what he was going to tell people. Obviously, those he corresponded with would have to know he moved--Lupin had said Cody could not tell anyone about Grimmauld Place, but that he could have letters sent to Hogwarts, and that Dumbledore would send them along. Cody knew he had to tell his friends what happened, but how? How did you put something like this in a letter? "Dear Graham, my mom died a couple of weeks ago. -Cody"? Not quite.

He spent a while thinking on this, his quill in one hand, ink bottle open, staring at the parchment. Finally he decided to write nearly the same things to most of his friends.

_Dear Graham,_  
_ A lot of stuff has happened. My mom and sister got attacked by Kyle Tiller, and two other Death-Eaters. One was Avery, the guy that was with Tiller in the Ministry that I Stunned. The other was American. I was visiting Tony and when we got back, they were still there. Samantha's all right...but they killed my mom._  
_ Me and my sister live with Lupin now. I'm glad he's here. Anyway...I wanted you to know where I was and what was going on. Guess I live in England for good now._  
_ I'm okay, I guess. As much as I can be okay anyway. Lupin helps a lot. And Samantha too._  
_ Hope you guys are all right. If you send a letter, send it to Dumbledore at Hogwarts, okay?_  
_- Cody_

Cody reread the letter, wiping his eyes. He'd left a couple of blotches on the ink from crying, but it was still legible. He wrote the same thing to Kathy Skinner, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Neville Longbottom. Ron Weasley's letter was the same, except that Cody began the letter with "I think you already know..." since the Weasleys had offered to take Cody in.

Cody certainly had been tempted to accept their offer. He had enjoyed his visit with them during the Quidditch World Cup, and with such a full house, the distractions would be sufficient to keep his mind off of his mother. And he remembered how they treated people that were their friends: like family. But he did not regret his decision; he cared a lot for Lupin, and Cody felt that being part of such a large family like the Weasleys, he might get overlooked a great deal if he stayed there. And besides, he didn't like thinking of Lupin living all alone here.

His letter to Marcus Flint only briefly mentioned his mother; Cody did not want to go into much detail about the whos and hows with him. But his letter to Kyle....

Kyle was not going to be easy to write to, and Cody almost did not do it. He knew that Kyle would feel very badly. He remembered how angry Kyle had been to hear his brother had attacked Cody at the Ministry, and this was far worse. Finally, he sighed, and got out another sheet of parchment, dipped his quill into the ink, and wrote:

_Dear Kyle,_  
_ Well, a lot of stuff has happened. My family got attacked by Death Eaters...my sister's okay but my mom was killed. Me and my sister live with Remus Lupin now...you know him, right? I'm okay pretty much. Lupin helps a lot, I'm glad he's here._  
_ I hope you don't get really upset... But it was Dustin that killed her. The one named Avery was there too, and an American, but it was Dustin that did the curse. I didn't know if I should tell you but it seemed wrong to not. I'm sorry._  
_ Anyways. Hope you're okay. Send any letters to Dumbledore at Hogwarts, okay?_  
_- Cody_

It was the only way he knew how to say it. He hoped that Kyle would not be too upset. He gazed at the letter with dry eyes; by that time he'd stopped crying and felt rather numb again about the whole thing.

Lupin took Cody to the Post Office in Hogsmeade to mail the letters, saying that it was too many for Merlin to do alone. Cody had agreed, and soon the letters were sent.

Cody got replies from all of them; apparently Hermione and Harry knew, from correspondence with Ron, and they sent their sympathies, as much as could be done in a letter. Neville and Graham and Kathy had all expressed shock as well as sympathy. Graham said that as soon as he could, he was going to come over and visit and make sure Cody was okay. Cody knew that Graham would not be able to visit him at Grimmauld Place, but hoped that something could be worked out.

Kyle had been furious, to say the least, and said that if he ever saw his brother again that he would kill him. And he said that he hoped Cody was all right, and even apologized, which made Cody mad. Kyle shouldn't have to apologize, and he certainly didn't deserve a brother like Dustin Tiller. Cody wrote back saying please not to kill him, or Kyle could end up in Azkaban. And Kyle _definitely_ did not deserve that. Cody needed to visit Kyle and Kathy. He had not seen them for a while now. The last time had been the Quidditch World Cup, two whole years ago.

The boy sighed and went over to Merlin's cage. He took the little bat out of his cage and held him for a few moments before sending him off with Kyle's letter. Then he went back into his and Samantha's room, picked out a book, and began to read it.


	62. Y6 Chapter 6: Madame Malkin's

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 6**  
by Hyena Cub

**Chapter 6: Confrontation in Madame Malkin's**

The time passed quickly. At the end of July was Harry's birthday party, and Cody and Lupin would be going to Ron's house to celebrate it. Cody was glad to be going there again; had been corresponding with the Weasleys all summer, but it was not the same as seeing them in person. When he got there, Mrs. Weasley greeted him with a hug, which was a surprise, but welcome. Mr. Weasley clapped the boy on the shoulder and ushered him, Lupin, and Samantha inside.

Cody introduced his little sister to the Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione, who all seemed to think that Samantha was "cute". Cody supposed she was, for a girl-brat, but it wasn't a word one normally thought of when describing their own sisters. Still, he was glad to see that Samantha seemed to like the Weasleys very much, and only acted shy for a few moments.

The party was fun, for the most part. Cody gave Harry his birthday present, a handsome quill set that Lupin had found in Diagon Alley, since Cody hadn't had the chance to get there himself. On seeing the different effect inks it came with, he thought he might snag one for himself, too. Cody noticed that Hermione's eye looked like it had gotten punched, and was highly amused when he found out what had done it; apparently she had run afoul of one of the Weasley twins' trick items. In this case, a telescope that punched the poor victim when the thing was squeezed. "And they'd better have a way of getting rid of this, too," she grouched when Ron had finished the story. "Because it's resisting all attempts to heal it."

He tried very hard not to laugh.

Once the presents hd been given, and people had had the chance to catch up on news, the talk was steered into less pleasant waters. Lupin mentioned that there had been several Dementor attacks (the Dementors had abandoned Azkaban), and that Igor Karkaroff had been murdered, presumably by Voldemort or his followers.

"Florean Fortescue's gone missing, too," said Bill said gloomily. "Ollivander, too, but at least with him there was no sign of a struggle...we're hoping he left of his own accord." Mrs. Weasley was less than happy about the turn the conversations had taken, and steered into less dire straights.

When Mrs. Weasley got up to begin getting supper ready, Cody grabbed Samantha around the waist, making her shriek with indignant surprise, and launched a tickle attack on her. Samantha's outraged yells and wild giggling was sufficient distraction from the awful news that Lupin and Bill had shared with the group, and even Mrs. Weasley didn't tell thm to take it outside. She seemed glad of the distraction herself, smirking distractedly at them from the kitchen. When Cody finally let his sister up, she clenched her fists and said he was a big fart-head, which only made Cody laugh. She jumped at him, and Cody finally let her pin him down, stifling a giggle at her smug nod of satisfaction.

Dinner was delicious as usual. No one talked about You-know-Who during the meal, for which Cody was grateful. Lupin did mention, however that he had heard the employees of the Department of Mysteries seemed to have lost two of Jupiter's moons from the Creation chamber: Europa and Ganymede. Cody choken on his apple jioce, trying not to laugh, and tried to look innocent. He and Dustin Tiller had been responsible for that, when they had fought, and he wondered where the little moons had ended up.

From there, talk turned to things such as school, Quidditch, and other light-hearted subjects. The pall that had been cast before began to lift.

The party was over only too soon. As everyone stood up and the Weasleys began clearing the table, Cody sighed; he and Samantha were going to stay with the Weasleys until they went to Diagon Alley for school supplies. Lupin said he'd feel much better if Cody and Samantha went there in a group. Cody hugged Lupin good bye, and informed him that he wasn't allowed to die. Lupin said that he had no intentions of doing so, and that Cody was to be cautious also. "Though," he said in a whisper, smirking a bit, "I highly doubt you'll have the opportunity to get into trouble with Molly around." Cody managed a smile as Lupin left.

Feeling a little melancholy at Lupin's departure, Cody decided that pouncing on Bill was the only remedy for this. There ensued a fast and furious wrestling match, which of course Cody lost. He wished there was someone around here besides his sister who couldn't so easily pin him and tickle him. Bill claimed he was avenging Samantha for earlier.

When came the time for bed, he and Samantha were given the choice of taking Percy's old room, or sleeping on the couch or chair in the living room, and Cody choose the couch, in a heartbeat. He wanted nothing to do with Percy's old anything; things that once belonged to Percy seemed to be a bad omen. Scabbers the rat, for instance. Cody had liked _him_ a whole lot better as a cute rat. Samantha, on the other hand, said she'd stay in Percy's room, which surprised Cody a little bit. He supposed she was maybe enjoying being a little more independent than she was used to being.

The next day, the Hogwarts letters came with their supply lists and other notifications. Harry had been made Quidditch captain, and Cody congratulated him. He wondered suddenly who the Slytherin captain would be, and suspected that it would be Malfoy. Cody had just about decided that he wasn't going to play Quidditch that year, but thinking of it still made him feel upset; he loved Quidditch almost more than anything at Hogwarts. Unfortunately, he doubted that he would be welcome within a mile of the Quidditch team after last year if Malfoy made the team captaincy. Cody tried not to think of it during his stay at the Weasleys'. Fortunately there were plenty of distractions in a house that was so full of people and interesting things.

As the next few days passed, Cody began seeing a lot of Fleur Delacour, the snooty Beauxbatons girl from the Triwizard Tournament. She was dating Bill, which had Cody feeling vaguely disgruntled. They acted in a thoroughly disgusting manner when together too, that had Cody exclaiming often how gross romance was. Bill seemed highly amused.

Fleur, however, was quite haughty. She said that Cody was only a little boy, and that he would not understand. Not that he argued his lack of understanding of mushy crap, but he didn't appreciate how she acted around him, indeed around most of the Weasley family as well. Cody kept his distance, because if he didn't, the words like "stupid cow" and "snobby git" that were running around his head were going to escape, and he didn't want trouble.

A trip for Diagon Alley was planned for the weekend. Bill got money for Harry and Cody out of their vaults at Gringotts, and when Cody asked why, Bill said it was far easier that way. What with all of the increased security, it was taking hours sometimes for people get their money, and there was one poor guy who had apparently gotten a secrecy sensor stuck someplace...unpleasant. Cody wasn't sure what a Secrecy Sensor was, but it didn't sound fun. 'Yeah,' Cody thought. 'Definitely better this way!'

Come Saturday, he asked how they would get to Diagon Alley, and Mrs. Weasley told him that they were taking Ministry cars, because of Harry. He asked if Samantha was going to come, and Mrs. Weasley said of course she was, they wouldn't leave her alone at the Burrow. Samantha was excited; she had only been to Diagon Alley once, before Cody's third or fourth year.

"I'm high security, I guess," said Harry with a sort of crooked smile, as he climbed into the vast back seat of the vehicle.

"Yeah, now that the stupid pr--" Ron began, but was hushed by a smack on his arm by Mrs. Weasley.

"Now, that's enough! Go on now, get in, I want this to be done with as quickly as possible. We'll get your school supplies, visit Fred and George's new shop, and head back home."

Cody climbed into the car, slipping onto the front seat before anyone else could claim it. He was joined comfortably on the magically-stretched seat by Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, who tried to persuade him into the backseat, but in the end, Cody out-stubborned them. That was one of his specialties, stubbornness. Samantha sat in the back with Ron and the others.

As they started off, and Mr. Weasley told Harry they'd be meeting up with additional security once they reached the Leaky Cauldron, Cody looked up at the driver. He was a bored-looking wizard with short, blond hair and blue eyes. "So, can I drive?" Cody asked.

The driver blinked, and then laughed, shaking his head slightly and turning into the nearby road from the Burrow. "Not likely," he said. "Forget my job, it'd be my head if I let you drive this car."

Cody shrugged with a sort of grin on his face. "Well, I tried!" It was too bad; it would be really fun to drive a car!

"You're weird," said Ron, probably for the billionth time.

"I know." It wasn't something Cody could really argue, after all, so he always agreed.

Little else was said for the next few minutes, not until they had reached a gray-looking street in London, where Cody knew the Leaky Cauldron to be. The driver asked how long they were going to be, as he had orders to wait for them. Cody climbed over the Weasley parents to get out of the car, earning a half-amused, half exasperated sound and a rather hard swat on the rear end from Mrs. Weasley. Cody yelped in indignation, and then laughed as he gained the relative safety of the street.

The eerie mist that hung everywhere in England was here too, making what should have been a warm day quite chilly. Cody, who had complained about this cold summer and the Dementors causing it more than once, was wearing jeans, long sleeves, and his winter cloak. He didn't even want to think about how much worse it would make that winter seem. He hoped the mist was not at Hogwarts.

The others got out from the backseat, at least half of them (including Cody) jumping at a very loud voice exclaiming, "Harry!"

Cody spun around, astonished that he had managed to overlook him: Hagrid! He laughed as Hagrid swept Harry up into one of his famous (and potentially deadly) bear hugs. "Buckbeak - I mean Witherwings," said Hagrid happily. "Yeh should see him Harry, he's so happy to be back in the open air!"

"Witherwings?" asked Cody, turning to Ron as Harry and Hagrid exchanged their greetings.

"Oh," said Ron. "Buckbeak, he's back with Hagrid. But we're calling him Witherwings now, so the ministry doesn't come after him again. You know them, they can't tell one animal from another."

Cody grinned. "Great! I'm glad that he's all right...I'll have to say hi to him when we get to Hogwarts!"

He was distracted just then with Hagrid grabbing him from behind, and lifting him into the air. He let a cry of surprise, and a laugh as he was lifted above Hagrid's head, then brought down with a hug. As usual, it knocked nearly all of the breath from him. "An' how are yeh, Cody?" he asked, poking Cody in the side.

"Ow!' laughed Cody, rubbing the spot where he'd been poked. "Jeez, I'd hate for you to get _ mad_ at me! Angry...whatever."

Hagrid only laughed and set Cody back down on the ground, mussing the boy's hair so that it looked something like Harry's. Ron snickered at him as he smoothed it out a little.

"Well, come on, then," said Hagrid, opening the door to the Leaky Cauldron. "After yeh, Molly, Arthur."

Cody followed everyone else into the pub, and Hagrid shut the door behind him. The place was completely deserted, and Tom the barkeeper was highly disappointed that none of them were staying for a drink. Cody felt sorry for him; he must be very bored. Except for those on the Knight Bus, Tom had been the first wizard that Cody had ever met, and he had a certain fondness for him. He waved to the old man as they paraded out into the back courtyard, and got a wave back.

Diagon Alley was not the same as Cody remembered it. Aside from huge Ministry of Magic posters hung everywhere, giving people tips on avoiding harm, or warning people of the Death Eaters that were still at large; the entire atmosphere of the place had changed. 'Fear must be a really powerful thing,' Cody thought as he looked around in dismay.

The entire place seemed darker, dimmer, gloomier. The people huddled in groups, some looking fearfully around, others simply moving quickly and with purpose down the street. Many shops looked empty. Cody bit his lip as he looked over to the ice cream parlor, the one he liked to sit at and have huge ice cream cones, and saw that it was boarded up. He remembered sitting with Kathy Skinner once and talking about how half of Slytherin sucked a big weenie. And now Florean Fortescue was gone...

It wasn't right. It wasn't how Diagon Alley was supposed to be.

And if all of that wasn't bad enough, there were what looked like the sale booths that you saw at arts festivals, carnivals, and fairs everywhere; except that most of these were charlatans who seemed determined to take advantage of the atmosphere of fear that had gripped the wizarding world. They were selling all manner of supposedly foolproof means of protection. In fact, Mrs. Weasley was accosted by one offering to sell her an amulet for Ginny; Mr. Weasley had been highly offended by this. Ron explained to Cody in a whisper that Mr. Weasley had changed departments within the Ministry solely to arrest charlatans like this who were selling fake and sometimes dangerous items to people who only wanted to protect their families. Cody called him a git as they passed the shabby kiosk.

The group split up once they had gotten into the middle of the street, near most of the shops that they needed to visit. Harry, Hermione, and Ron went with Hagrid into Madame Malkin's, and the rest of the Weasleys went into Flourish and Blotts for schoolbooks. Cody gave Mrs. Weasley some money and his booklist, saying that he had to get new robes; he did, too, as his own were several inches too short. "I shoulda got them last year, really," said Cody. "They were too small last year." It would be nice to have new robes! His old ones were worn and torn; he was not easy on his clothing. He and Samantha joined Hagrid's group as they headed for Madam Malkin's. Cody decided to get Samantha a robe if she wanted to. He asked her, in a whisper, and she said yes, she would like that.

The door dinged open, and Cody was not entirely pleased to see that Draco Malfoy and his snobby mother already in the shop. He seemed to be arguing with her until he saw who had come in, and made a snide comment about a "Mudblood" coming in. Madame Malkin chided Draco for the language as she fitted his robe.

"Oh," said Draco, catching sight of Samantha and curling his lip. "Not to mention a Muggle."

At Narcissa's disgusted look, Cody joined Ron and Harry in drawing his wand. "You shut up, Malfoy, about my sister!" the boy snarled.

He heard Samantha gasp and hide behind Hermione, who hissed at the boys to put away their wands. "It's not worth getting in trouble for these...people!"

"Yeah, like you'd dare do magic out of school," said Draco to them. "Who blacked your eye, Granger? I'd like to send them flowers."

What a jerk!

Poor Madam Malkin looked to Mrs. Malfoy for help in the matter, as she didn't want a fight breaking out in her own shop. But all the woman did was to command Cody, Harry, and Ron to put their wands away, and that if they ever attacked Draco again, she would make sure it was the last thing they did. Cody scowled at the woman, aiming a rude gesture at her. She narrowed her eyes furiously that he dared commit such vulgarity before her.

"Really," said Harry, more a statement than a question. He was not at all intimidated by Narcissa, and Cody realized that she was no longer taller than Harry. In fact, Cody suddenly felt very short. "Going to get a few Death Eater pals to do us in?"

Cody gaped; not that he didn't think that the whole family were Voldemort supporters, but he rather admired Harry's cojones in saying so right in the middle of Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.

Narcissa did not lose her smooth, arrogant demeanor, however. "I see that being Dumbledore's favorite has given you a false sense of security, Harry Potter. But Dumbledore won't always be there to protect you."

Harry must have gotten his sarcasm lessons from the Weasley twins; Cody thought that they would have been proud. "Wow...look at that...he's not here now! So why not have a go? They might be able to find you a double cell in Azkaban with your loser of a husband!"

Malfoy growled, Cody gaped again, and then laughed. Draco tripped over his robe, and Ron laughed, too. "Don't you dare talk to my mother like that, Potter!"

Cody smirked nastily at Draco. "Aw, how cute. Draco's protecting his mummy!"

Draco sneered back, pointing a threatening finger at Cody, though since it was covered by a very long sleeve, the gesture was not very intimidating. "You just wait, DeDannan," he growled. "You wait until school starts."

Narcissa put her hand on Draco's shoulder to keep him from lunging - though whether at Cody or Harry, Cody wasn't sure. The woman looked coldly at them all. "I expect Potter will be reunited with dear Sirius, and DeDannan here with his mother before I am reunited with Lucius."

Cody felt his eyes widen, and his face pale, and he was suddenly finding it very difficult to keep standing. Part of him wanted to tackle Narcissa Malfoy and pummel her into tiny particles, and the other wanted to collapse to the floor and sink beneath it. His head felt like it was tingling with adrenaline, and it seemed like it was difficult to breathe. He was hit with sudden sorrow for his mother, a sensation that was not alien to him anymore, but that he tried to avoid at all costs. But when his mother's death was thrown in his face like that, with no warning...!

He heard nothing of what happened then, until Draco threw his half-finished robe to the floor and stalked out. Narcissa made a rude comment, though Cody did not quite hear what was said, and strode out as well. Madame Malking looked extremely annoyed at the whole lot of them. Once they were gone, Cody clenched his fists, shaking, staring at their backs as they left the store. Hermione put an arm around him, guiding him back around so they he couldn't see either of the Malfoys, both of whom Cody would have cheerfully pounded into the ground.

Cody realized that he was quietly crying. Samantha, crying also, went to Cody, and he put an arm around her--he tried hard to stop his tears as he comforted the little girl, kneeling down and hugging her and telling her it was all right. "Sorry," said Cody softly to her, hastily wiping his eyes. "It's okay, nothing happened, okay?"

When Samantha finally stopped weeping, he let Hermione nudge them farther into the store. Happy for the distraction, Cody told Samantha to start looking for a robe that she liked, but not to get anywhere out of their sight while Cody got measured for his robes.

Madam Malkin asked him if he also needed new dress robes, and he shook his head; those were only a year or two old, and were only a little small. They could be enlarged with magic if he needed them again. While the robes were being prepared, Samantha found a dark, sea green robe that had fish embroidered on it, and Cody added that to his school robes. As she tallied up his order, Madam Malkin still seemed angry with them, and Cody was glad to get out of the shop. He thought that Madam Malkin was glad, too.


	63. Y6 Chapter 7: U Know Poo

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 6**  
by Hyena Cub

**Chapter 7: U-No-Poo**

"That old witch," Cody growled as they stepped back onto the street, packages of robes in their arms. He blinked as he realized the accuracy of the statement, however it was intended, and then added, "With a "b" instead of a "w"." Ron seemed to find this statement highly amusing, which cheered Cody a little bit. He stopped crying entirely and wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt. Now that the shock of the reminder was wearing off, he realized the insinuation in the woman's snide comment; that he and Harry would soon be dead, and grief melted into indignation. He scowled all the way down the street, where they met the other Weasleys coming out of Flourish and Blotts.

Mrs. Weasley handed Cody his schoolbooks for the following year, and ushered the entire group over to the Apothecary. Like Harry and Ron, Cody did not bother going in, as he had not gotten a high enough grade in his O.W.L. exam for Potions. He scowled in irritation as he thought about Snape, who required an Outstanding for his N.E.W.T. class.

He did ask it they could stop in at the Magical Menagerie so that he could pick up supplies for Merlin, his fruit bat. He was clean out of treats, and Cody wanted to get the dried fruit that he got for the bat when he couldn't get fresh fruit for him. "He also chewed a big chunk out of his hangy thing, I gotta get a new one," said Cody.

"Er, 'hangy thing'?" asked Harry.

"Yeah. That wood bar thing he hangs from in his cage. He likes to climb on it and eat it."

Harry shook his head. "That bat is as strange as you are."

Their last stop was to be Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, Fred and George's new premises on Diagon Alley. This, Cody was looking forward to; he had not seen their shop since they got it the previous year, and he was eager to see the twins again too, he had missed them a great deal.

The shop was not easy to miss.

"Whoa," said Ron, stopping short to gape.

It was like a toy store gone mad; whizzing, popping, whirring, spinning, crackling, flashing...anything that could catch the eye filled the shop windows. But that wasn't the most astonishing part. There was a large sign on the front, advertising "U-No-Poo - the Constipation Sensation that's Gripping the Nation!"

"'U-No-_Poo'_?" Cody repeated in disbelief, as Harry and Ron started to laugh at this insult to Voldemort's most widely used name.

Mrs. Weasley's whispered voice sounded horrified. "They'll be murdered in their sleep!"

Cody finally began to laugh in sheer amazement at the twins' sheer nerve - he leaned against the shop wall, gawping at the sign. Oh, he would give anything to see the look on Voldemort's face were he ever to see it!

He finally followed Harry and Ron into the shop, leaving the others to come in afterwards. The shop was packed with people, and its products were sufficiently bright, distracting, and fascinating to divert Cody's attention from both the scene in Madam Malkin's, and the very gutsy poster on the outside of the shop. He explained to Samantha about why the U-No-Poo sign was so amusing as he began to browse.

Cody recognized about half of what was out there, being in on several of the twins' experiments and secrets the previous year. There were the Skiving Snackboxes, and the trick wands, and several different kinds of quills. There were the Portable Swamps, the Headless Hats, and Ton-Tongue Toffees. But then there were things like a magical hangman game, where a little wooden man marched ever closer to the gallows with each wrong letter. There were little creatures called Pygmy Puffs, which were bright, different-colored hairballs so far as Cody could see. There were Daydream Charms and Love Potions. Cody gaped at the various boxes, bags, and displays while the others browsed, and Samantha looked on in awe. They even had edible Dark Marks! He snickered and grabbed one of those; he would have to see what they tasted like.

His attention was caught by Hermione and Harry, talking with the twins, who had come out into the front area of the shop. He grinned and ran over, attacking Fred with an embrace while George talked to Harry. "Hi!"

"Hey, kid!" said Fred with a grin, kneeling to hug him, and to mess up his hair. Cody was resigned; everyone liked to muss up his hair. He didn't mind, for the most part. "Hey...how're you holding up, runt?"

"I am not a runt!' said Cody indignantly, pulling back. But still he smiled; Fred had expressed his concern, but hadn't mentioned his mother or said how awful it was. And Cody appreciated it. "I'm okay, I guess. We met stupid Malfoy and his stupid mother in the robes shop though. They're both gits."

Fred snorted, standing up. "But you already knew that."

Cody held up the edible Dark Mark. "I'm buying one of these; are they really gross?" The sign had proclaimed that they'd make _anyone_ sick.

Fred laughed hard. "Let's put it this way. For most people, probably. But for someone who eats Blood Lollipops...probably not."

"Cool! I'm gonna buy it and an Extendable Ear then. I always wanted one since you showed them to us!"

"Sounds good!"

"Can I get something?" Samantha asked.

"Sure," said Cody. "We'll get something for ya before we leave, okay?"

They looked up as George, Harry, and Hermione disappeared into the back room, and Fred tugged Cody to follow him. "Come on. We've got the more serious stuff in here." Cody and Samantha followed.

The twins took turns in explaining the items that they had in the back room, which was not nearly as colorful as the front room was. The twins had made Shield Hats, that would make spells bounce off the wearer, but they had intended it for a joke. The Ministry of Magic, however, had ordered five hundred of them!

"Whoa!" said Cody, his eyes wide. "That's awesome!"

"We thought so," said George with a grin, after taking a moment to give Cody a quick hug as well. "We made a whole load of other supplies as well, gloves, cloaks, all that kind of thing."

"And we figured it would be lucrative to expand our horizons. We've got a whole line of Defense Against the Dark Arts items, you'd be amazed at how much money we earn from them."

Cody picked up a box of what was labeled "Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder" as the twins showed off a device that would walk off and cause a loud noise, useful for diversions.

He looked up as some woman in magenta robes (matched Fred and George's) came in. "There's a customer out here looking for a joke cauldron, Mr. Weasley and Mr. Weasley."

Cody blinked. _Mr_. Weasley? And if that didn't sound bizarre on anyone but Arthur Weasley, he didn't know what did!

They all went back out in the main part of the shop, where Cody sought out a box containing one Extendable Ear, and went up to the counter to pay. There was a girl there in staff robes, who took his money and gave him a color-flashing bag to put them in. Cody laughed delightedly, and thanked her. He told his sister to go over with the Weasleys to look around and figure out what she wanted to get, and she went willingly enough.

While the others looked through the shop, Cody found a relatively quiet niche to sit in, and try his Dark Mark. It tasted absolutely terrible! One small bite of the crunchy Mark, and Cody's had to cover his mouth to keep from spitting it back out, all over the floor. He thought that this must be what toxic waste tasted like, sharp, chemicaly, bitter. The thing burned his mouth enough that he almost thought it was part Acid Pop.

"Hey, Fred!" he called to the twin, who was currently straightening some boxes on a nearby shelf. "This stuff isn't gonna make me mutate, is it?"

Fred laughed. "No, you're safe," said he. "Now if you want mutation, we've got a whole range of things that'll make people grow extra arms and the like...they last about an hour and they're fully functional!"

Cody stared for a moment, and then started laughing. It was amazing to him, that all of this could be right in the middle of all the fear, anger, sorrow, and pandemonium that Voldemort's return had propagated. And it was really nice to be able to laugh. Harry was right when he said, over a year ago, that people would be needing laughs.

With difficulty, he finished his edible Dark Mark, and bought two more, intending to give one to Graham, and keep one for when he either wanted to irritate the Slytherins, or to gross someone out. He definitely had to show them to Lupin!

Samantha ended up wanting to get a Pygmy Puff, like Ginny had. There was a little green one in there that she'd taken a liking to--when Cody asked what they were, Fred told him they were miniature Puffskeins, and that they were easy to take care of. "They'll find food on their own," said Fred. "They eat anything; spiders, food, paper.... Just make sure that it has water."

Cody said he would buy the Pygmy Puff only as long as he was allowed to play with it sometimes. Laughing, Samantha agreed.

It was a while later when a harassed looking Mrs. Weasley gathered Cody and his sister, and led them outside to where the rest of the group was waiting.

After they had said goodbye to Hagrid and gotten back to the Weasleys' and Samantha was spending some time with Mrs. Weasley (she was making a chocolate cake, Cody thought), Harry, Ron, and Hermione told Cody a very interesting story. It seemed that while everyone was at the joke shop, Draco Malfoy had gone by, alone. With the help of Harry's Invisibility Cloak, they'd tailed Malfoy all the way to Borgin and Burkes, in Knockturn Alley. Borgin and Burkes was a shop that sold a lot of really wicked Dark magic items, and Cody wasn't surprised that Malfoy had been there.

"I always wanted to go there and see what it's like!" exclaimed Cody. They were all up in Fred and George's room, discussing the incident. Cody was sitting up in the window, on the sill, alternately paying attention to the conversation, and the day outside. It was a bit warmer out than it had been, and Cody was not wearing a cloak for once, and was even contemplating playing outside for a bit.

"Not now, you wouldn't," said Harry grimly. "Not with all the Dark wizards out and about. That's about the worst place anyone could be."

"Anyway...Draco was in there bullying the store owner," said Ron.

Harry nodded. "Yes. It was weird. He reserved something in the shop, and demanded that Borgin tell him how to mend another something...I dunno." Harry trailed off, shaking his head. "It's just really weird. I'm sure Draco's up to something."

"I could watch out for him when we get back to school," Cody offered.

Harry stared at him for a moment, then grinned. "That's great, you share a dorm with him!"

Hermione was doubtful. "But Draco knows that Cody's friends with us. He's not going to go spouting any secret plans. _If_ there are secret plans, that is."

"I'm telling you, he's up to no good," Harry insisted.

"Yeah, but he's always up to that." Hermione shrugged.

Harry looked intently at Cody. "Find out if Malfoy's got a Dark Mark."

Cody blinked, and turned his attention finally from the setting sun outside. "What?" he repeated, his eyes widening. "A Dark Mark? You think he was made a Death Eater?"

Harry nodded. "Yes."

"But he's only sixteen!"

"That's what I said," said Hermione. "I highly doubt that Voldemort...oh stop it Ron, honestly...is going to take a teenager into his ranks."

"But it's possible," said Harry urgently, looking worried and serious. "It's possible, I mean, his father's one, and what if the Malfoys can do something that no one else can? Maybe it's something at Hogwarts, I mean who else would Voldemort trust, Crabbe and Goyle?"

Cody was staring at Harry in disbelief. "That means I'm going to be sharing a dorm with a Death Eater! This isn't cool!"

Hermione shot Harry a dirty look, and went over to put a hand on Cody's shoulder. "I'm sure it's not as bad as that," she said. "Even if he is, he's not going to try to mess with you much. Especially if he _is_ on a mission for Voldemort. He won't risk the mission by attacking another student, especially in his own house. Dumbledore would do something about it, you know that."

Maybe so, Cody thought, frowning. But this was still not cool. The idea that Draco had become a Death Eater was not a nice one, and he didn't look forward to sleeping in the same room as him. That was as good as turning your back on the enemy! "I guess so," he finally said, scowling. "I'll ask Remus when I get back if Voldemort ever let kids in that young." He shuddered. "What kid would wanna be a Death Eater? It's gross."

"Yeah, well, Malfoy was never the brightest git in the world."

That make Cody laugh...brightest git. He'd never particularly thought that gits were very smart.

Talk turned to things less serious after that, but the idea never left Cody's mind. Suppose it _was_ true. He wondered if he could switch houses.

At supper that night, Cody thanked the Weasleys for having him and Samantha over, telling Molly and Arthur shyly that he loved visiting their home during the holidays because it always felt like family. He suspected he might have made Molly almost cry, and felt bad, but enjoyed the hug she gave him nevertheless. And then, as always, he enjoyed his meal. He ondered which was better, Mrs. Weasley's cooking, or the Hogwarts food. It would certainly be a close contest!

After supper, Molly and Arthur both hugged Cody, and had a hug for Samantha, too, to whom they'd taken a great liking. Remus would be by soon to take them back to Grimmauld Place, and Cody kinda of wished he could stay a little longer. He did like the Burrow very much.

But he also missed Lupin.


	64. Y6 Chapter 8: The Closing of Summer

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 6**  
by Hyena Cub

**Chapter 8: The Closing of Summer**

It wasn't five minutes before they all heard a knock at the kitchen oor. After a moment's conversation with the visitor, Mr. Weasley let him in; it was Remus, of course, looking tired and stressed. Glancing worriedly at Lupin, Cody said goodbye to the Weasleys, and said he'd meet Harry and the others on the train to school in a week or so. Samantha waved as Lupin led them outside.

Later that night, Cody sat on the couch, with Samantha curled up in his lap. She had shown Lupin the Pygmy Puff (which she had named Quaffle--Cody had been highly amused by that), but was now feeling a little clingy. Cody angrily thought it was probably the confrontation in Madame Malkin's that had triggered it. He absentmindedly stroked her hair while he asked Lupin about Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

Remus said that it was not unknown for a teenager to be accepted within Voldemort's ranks, but it was not very common at all. And when Cody asked if he thought it possible that Malfoy could be one, he hesitated a long time before answering. "I don't know," he finally said. "I suppose that if anyone from Hogwarts now could be...he would be a good choice." He paused, then asked, "Does that worry you?"

Cody shrugged. "A little bit. I mean jeez...if someone asked you if you wanted to sleep in the same room as a Death Eater, would _you_ say yes?"

Lupin laughed, and put a hand briefly on Cody's head. "I would have to say 'no' in that instance, I think. But I wouldn't worry about it. In the unlikely event he has been made a Death Eater, he won't dare try anything at Hogwarts. Not with Dumbledore there."

It was no different than Hermione had said, but somehow hearing it from Lupin made it a lot more reassuring. But when he looked at Lupin and saw the look on his face, his reassurance did not last long. "Er...Remus?"

Lupin sighed. "Cody, once the school term starts, I am going to be doing some very dangerous work with the Order. Fenrir Greyback - have you ever heard the name?"

"Isn't Fenrir some kind of wolf god in some myth or something?"

Lupin smiled. "Norse mythology has a Fenrir, yes. But Fenrir Greyback is a werewolf who lives here in England." Seeing Cody's surprised look, he chuckled. "I am not the only werewolf in England, Cody. There are many more. And Greyback...he's a leader among many of them...many of them who have embraced their beast far more than I have. Werewolves who kill to eat, as a wolf would."

Cody felt cold at that idea, the idea that humans, people, were killing like some kind of animal, to put food on the table...did they even have tables, or did they live in dens? A horrible thought struck then. "You're going to spy on them, aren't you?" It was almost an accusation.

Lupin nodded. "Yes," he said quietly. "I've met with a couple of them, trying to gain their trust. You know how the Ministry has treated them, largely because of Dolores Umbridge's hatred for what she calls 'half-breeds". Voldemort has promised them prey, freedom, far better treatment than the Ministry's given them. It would be a bad idea if they were to join his side, let's just say that, though many have. I won't be able to write to you."

Cody slumped back onto the couch, dislodging Samantha, who shifted so that she was lying beside Cody instead of on his lap. "What about this Fenrir guy?" he asked.

"Well..." Lupin sighed. "Fenrir Greyback...specializes in attacking children." Cody's eyes popped very wide, and he gaped. There was something like disgust on Lupin's face as he spoke of Fenrir. "Yes. His idea is to bite children early, turn them into werewolves, taken them from their families and raise them to hate wizards and witches."

How horrible, Cody thought, numb. How horrible, what an awful thing to do to a kid! He glanced quickly down to Samantha, and was relieved to see that she was fast asleep, with Quaffle humming softly as he sat contendly on her shoulder.

But that wasn't the worst of it. "He's the one who bit me," said Lupin quietly.

Again, Cody gaped, wondering how many shocks a person could receive and still function as a normal person. "No." he whispered.

"He did," said Lupin quietly, gazing into the dead fireplace, his expression unusually morose. "Well as I said, he specializes in attacking children. He is firmly on Voldemort's side and has had a great amount of influence on the other werewolves in the city. And so Dumbledore has asked me to infiltrate their ranks, see if I can't gain their trust, make them realize why joining Voldemort is a bad idea."

Cody bit his lip. "I don't want you to do it," he said immediately. "What if you get hurt? Or...or worse!" He couldn't quite bring himself to say it.

Lupin came over to put his arm around Cody, giving him a little squeeze around the shoulders. "Now don't worry about me, Cody," he said quietly. "The job is not as dangerous as it could be. But it does mean I won't be here often, and we will need to find someone to watch over Samantha. It's possible that Dumbledore will let her stay at Hogwarts with you. But if not, I have asked around, and there are a few people who are willing to watch over her when she's not in school. One of them is your friend, Kathy Skinner. She works during the day, but she'll be able to watch Samantha during the non-school hours."

It was too much to take in. He didn't like the idea of Lupin risking himself, though he knew it was necessary. He didn't like Samantha being uprooted and moved again, or being in the care of someone that would be a stranger to her. Cody trusted Kathy Skinner implicitly, but Samantha had never even met her before. "I wouldn't want her in the dorm with me," he said finally. "I'd never let her be with a bunch of Slytherins."

"No, no, she would likely stay with one of the teachers, if she were to live at Hogwarts." Lupin smiled. "And you can't see her being bored there. Not to mention that Hogwarts is as safe as you can get. The only thing that would worry me is her schooling. I suppose a year off would not hurt her." Lupin shook his head and stood up. "But that's for another time. I probably won't have to worry about it until October or November or so. I'm not nearly trusted enough among the werewolf community to be accepted as a long-time residence among their ranks yet. I'll have to work on it. But as for now, it's time for you to get yourself to bed."

Cody did not argue. After five years at Hogwarts, allowed to go to bed whenever he felt like it, late bedtime was no longer a novelty...and he was tired. He nodded , dropping the subject for now, but he still didn't like it. At all. He gently shook Samantha, catching Quaffle as she started to sit up, and the little creature fall off of his comfortable perch. The two of them made their way sleeiply upstairs.

Over the next few weeks, Cody visited both Kyle Tiller and Kathy Skinner, visits which Cody enjoyed a great deal. Kathy was in training to be an Auror, and Kyle was trying to get into teaching. Cody thought they'd both be brilliant at their chosen careers. There was a full moon in the first week or so of August, and this time Samantha stuck around for the transformation. She pronounced it extremely gross, and said it reminded her of the Animorphs, a book series she had begun getting interested in. Cody had enjoyed the Animorphs too, though Harry Potter had always been his favorite.

How weird it was now to think of "Harry Potter" as a book series, instead of a person.

In the last week of August, Cody and Samantha went to visit Graham Pritchard, while Lupin was gone for a few days. Samantha remembered Graham from his visit to Florida, and was happy enough to go. There was a guest room that she could sleep in while Cody shared Graham's room with him.

The first thing Graham did was hug Cody and ask if he and Samantha were doing all right. After assuring him that they were doing as well as they could be, Graham took their suitcases and led them upstairs.

"There's been a lot of bad stuff going on...but you probably know a lot about it, don't you?" Graham said as he kicked open the door to the guest room.

"Yeah," said Cody glumly. "There's a lot in the Daily Prophet. And look." Cody took his suitcase and opened it, rummaging around for a piece of paper that he'd brought with him to show Graham. "Look at this, did you get one of these? 'Protecting Your Home and Family Against Dark Forces'. Yeah, right." He handed the pamphlet to Graham, who raised both eyebrows as he read.

The older boy did not look entirely impressed. "Right. These'll keep you safe from You-know-Who, all right..." He frowned as he looked at the last item, a warning that there might be "Inferi" being used for the side of evil. "Er, do _you_ know what an Inferius is?"

Cody shook his head. "I was gonna ask Remus, but I forgot."

"I heard about them before, but I can't...I don't remember what they are."

"You know, they coulda told us," said Cody, annoyed, as he took the paper back. "How're we supposed to look out for something we've never even heard of before?"

Graham shrugged, then looked to Samantha. "Hey, this is to be your room for a few days. It's got a nice soft bed.

Samantha smiled. "Cool! I'm glad we're here. You can keep Cody from being a dork, now."

"Oh, I'm afraid that it's too late for that," said Graham solemnly, and Cody smacked him as Samantha giggled.

"Ganged up on again," muttered Cody.

"It'll make you strong," said Graham unsympathetically, and Cody gave him a dirty look.

The three youths spent the rest of the day playing board games, and generally not talking about the chaos in the wizarding world. After supper, while Samantha colored in her coloring books, Cody helped Graham with a nasty Potions essay he'd been set for the summer.

Cody had more fun over the next few days than he had all summer. Graham's parents took the three kids to the zoo one warm day, where they enjoyed themselves entirely. Even when just fooling around at Graham's house, Cody felt like the world was at least somewhat normal. He was with his best friend, his sister was safe with him, and for the most part they were avoiding any and all subjects that had to do with Voldemort and what he was doing.

At the end of their visit, when Lupin came to collect Samantha and Cody, Cody and Graham hugged each other tightly. "I'll see you at school," said Graham with a grin. "We can hide out and make up insults to throw around at Draco Malfoy and Malcolm Baddock."

Cody laughed, and nodded his head. "That sounds good, we can even make a list."

"Yeah! Make insults as weird and different as we can!"

"Hey you know what would be a good idea? Something that was bewitched to insult everyone that touched it. I should talk to Fred and George about that, I bet they'd like it!"

"Yeah, they could sell it in their shop!" The two boys laughed at the idea. It was silly, but then so were most of the other things that Fred and George invented.

"Okay, well be careful," said Graham.

"Aw, I will. We're living with Remus Lupin. We'll be fine." He looked up at Remus's chuckle, and grinned at him. "Bye, Graham, see you in a couplea days!"

"How're we getting home?" Cody asked.

"Broomstick," said Lupin. "Samantha, you'll ride with me. Cody you're a fine flier, but I dunno if you're strong enough to catch her if she falls."

Cody considered this, and then shrugged agreeably. Samantha had flown a broom before in Florida, so he wasn't too worried about her.

They got home safe and sound. While Samantha went into the kitchen to get something to eat and to look for Quaffle, her Pygmy Puff, Cody told Remus about their visit, and then went upstairs to pack his school trunk.


	65. Y6 Chapter 9: Back To School

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 6**  
by Hyena Cub

**Chapter 9: Back-to-School**

When came the time for Cody to go on the Hogwarts Express, he was surprised when Lupin said he would get Cody to King's Cross station. He didn't know why he should be surprised; the other kids' parents always brought their kids to the station. But Cody was so used to taking the Knight Bus that it didn't occur to him that he would not need it this time.

And so on September first, Lupin and Cody took an ordinary taxi to the train station, where Lupin helped Cody with his luggage. (Samantha was at Kathy Skinner's house.)

A very bizarre sense of unreality settled over Cody then, walking through the magical barrier with Lupin, pushing a trolley with his trunk and Merlin's cage on top. Five years he had gone, with no one to guide him, having to ask other students to help him with his very heavy trunk and his other things. Five years he had done nearly everything on his own, by himself, and feeling proud of it. And now, now that his mother was gone, he had someone there to put him on the train and to see him off. It was so strange that he almost felt physically dizzy because of it.

A hand on his shoulder steadied him. "Are you all right?' asked Lupin.

Cody blinked up at him, and took a big breath, inhaling a lungful of smoke and steam from the train. After several moments' worth of coughing, his mind was clear again, if not his lungs. He gave the steam engine a dirty look.

Lupin chuckled and hugged Cody good bye. "Be careful," said Lupin to Cody. "I'd better not hear you've been hurt because you went out to wrestle with giants, or...or performed deadly stunts on your broomstick...."

Cody laughed, shaking his head. "Nah. I won't get hurt if you don't."

"Deal." The train began to move, and Cody winced, breaking from Remus. "Bye, Remus...you have to write to me a lot, okay?" he called as he sprinted for one of the doors.

"When I can, absolutely! Have a good term, kiddo."

Cody jumped on the step and wrenched the door open, scowling. Couldn't the driver at least wait until everyone was aboard before leaving? The boy nodded back at Lupin, as the train picked up speed, then ducked inside. He hung out a nearby window, watching until the train went around a corner, and Cody couldn't see the platform anymore.

Feeling the urge to cry, Cody ducked his head back into the train, looking around for an empty compartment, or at least one that had no Slytherins in it. He found Harry's compartment, and saw that Neville was there, too! Smiling, he slipped in and sat on a seat. "Hi," he said quietly to them. He also saw that Luna Lovegood was there, wearing a very strange pair of glasses.

"Hey, Cody," said Harry.

"Hi," said Neville, giving Cody a sympathetic look. "Haven't seen you in a while. How are you? I mean...considering."

Cody shrugged, not wanting to think about his mother. Now he knew exactly how Harry felt about Sirius, not wanting to talk of him. It was sort of the same situation, too. Cody had not even known his mother for a year before he went to Hogwarts the first time. He'd only been adopted by her for a few months by that point. And then he had seen her only over the summer, and sometimes spring or winter breaks... He hadn't known his mother very well, not as much as a son should, but he still loved her.

And Harry. He hadn't known Sirius very long, either...but loved him just the same.

Cody sighed, slumping back in his seat. He was already wearing his uniform, not wanting to change later in the day, and besides, the robes were warm. The train, like the day outside, was chilly.

Neville glanced out of the compartment door, at a group of girls who were all peering into their compartment, looking awed. Cody wasn't sure why, until Neville spoke up. "They're even staring at us," he said. "Because we're with you!" Cody realized Neville was referring to Harry, but still was not quite sure why.

Luna, who seemed to know that Cody was confused, said, "The Daily Prophet wrote a story about the Ministry and what happened there." She didn't even look up from her magazine as she spoke.

Harry nodded. "Yeah. And you all were at the Ministry too. I'm just surprised that the Ministry let the Prophet print that article. It didn't make the Ministry look all that great."

Neville laughed. "The Ministry didn't look that great to begin with. Gran was pleased, though. I thought she'd be angry about the whole thing, but she wasn't, she said that I'm starting to live up to me dad at long last. I got a new wand, even...cherry and unicorn hair!" Neville's voice dropped a bit as he added, "We think it was one of the last Ollivander ever sold, he vanished the next day -- oi, come back here, Trevor!"

Cody snickered as Neville dove under the seat after his toad, who seemed to have made it his life's mission to escape from his master.

"Are we still doing D. A. Meetings?" asked Luna. Cody looked round to Harry, also wanting to know the answer to this.

"No point now we've got rid of Umbridge," said Harry.

"Aww!" said Cody. "I liked the D. A., though! It was great!" The camaraderie, the bond of a group of people fighting for the same thing....

Neville, apparently, felt the same way Cody did. "I liked the D. A. too!" he exclaimed, looking disappointed as he crawled back out from underneath the seat. "I learned loads from you!"

"I enjoyed the meetings, too," said Luna. "It was like having friends."

Cody blinked at her, wondering if she had never had friends to make such a statement, when his attention was grabbed by a small group of giggling girls outside the compartment. They seemed to be arguing about something that they wanted to get done.

"You ask him!" one of them said.

"No, you!"

"I'll do it!" The third girl opened the compartment and looked around, finally settling her dark eyes on Harry. "Hi, Harry, I'm Romilda, Romilda Vane." 'Romilda?' Cody thought. Talk about weird names! "Why don't you join us in our compartment?' the girl asked. "You don't have to sit with _them_."

Cody scowled at the girl as she jerked her head to indicate Cody, Neville, and Luna.

"They're friends of mine," said Harry, and Cody had to smile as the rude girl faltered.

"Oh. Oh. Okay." Looking embarrassed, the girl slunk back out of the compartment, closing the door and leaving.

"Jerk," said Cody, sticking his tongue out at the door as the girls left.

"People expect you to have cooler friends than us," said Luna to Harry.

"You _are_ cool," said Harry, almost angrily. "None of them was at the Ministry. They didn't fight with me."

Cody smiled at Harry as he said that, flattered at his sincere tone of voice. Luna, also pleased, said, "That's a very nice thing to say!"

"We didn't face _him_, though," said Neville in hushed tones, finally grabbing Trevor and getting back up onto the seat. "You did. You should hear my gran talk about you. 'That Harry Potter's got more backbone than the entire Ministry of Magic put together!' She'd give anything to have you as a grandson."

Cody blinked, feeling the sudden urge to cry that a grandmother would ever feel that way. She _had_ a great person for a grandson, but she didn't think she had anything worthwhile! "Then she's got no taste!" said Cody vehemently. It was only when he saw Neville's surprised look, and then amused smirk, Luna's raised eyebrows over the Quibbler, and Harry's half-amused, half-offended expression that he realized how what he'd said had sounded. "Er, wait! No, Harry, that's not what I meant!"

Neville finally laughed, and Harry gazed at Cody, shaking his head slowly. "Thanks a whole lot, Cody," he said, though Cody could tell he was teasing Cody. "No taste for wanting me, huh? Some friend!"

Cody laughed, but he felt his face burning hot all the same. "No, I didn't mean it like that, at all. I just meant her not liking Neville, and she...you know...I think I'll stop now."

Harry laughed then, giving Cody's hair a friendly swipe. "I know what you meant, midget."

Cody thought about protesting that particular insult, but decided that after his own faux pas, he had little room to talk.

"I get the idea," said Neville quietly, looking fondly at Cody's red face. "And thanks."

They spent the next several minutes talking about O.W.L. results and the classes they could and could not take next year. Cody said he had failed Herbology because of the stupid Fanged Geranium, and Neville expressed his sympathy. But Cody was certainly glad he'd not have to take it anymore! On the other hand, Neville could not take Potions, for which _he_ was glad. Cody's face was red as he reported a "Troll" in History of Magic, and said he wouldn't be sorry to see the last of Binns's class. "At least you didn't get a Troll, Neville."

He snorted. "Yeah. I guess, but I did fail it. I don't think I can keep taking Transfiguration, though, with an Acceptable."

"I got that too," said Cody a little glumly. "I didn't do so good in that class...so we both have that one open. So...I got Runes, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Care of Magical Creatures, and Astronomy for sure...do you know if Professor Flitwick lets us in with an A in Charms?"

"I think so." Neville had gotten Exceeds Expectations in that class. "You're really taking Care of Magical Creatures still?"

"Yeah! I love Hagrid and his classes too. They're fun."

Neville shook his head in amazement, then turned to Harry, who had gone very quiet. "You all right, Harry?"

Harry blinked, and seemed to return from whatever planet he'd been visiting. Luna said she thought a Wrackspurt had got to him, floating into his ear and making his brain go fuzzy. Cody giggled as Neville and Harry quickly changed the subject to Quidditch.

It was almost noon when Ron and Hermione entered the compartment, followed by Graham, who'd been looking for Cody. "Sorry!' said Cody when Graham smacked him on the arm and told him he was a git. "I've been here the whole time, you couldn't've looked properly." And he laughed as Graham hit him again. "Be careful, the Wrackspurts'll get you."

"I--the...the _what_?"

Cody only snickered.

Ron told them all that Malfoy had not been doing his prefect duties, instead had only sat in his compartment. This was odd, because normally Malfoy enjoyed terrorizing the younger children. And that he had given Ron the finger (well, "fingers" in England, since it was a bit of a different gesture) when he passed the compartment.

"Maybe he preferred the Inquisitorial Squad," said Hermione. "Maybe being a prefect seemed a bit tame after that."

Harry argued, but before he could explain, a girl came into the compartment with a parchment for Harry and Neville. Cody peered curiously over Neville's arm, to see what it was.

"What is this?" asked Ron.

"An invitation," said Harry.

And it was. It was from Professor Slughorn, whom Harry had mentioned briefly during Cody's stay at the Burrow. Cody snickered. "Slughorn, what a weird name."

"He was a Slytherin, before," said Harry. "Head of Slytherin House, actually."

"Wish he still was," Graham grumbled.

"He's a damn sight nicer than Snape is," Harry agreed. "But it's weird he's on the train. I suppose we'll have to go, Neville, won't we?"

Neville wasn't entirely thrilled about the idea. "But what does he want me for?"

"No idea..." Harry glanced outside the compartment, to the hallway beyond. At least, people had stopped pressing in their faces to gawp at them, though most at least looked in as they passed. Harry suggested they go under his Invisibility Cloak so that they could spy on Malfoy, but it didn't work out very well; there were too many people in the corridor. Cody watched them go.

"Weird," said Ron.

"Like me," said Cody.

Ron snorted. "No one's as weird as you."

"Sure they are! There're lots of people weirder than me. But their weird is a bad weird. A REALLY bad weird. Mine's a GOOD weird."

"I didn't know there was a difference," said Hermione, amusedly.

Cody felt obliged to explain just how many different kinds of weird there were in life. "Sure there is! I'm weird, and it's a good weird. I like being weird, but not that it hurts people. Bellatrix Lestrange...now _she's_ a bad weird. And Voldemort. He's a _really_ bad weird."

"There's the understatement of the year," Ron muttered.

"You really should be careful," said Luna with calm sincerity. "You-Know-Who might hear you, you know. He's got ways of listening to people who say his name."

Cody blinked, startled, as he spun to look at her. "What?" he said, "What do you mean he can listen to people?"

"You mean you don't know? Look." Wide-eyed, Luna passed him the Quibbler, turning it to the very first page. The headline read: "Spies of You-Know-Who: They're Everywhere."

Cody gazed at the article for a few moments, and his alarm rapidly changed to amusement. He should have known it was something very weird; Ron wanted to talk about weird! Luna was weirder than Cody by far! Thank goodness she was the good kind of weird. "Oh. Microscopic... audioflitters... they're controlled by magic, but You-Know-Who found a way to gen...et..."

"Genetically," Luna supplied helpfully.

"Thanks. Genetically...alter them so that they obey his magic...signature? Exclu...sive...ly." The article went on to say that Voldemort used these microscopic, flying magical creatures to spy for him around the country, and that when anyone said his name, they paid attention and reported to him what was said, and who said it.

Cody was proud of how well he kept a straight face as he handed back the article. Luna's eyes were wide and solemn. "That's why no one says his name," she told him. "The audioflitters hear it, then report to him, and then he knows who he needs to kill."

Ron's snicker was quickly turned into a cough, and Hermione was hiding behind her Advanced Rune Translation book. Cody finally said, "Well...he knows I insulted him already when we all went into the ministry. That git Tiller woulda told him. So I guess I'll be safe enough. Well, I won't be in any _more_ danger at least."

Luna nodded as if what Cody said made perfect sense, and went back to her article.

Harry did not come back to their compartment the whole trip. Neville came back, with Ginny, and said that Harry had gone off to do something, using his Invisibility cloak, but he wasn't sure what.

"But we're almost there," said Hermione worriedly. "Shouldn't we look for him?"

Ron shrugged, apparently not that concerned. "Harry can take care of himself. I mean, what trouble can he get into on the Hogwarts Express? I'm sure he'll find us in the Great Hall."

Hermione wasn't convinced, but as there was little that she could do about it, she quieted and went back to her book. But there was still a tense sort of feeling in the compartment after that.


	66. Y6 Chapter 10: Cold Reception

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 6**  
by Hyena Cub

**Chapter 10: Cold Reception**

Harry did not show up by the time they had arrived at Hogsmeade Station, and boarded the coaches that led to the school. Graham and Cody shared one with Luna and a couple of other Ravenclaws. "Where do you think Harry went?" Graham asked as they headed up towards the school.

"I dunno," said Cody. "I hope he's okay, though."

"Ron didn't seem worried."

"Yeah...but Ron doesn't worry about much, period."

"Well, if he doesn't show up, Dumbledore'll go after him. He could probably find just about anyone."

Somewhat reassured, Cody said no more.

After having to submit to a very annoying search by Filch and his Secrecy Sensor (a thing that ended up looking like a pink television aerial), Cody and Graham walked together into the Great Hall, which was almost full by the time they arrived. They headed for the Slytherin table, Cody glancing over at the other side of the Hall, but there were way too many taller students in Cody's way to be able to see anyone from the Gryffindor table. Sighing, he turned back to his own House's table.

He was, in truth, fairly nervous. It was the first time in two months he had seen most of them, and remembered that their last encounter had not been a friendly one. Half the house openly disliked Cody as they disliked the Gryffindors, and some downright hated him. The rest of the students didn't care one way or another, but certainly weren't about to go against their own house to defend Cody. Cody made his way along the table, heading towards the front towards where the teachers sat. It was safer that way.

He passed Malfoy and his gang of git, and stuck his tongue out at the older boy. Malfoy rolled his eyes and made the same rude gesture that Ron had demonstrated earlier. Feeling brave, Cody returned it. It didn't seem quite as taboo or as bad to Cody as the American version, since it wasn't the gesture he'd learned from childhood to regard as vulgar.

"Well, I can see that this year is just going to be lovely," Cody said, pouring on the sarcasm as he sat down at the very end of the table.

"Well, maybe it won't be," said Graham. "I mean Professor Snape said that they were to leave you alone, didn't he?"

"Yeh, but that doesn't mean they will. It's kinda like Malcolm Baddock in your year said. Breaking a person's skull open with a meat cleaver doesn't count as a hex or a curse."

"Oh. Well yeah, there is that."

"Hey look, that one, he must be Slughorn." Cody pointed out a very fat man with a very big moustache, who was sitting up at the staff table with the other teachers. "I can't see anyone else that's new, can you?"

Graham shook his head. "He's the new Defense teacher, then?"

"Yeah. Harry said he was Head of Slytherin House before Snape. He said he's kinda weird."

"Better weird than a complete jackass," said Graham, which was a very good point.

Cody sighed, and looked upwards, where a black sky was dotted here and there with dark clouds. It felt good to be back at Hogwarts, finally, where he felt he could perhaps forget the horrible happenings of the summer. But there was a tenseness in the air here, too, a sort of soft covering of fear that settled over everyone. The entirety of England knew about Voldemort now, and it was obvious that it had affected the school.

A new crop of first-years stepped up to the Sorting Hat, looking terrified, as normal, and Cody could not get over how strange it was to see them. They were his age now, eleven, and only just starting at Hogwarts.

The Sorting Hat's song was more urgent than the last had been. The last year's song was a warning, a dire warning, and a suggestion to band together. But this year, the message was clear: band together, or they would not survive the war. And then came the Sorting.

Cody clapped each newcomer, regardless of House, and turned his attention to Dumbledore, who raised his hands as he called for silence. Cody gasped; there was something dreadfully wrong with Dumbledore's hand; it was black, as if it had been horrible charred by something and never healed. He gaped at it, shuddering to think what it must have felt like to have that happen, and wondering why it could not be fixed.

Dumbledore welcomed the new students, and welcomed back the old ones, but he made no mention of his burned hand. He also informed the assembled students that there was a blanket ban on anything purchased at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. Cody broke out snickering at this, covering his mouth to muffle it. He was going to have to make sure he kept his Extendable Ear hidden from anyone he did not trust. Dumbledore announced that those wanting to try out for Quidditch were to give their names to their Heads of House.

Cody's stomach dropped at this, and he wondered who had been made the new Slytherin captain. Was it still Warrington? He leaned over and whispered to one of the Slytherins that didn't hate him, and asked if Malfoy was the new team captain. The girl, a seventh-year prefect, told him that someone with the surname of Urquhart had taken over captaincy, and pointed him out down the table a bit. Cody was not entirely thrilled; Urquhart was sitting with Malfoy, listening to Malfoy telling a story that involved a lot of miming about someone's nose getting squashed by the look of it. Cody wished he had his Extendable Ear. Urquhart looked amused by the story, and Cody wasn't optimistic about his chances at staying on the team. But then...did he really _want_ to be on the team with Malfoy?

But then Dumbledore had also announced that they needed a new commentator, and Cody cheered up a bit. Commentator! That was right, Lee Jordan had left last year! After a momentary twinge of unhappiness that most of his older friends were gone onto other things, Cody felt a sort of excitement in the idea of trying for commentator. That would be fun!

He gave his attention back to Dumbledore, who was introducing Professor Slughorn, as the new Potions Master. Cody automatically began to clap, but realized what Dumbledore had said a moment later, and gaped. "Potions master?" he repeated, sure that he had heard wrong.

"That's what he said!" exclaimed Graham, who looked just as shocked. "But what about Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

Cody's eyes widened as he looked over to Snape, who looked extraordinarily smug. "No...no way! Is he mad?" This last, referring to Dumbledore, who seemed to confirm Cody's statement by continuing his announcement.

"Professor Snape, meanwhile, will be taking over the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

Oh, man! Cody thought miserably. That wasn't fair! Defense Against the Dark Arts had been his favorite class...until now! Snape was going to take all the fun out of it, just like he did when substituting for Lupin!

He was sufficiently distracted from this bit of unpleasant news when Dumbledore continued his speech. "Now, as everybody in this Hall knows, Lord Voldemort and his followers are once more at large and gaining in strength."

Dumbledore now had Cody's full attention, but he did not say anything more about Voldemort, only told the students of the many protections and fortifications that had been put on the castle in addition to what was there before. And he urged everyone to abide by them, and to report suspicious happenings immediately...

And then they were being dismissed to bed. Cody really did not want to go to bed; he was tired, but he once again had the unpleasant thought that in all likelihood, he was going to be sharing a dorm room with one of Voldemort's followers.

He didn't get a chance to talk with Harry that night before bed, but he intended to sit with the Gryffindors for breakfast the next day. He held Graham back as the rest of the Slytherins filed out of the great Hall, the first years being led by the prefects. He made sure that there was a bit of distance between himself and the rest of his house as they all tramped down to the dungeons.

Cody was lucky that the hidden stone door to the common room was still open by the time Graham and Cody got down there, however, since neither of them knew the new password. Slipping into the common room, Cody found the seventh year girl that he'd talked to at supper, and asked her what the password was.

"Huh? Oh, it's 'ancestry'."

"Ancestry, huh?" said Cody. Well he supposed it was better than 'pure-blood'... "Thanks," he told her, and got a nod in reply. He went back and told Graham what the password was.

"That figures," was his reply.

Cody yawned. "I'm gonna go to bed, all right? I'm about to fall asleep, right on my feet...see you tomorrow?"

"All right, Cody...until then." Graham clapped Cody on the shoulder, and headed for the third-year dorms. Cody grinned as he realized that Graham would be able to go to Hogsmeade with him this year!

Happy to have, for the most part, escaped notice from the rest of the Slytherins, Cody slipped tiredly into the sixth year dorms. Sixth year! It felt so utterly strange to be a sixth year! It really was almost over. It wouldn't be the same, not at all...only one more year of seeing his familiar old dorm...of listening to Dumbledore's Start-of-Term speeches, and fighting with Peeves. Cody bit his lip, feeling a sudden, sharp sorrow. The end. He hated the end. No matter what it was, whether a book, or a movie, or a part of his life, he always hated the end, because it was never the same after that. Things changed, and people changed.

Aware that he was about to cry, Cody clenched his teeth, and with unnecessarily vehement actions, stripped off his clothing and got into his pajamas. He scowled as he rummaged through his trunk for something to read, feeling that as tired as he was, he would not be able to sleep right away. With a sigh, he pulled out a Hardy Boys book and settled back onto his feather pillow to read. He smiled as Merlin, close now to being fully grown, flew to land on his shoulder and squeaked in a comforting sort of way, then simply remained hanging off of Cody's pajamas.

About five minutes later, the door to the dorms opened, and Cody looked up, suddenly tense, as Draco Malfoy walked in. Crabbe and Goyle, as usual, hulked behind him. Draco looked at Cody, his expression cold. For a very brief moment, Cody wasn't sure if he was looking at Draco, or his father. Cody set down his book.

Draco didn't say anything for a moment, only gazed at Cody through granite-colored eyes. For a moment, Cody thought that Draco was just going to stare at him all night, but then the older boy finally spoke. "You know, it's only Snape's interference that keeps me from hexing you into oblivion, DeDannan." Cody glanced at his nightstand, where his own wand sat, ready to grab it if he needed to. "But soon I won't care about what Snape says. When that day comes, you'd best be watching your back."

Cody gazed back at Malfoy, at a complete loss as to what to say. What did you _say_ to something like that, anyway? Cody was not accustomed to being threatened. He was momentarily distracted by Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott coming in and heading for their bunks, and turned briefly to look at them. Both watched interestedly to see what would happen. Cody turned back to Malfoy. "I'm not scared of you," he finally said. Which might not have been entirely true. Malfoy did intimidate him a little, but he would have insulted an entire herd of hippogriffs before admitting it.

Draco laughed. "No? Well you should be. Someday, Dumbledore'll be gone, and this stupid school won't be here anymore. And only those close to the Dark Lord will be safe. You should consider it, DeDannan. The Dark Lord may be convinced to forgive your past...actions."

Cody gaped at Malfoy, wide eyed. He had expected anything but that from Malfoy's mouth--he was too shocked even to feel indignant. 'Recruiting already?' was his first astonished thought.

Malfoy smirked. "Don't look so surprised, DeDannan. You were Sorted into Slytherin, weren't you? You must know the Dark Lord will win, and any who oppose him will be killed. Or worse." He shrugged. "Think about it." And with that, Draco went to his own bunk, climbed into bed, and closed the curtains.

Cody could do nothing except stare for several moments, long after Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle had all gotten into bed and put out their lamps. He glanced over at Nott, who was giving Cody a look of disgust, and at Blaise, whose dark eyes sparkled with amusement. Finally, Cody stood and drew the curtains of his own four poster.

'I don't believe it!' Cody thought in shocked wonder within the sanctuary of his bed. 'I can't believe Malfoy just told me that I should join Voldemort!' Indignation was finally beginning to settle in, and he scowled at his right curtain, beyond which sat Malfoy's bed. Malfoy surely couldn't believe that Cody would ever _do_ that, could he? Was there something about Cody that said to Malfoy that he could be swayed?

Feeling highly disturbed (and fairly insulted as well), Cody lay down on his bed, setting Merlin down on his pillow. Realizing he had forgotten to put out his lantern, he leaned out of his bunk to do so, then disappeared back behind the curtains.

Finally, Cody closed his eyes, and attempted to sleep. It came to him only reluctantly.

---

The next morning did not get a whole lot better. Cody tried to go over to the Gryffindor table to sit with them during breakfast, but was stopped by Professor Snape, who told him to stay at the Slytherin table, as he needed to make out the schedules for his sixth years. Scowling, Cody took his place at the end of the table again, ignoring the hostile glares from half the people in his house. Graham joined him a few minutes later, but Cody was still annoyed.

Breakfast came, and Cody ate with little appetite; he didn't know what he had dreamed of the night before, but he thought it must have been about Voldemort, because he'd woken up still brooding over Malfoy's words of the night before. He said little to Graham, and spent a good deal of his time glaring in Malfoy's direction.

He watched Snape go around to all of the sixth year boys and girls in Slytherin, making schedules for them that included the classes they would be taking for their N.E.W.T. classes. Cody was certain that Snape left him for last on purpose, and was less than friendly when Snape finally came over.

"Well, DeDannan," said Snape, looking over the list of classes Cody had applied to take. "Astronomy, of Magical Creatures..." he sneered, but said that Cody would be allowed to continue the class. Cody's scowl deepened at the teacher's obvious disdain of Hagrid's classes. "Charms...Flitwick normally asks for an Exceeds Expectations in his Charms classes, but is willing to work those who can't manage to achieve it. Defense Against the Dark Arts..." Snape smirked as he read over Cody's Herbology and History of Magic grades. "A 'T', DeDannan?" he said, loudly enough for half the table to her him. Cody felt his eyes burn, and knew he had turned red. "I've not seen a 'T' for an O.W.L. grade in a long time."

A guffaw from Malfoy made Cody turn to glare daggers at him, then force his angry gaze back to Snape, thinking that Snape was lying through his teeth. Goyle had to have gotten a T at least once before, if noone else. He seethed, wanting to say something, but with great effort kept his mouth shut. But his mind brimmed with all sorts of things he could use to get revenge for that little stunt. He noticed that even a few nearby Ravenclaws' attention had been attracted.

"McGonagall won't let you into Transfiguration with an A, so that one is off your list as well," said Snape, an amused lilt in his voice. "You are cleared for Runes." Snape frowned, then looked from the parchment to DeDannan. "No potions?"

"No," said Cody bluntly. "You won't let anyone under an O into your--"

"In case you hadn't noticed, DeDannan, I am no longer Potions Master here at Professor Slughorn has a rather _lower _ set of standards than I do. Therefore, you may take the class if you want."

Blinking, and then scowling once more, Cody muttered, "Fine--I'll take Potions, then."

Nodding, Snape tapped Cody's schedule with his wand, and moved on without a stuck his tongue out behind his back, then looked down at his new timetable, trying to ignore the snickers and mocking voices of the Slytherins around him. He was sure that very soon, Cody's Troll grade would be public knowledge. That miserable jerk!

"Boy, he's in one grouchy mood," said Graham, looking after Snape with a look of mild annoyance on his face. "He got the job he wanted, shouldn't he be happier?"

Cody snorted. "I don't think he knows how to be happy." Which was actually a sort of scary thought. He might have felt sorry for Snape, if Snape wasn't such a creep. "Well I got Study of Ancient Runes next...I should go, before I'm late. I'll see you at lunch, okay, Graham?"

"All right. Good luck, then!"

"Thanks, you too!" And Cody hurried off to the classroom.

He was very surprised to see Hermione there when he arrived, and he blinked, looking back down at his schedule. "Er...did I come at the wrong time?" he asked Hermione, since he'd never seen her in his Runes class before.

She laughed. "No, of course not. The N.E.W.T. classes are all houses together."

Cody grinned in pleasant surprise. "Cool! Where're you sitting?"

She pointed to one of the desks, and Cody followed, sitting next to her. It was weird to be sitting in Ancient Runes with Hermione; he was not used to seeing Gryffindors in that class. They'd had the class with the Hufflepuffs, and Slytherin with the Ravenclaws. Now, those who had chosen to continue their Runes class into the sixth and seventh years were all together. That was kind of cool, Cody thought.

Although...he amended half an hour later after watching Hermione's hand go up into the air for the seventh time and narrowly missing his left ear...it had its disadvantages, too. He was even less thrilled when the Runes instructor assigned a huge boatload of homework. With an irritated scowl, Cody scribbled down the assignment on a scrap bit of parchment, and gathered his things into his school bag. "What's next?" he asked Hermione. "Do we have it together also?"

"Defense," she replied. "You're taking that this year, aren't you?"

"Yeah...but with Snape teaching...I dunno." He followed Hermione out of the room, feeling rather gloomy. It hadn't been that great for a first day back.

"You never know, he might be good at the class."

Cody snorted. " as good as he was at Potions."He didn't fault Snape's knowledge; he faulted Snape's git-iness. "He announced my 'T' at the Slytherin table! Really loud!"

Hermione gave him a sympathetic look. "And I bet Malfoy lost no time taking the mickey out of you."

"Yeah, you could say that." Cody and Hermione met up with Harry, Ron, and Neville outside the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom a few moments later, where Hermione complained about the amount of homework they had gotten in Runes. Ron was entirely unsympathetic about the whole thing, and Cody knew he'd had a free period during Runes class.

"You just wait," snapped Hermione. "I bet Snape gives us loads."

"Aw, don't say that, Hermione!" groaned Cody. "Wasn't Runes enough?"

Hermione was prevented answering by the opening of the classroom door, and Snape ordering them all inside with a single curt word. Cody stalked past him without looking at him, and chose a seat with the Gryffindors. He scowled in irritation at the "new and improved" classroom. It was dark and depressing, and had pictures all over the walls of grotesque ailments. Cody expected to see Freddie Krueger step out of the shadows at any second.

"I have not asked you to take out your books," Snape said curtly as several students did. "I wish to speak to you, and I want your full attention. You have had five teachers in this subject so far, I believe."

"He can count," muttered Ron, and Cody had to hide a snicker.

Fortunately having not heard this, Snape went on. "Naturally these teachers will all have had their own methods and priorities." Cody wasn't sure that what Gilderoy Lockhart had done could be described as a "method", but did not say anything. "Given this confusion, I am surprised so many of you managed to scrape an O.W.L. in this subject. I shall be even more surprised if all of you manage to keep up with the N.E.W.T. work, which will be much more advanced."

Cody sighed quietly as Snape traversed the room, passing Cody and the Gryffindors, walking across the back wall of the classroom, and working his way again towards the front. Cody stared at his desk, and traced over a gouged out design that some previous student had carved, obviously as bored as Cody was getting. He quietly got out a piece of parchment and began doodling with his quill.

Snape's lecture went on. "The Dark Arts are many, varied, ever-changing and eternal. Fighting them is like fighting a many-headed monster, which, each time a neck is severed, sprouts a head even fiercer--DeDannan!" Startled, Cody looked up, feeling the eyes of everyone in the class on him. "Put your quill away and pay attention!"

Cody felt his eyes burn once more as he hastily stowed his quill and parchment. He sank down in his chair, his hands clenched. That was twice, and it wasn't even lunchtime, yet!

Snape glowered for a moment before going back to his monologue, about how ever-changing and vicious the Dark Arts rather sounded to Cody that Snape liked the Dark Arts. But then was that really a surprise? He shuddered slightly, as Snape pointed to various pictures on the wall, which represented things like the Cruciatus Curse, Inferi, and victims of the Dementor's Kiss. He turned his gaze back down to Snape, feeling vaguely disturbed.

Parvati Patil obviously felt the same asked if Inferi had been actually sighted. Snape only replied that the "Dark Lord" had used them in the past, and would probably use them again.

"That is so gross," Cody whispered, glancing up briefly at the bloody corpse that represented an Inferius.

"You are," said Snape, still pacing the room, "complete novices in the use of nonverbal spells. What is the advantage of a nonverbal spell?"

Hermione's hand was the only one in the air, and Cody looked at it with a mixture of fondness and annoyance. Hermione would always be Hermione no matter what.

"Very well," said Snape. "Miss Granger?"

"Your adversary has no warning about what kind of magic you're about to perform," said she. "Which gives you a split-second advantage."

"An answer copied almost word for word from The Standard Book of Spells, Grade Six. But correct in essentials." Snape stalked off once more to the front of the classroom, to finish his lecture. And five minutes later, the class had divided into pairs to practice their nonverbal spells. Despite himself, Cody thought that this might be fun. How he would love to hex Malfoy, without him even knowing who had done it!

Cody and Neville partnered up, decided that Neville would try and jinx Cody first, and began to practice. Neville's face was screwed up in concentration, as he pointed his wand at Cody. Cody waited with his wand out, tense, waiting for a spell to come his way so that he could repel it. How did a person know that a hex was on its way if it wasn't spoken, anyway? Some spells were visible, such as the Stunning Spell, but not all of them were.

Not that it mattered today. After five minutes of straining, Neville had not been able to curse Cody, so they switched places.

'Rictusempra,' thought Cody furiously, pointing his wand at Neville's gut. A Tickling would be fun! The problem was, he had gotten so used to using verbal spells, which did not for the most part need as much ferocity of mind as nonverbal ones, that Cody was not very good yet at focusing. And so he hexed Neville about as successfully as Neville had hexed him.

"Your face is all red," said Neville with a grin when Cody collapsed back in his chair, panting.

"I know," Cody grouched. "It feels hot like when I run a long time. Yours was too."

Their conversation was interrupted by Snape's jeering voice, and then Harry's clear call of "Protego!" Cody whipped his head around to watch Snape caught off guard by Harry's powerful Shield Charm, and stumbling backwards into a desk. He glanced at Neville, who looked partly horrified, and partly satisfied.

"Do you remember me telling you we are practicing nonverbal spells, Potter?" Snape hissed.

"Yes."

"Yes, sir," Snape commented, his eyes narrowed with dislike at Harry.

"There's no need to call me "sir"," Harry replied without missing a beat. Hermione and Neville gasped, and Cody let out a surprised giggle that he quickly stifled on Snape's furious look. Harry got detention, and the class went on as before. However neither Neville nor Cody was able to succeed in their jinxes.

ir jinxes.


	67. Y6 Chapter 11: NEWT Classes

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 6**  
by Hyena Cub

**Chapter 11: N.E.W.T. Classes**

On the way to break, Neville and Cody gleefully talked about the Shield Charm, and Harry's cheeky reply to Snape, while Hermione chided Harry for it, and Harry fumed about how Snape was talking about the Dark arts. That was about normal...it was how things normally went among them all, at any rate.

One of the Gryffindor Beaters came up to Harry then, asking about Quidditch tryouts, and giving Harry a parchment. Cody felt another twinge of unhappiness about the Slytherin team and who had taken over, but his curiosity about Harry's scroll drove that out of his mind. He stood on his toes and peered at the parchment as Harry unraveled it. "Dumbledore's giving you private lessons?" asked Cody.

Harry nodded his head. "He told me over break."

"What about?"

"I don't know, he didn't actually tell me what they would be. Probably some kind of defense from what he said. You know, kinda like when professor Lupin schooled me in Patronuses."

"Which I _still_ can't do," Cody grouched. "If he does teach you some cool stuff, will you teach me it?"

Harry laughed as Cody gave him a hopeful grin, and ruffled the boy's hair. "Maybe," said Harry impishly. "I dunno though. You might be too short to manage it."

"Short!" cried Cody indignantly, and aimed a punch at Harry's arm, which he easily dodged. Cody chased him a short way down the hallway, then stopped and stuck out his tongue when it was clear Cody wasn't going to catch him. "I'll get you later!" he vowed loudly.

"I bet you will!" said Harry with a smirk, and disappeared around the corner. Ron and Neville both looked highly amused, while Hermione only rolled her eyes.

"See you guys later, okay?" said Cody. "I'm gonna find Graham. You wanna come, Neville?"

Neville nodded, and the two headed off.

During the break, Cody related the details of their Defense Against the Dark Arts class with Snape to Graham, while Neville sat still, apparently simply enjoying the day. That is, right up until Cody mentioned Harry's comment to Snape, and was suddenly hit out of nowhere with a Leg-Locker Curse. He gave a yell of shocked surprise as he fell over in the grass, looking wildly around for who had done it. "HEY!" Cody bellowed.

Then Neville cheered, raising a fist in the air. "I did it!" he crowed. "I did it, I didn't even say a word!"

As Graham literally fell over laughing, Cody gaped at Neville and then puffed up with acute indignation and demanded, "What's the big idea!" As Neville also began laughing, Cody could not help but join in. He was glad that Neville had managed to produce a Leg-Locker Curse, but was very put out that he'd decided to practice on Cody without Cody's permission!

Graham got to his feet, snickering, and took out his wand. "That was great," he said with a grin towards Neville. He pointed his wand at Cody's legs and performed the counter-curse, letting Cody's legs spring apart again. Cody stood and glared at both of them, but since he was still laughing, it didn't have much force behind it.

"Aw, it was fun," said Neville, chuckling and putting a hand on Cody's shoulder.

"You just wait," theatened Cody. "I'll get revenge." But by then, the bell signifying the end of break sounded, and they all headed inside--Cody's revenge would have to wait!

Graham had class of course, but neither Neville nor Cody was taking Arithmancy, and so they had that period free. They spent the time in the library, where they both set to completing the homework that Snape had set them. It was only half done by the time the lunch bell rang, which had Cody a little bit worried about the amount of work that they were going to have in their sixth year.

"This class is going to be hard," said Neville glumly as they entered the Great Hall together.

"I know," said Cody, commiserating. "It's because Snape's teaching it. And I have about five loads of Runes homework to do, also. I hope to finish Snape's stupid homework tonight after supper."

"Well, we've got a free period after lunch, maybe we can finish it then?"

Cody frowned, and looked at his schedule. "It's not free, we've got Care of -- oh yeah...you're not gonna take it this year, are you?"

Neville shook his head, looking a little embarrassed. "It's not that I don't like Hagrid or anything. It's just I don't like things that think I look like supper."

Cody blinked, and had to refrain from snickering at this comment. He supposed Neville had a point, though for Cody, that rather made the classes fun. "I wonder if Harry and the others are taking that class."

"I dunno. There they are now, why don't you ask them?"

Cody did so, and was very disappointed to find that Harry Ron and Hermione had all dropped the class, and what's more, were amazed that Cody had continued with it. Cody could tell that they felt bad for not taking the class, but were still determined that they would keep all of their limbs intact. "You will tell him that we didn't want to upset him or anything, won't you?" Hermione asked, frowning a bit.

"Isn't that something you should tell him?" Cody asked.

Hermione shrugged uncomfortably. "Yes...but we won't get the chance to, at least not before you will."

Cody sighed, and said that he would pass along the message, but he slunk off to sit at the opposite end of the Gryffindor table. It sucks, he thought, eating without much appetite. When I'm angry at the Gryffindors, I have nowhere really to sit.

He ate his meal quickly, then slipped down to the dorm room to get the things he would need for Care of Magical Creatures and Potions, the classes he had that afternoon. Then he grabbed his cloak (it was chilly outside), and headed for Hagrid's hut.

Cody was the first one there, from the look of it, which was strange since he had almost been late for the lesson. Hagrid was out in the paddock, leaning against his hut, and grinned at Cody as he approached. "Knew I'd see yeh here, kid," he said to the boy.

"Yeah!" said Cody enthusiastically. "What're we studying this term? Chimearas?"

Hagrid chuckled. "Nah, I reckon the Ministry'd throw me back in Azkaban if I brought one o' them in here...though I was thinkin' o' gettin' a baby in here for my sixth years. I might see if I can't convince the ministry to let me bring one in for a few classes. But for today, we're studyin' water creatures."

Cody glanced towards the lake, and raised a brow.

"Yep!" said Hagrid happily. "We'll be in the lake today. But don' worry. Yeh know the Bubble-Headed Charm, don't yeh?"

"Well yeah, but that lake is cold! And cold's evil!"

"Aw, yeh're tough enough, kid," laughed Hagrid, with a slap to the back that nearly made Cody choke up a lung. "Besides, we'll on'y be in there first half of the lesson. Then we'll move back to me paddock. Plenty o' time for yeh to dry off before yer next class."

Cody could not really argue that without disputing him being tough, and so he said nothing. It would be interesting, he had to admit, studying water creatures in the water!

He looked up to see Hagrid frowning, and winced; it was five minutes past the time that the lessons normally started, and Cody was the only one there. It was as he had thought; none of the others in his year had chosen to take Care of Magical Creatures into the N.E.W.T. year.

Hagrid looked hurt. "I didn' think that the Slytherins would be comin' back, an' good riddance to 'em. But..."

Cody sighed quietly, wincing a little bit. "Er...I dunno if the others had time for Care of Magical Creatures," said Cody. "I mean it's like Hermione. She's a nutter, so she took Arithmancy." Cody made a face. Hagrid did not laugh, on the contrary, he looked upset. "I'm sorry," said Cody quietly to Hagrid.

Hagrid cleared his throat, straightening up and saying gruffly, "No matter. I got one student, enough fer me. Now c'mon, let's head down ter the lake." Hagrid smiled at Cody, though it was very distracted. Cody nodded, hopping off the paddock fence and following.

Hagrid went right over to the lake, up to his chest, and Cody realized that Hagrid would not have to go underwater, but Cody would. Before wading into the frigid lake, Cody pointed his wand at his own head, and muttered the charm to place a "bowl" of air over his head. The Bubble-Headed charm would give him a steady supply of air. He wasn't sure how long it lasted, but Cedric Diggory had used it for the Triwizard Tournament and it had lasted him at least an hour. Trying not to think too long about Cedric, Cody fervently hoped that they would not be in the lake that long.

"All righ', come on out here then," said Hagrid, gesturing Cody out.

Cody winced and stepped into the water, yowling at its temperature. He waded out, then had to start treading water as he reached where Hagrid stood. Hagrid took hold of Cody's arm and held him afloat so he didn't have to tread the entire time in his sodden robes.

"Now then. I want yeh ter look straight down there." Hagrid pointed to a vague blur beneath the water, though Cody could not tell what it was. "I wan' yeh ter go down there an' have a look at it and tell me if yeh know what it is."

Cody agreeably submerged into the water, taking in a sharp breath as it closed icily over his head. He hoped that they weren't out there long, else he thought he might freeze. He swam awkwardly towards the creature, which was not very menacing-looking as he got near it. It rather looked like some kind of mutated, scaled monkey with a dented head. It looked familiar to him, and rather thought that for Hagrid, it looked kind of cute. Laughing, Cody reached out a hand to touch it.

With a speed in the water that Cody could not have believed possible before seeing it, the thing lunged forward and grabbed Cody's arm, sinking sharp teeth into the skin. Cody yelled in pain, and instinctively kicked out at it, but his legs were slow and clumsy in the water.

Mildly panicked, he looked upwards towards Hagrid to signal somehow that he needed help, but Hagrid had already bent down and submerged his top part in the water, grabbing the monkey thing and prying its jaws off of Cody's arm. He pulled Cody up before the creature could latch on again, and backed away to the shallows of the lake.

"What IS that?" Cody exclaimed, holding his arm where the thing had bitten him. It hurt, enough that Cody might have cried, if it hadn't taken him so much by surprise.

Hagrid winced. "Sorry, Cody," he said. "Shoulda warned yeh. I didn' know yeh was gonna reach out and try ter pet the thing." He actually chuckled a bit at the look on Cody's face. "Yeh're like me sometimes when it comes to creatures, aren't yeh?" Cody had to agree, if reluctantly. "Come on," Hagrid said. "I'd intended ter stay out here and watch it a bit more than that, but I think we can do the rest of the lesson indoors from the book."

Hagrid led Cody back to his cabin, where, in front of a roaring fire, he had Cody take his robe and shirt off, and dry them by the hearth. He cleaned and bandaged the nasty bite on Cody's arm and got him a hot cup of cider.

"Thanks," said Cody gratefully, taking a sip. "So..."

"That, Cody, was a kappa."

"Oh." Now he remembered, they had studied them in third year with Lupin.

"I know yeh studied these in Defense Against the Dark Arts, but we're not learnin' how to defend against them, we're learnin' how to care for 'em." He had Cody get out his copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and spent most of the lesson having Cody take down notes about kappas.

By that time, Cody's hair and shirt were dry, his robe was only slightly damp, and his pants and shoes no longer squelched when he moved. He rolled up his parchment of notes and put it in his bag, leaning back in his chair as he waited for the class period to end.

Hagrid, finished teaching for the time being, had gone back to looking a little moody and upset. "How is it that yeh were able to keep me class, but Harry an' the others couldn'?"

"Well...I dunno for sure," said Cody, feeling uncomfortable. "But I know they all kept both Herbology and Transfiguration, and I didn't. I only got an A in Transfiguration, and failed Herbology. I hated Herbology anyway."

"Oh...yeah...I suppose that makes sense," Hagrid grumbled. "Still...yeh'd think they coulda at least told me."

"They did feel bad," Cody offered, and Hagrid smiled at him.

"Thanks, kid..." He glanced up at the clock on the wall, said, "'Bout time fer...Potions, is it?" Cody nodded. "Better get yer things on, then. And I'll see you in a couple of days fer our next class."

"Okay." Cody smiled at Hagrid, and donned his shirt, tie, and robe, and hoped that Hermione would know a good spell for drying. The dungeons were cold.

---

When Cody arrived at the Potions classroom, he was very relieved that Hagrid had not given him any homework. He did, however, have a bandage around his arm where the subject of the lesson had bitten him. When he joined the Gryffindors outside the dungeon classroom, Harry, Hermione, and Ron all gave the bloodstained bandage a darkly significant look, before looking back up to Cody.

Cody shrugged sheepishly. "I wasn't quick enough."

"Mad," Ron muttered. "Barking mad, you are."

Cody stuck out his tongue.

Only thirteen students had returned for N.E.W.T. Potions class; five Slytherins, four Ravenclaws, three Gryffindors and one Hufflepuff; Cody recognized a few of them from the D. A.. He waved hi to the lot of them.

Professor Slughorn came in then, and Cody was struck at how fat the man was. He was big, like Hagrid, but a lot shorter. He led the students into the classroom, where sat four bubbling cauldrons of potions on four tables inside the room. Cody went over to sit with Ernie MacMillan and the Gryffindors, near a gold-colored cauldron full of liquid. It smelled very weird to Cody, but he liked it very much. Crayons (he loved the smell of crayons), books, and the kind of scented lotion his mother used to use. It nearly made him cry, that smell, but he got himself a long whiff of it all the same.

"Now then, now then, now then!" cried Professor Slughorn, catching the attention of the class. "Scales out now, and potion kits, and don't forget your copy of Advanced Potion Making!"

Cody was suddenly glad that he had been able to continue with Potions after all, as he did enjoy the class a great deal. And with Snape not teaching it, it was bound to be a lot more fun!

Harry raised his hand then, to tell Professor Slughorn that he and Ron hadn't scales or Potions ingredients, or a book. Cody looked up and added that he, too, needed ingredients and a book, though he still had his scales from last year.

"Ah, yes, your Heads of House did tell me that, not to worry boys, not to worry at all. The student store should have all the ingredients you need, and we've old copies of the book left by other students. They'll do fine until you can write to Flourish and Blotts." He fetched a pair of books from a dusty looking cabinet, fished out two sets of scales for Ron and Harry, and brought them over. "Only two, but you can share Harry's or Ron, Cody."

"Thanks, sir," said Cody, peering briefly at the book that Harry took. It was very beat up, kind of like some of Cody's favorite books, which he read all the time.

"Now then," said Slughorn once he'd returned to the front of the class. Cody looked up, giving him his attention. "I've prepared a few potions for you to look at, which are the sort of thing you will be learning to make before you take your N.E.W.T.s. You'll have heard of these, I think, even if you've not yet made them. Does anyone know what this is?" He pointed to a cauldron that looked to Cody to be full of water.

Hermione, however, of course knew better. "It's Veritaserum. Colorless, odorless potion that forces the drinker to tell the truth."

Cody winced, looking away from the clear liquid; nasty stuff, that. He'd seen it work on Professor "Moody" a year previous.

Slughorn asked about two of the other potions, which Hermione also knew; Polyjuice Potion and Amortentia (which was the one nearest to Cody).

"What's Amortentia?" asked Cody.

"It's a love potion," replied Hermione; Cody recoiled from the cauldron, making Ron snigger. "The most powerful one in the world. You can recognize it by its mother-of-pearl sheen, and the smoke rising in spirals."

Cody cocked his head and waved a hand through the steam, disturbing the twirling patterns for a moment, but they resumed spiraling a moment later. Cody laughed. "Neat. It smells good."

Hermione nodded, smiling. "Yes. It smells differently to everyone, according to what attracts us the most, and I can smell freshly mown grass, and new parchment, and--"

Cody stifled a giggle, holding his hand over his mouth, as Hermione tinged pink and stopped talking.

"May I ask your name, my dear?" asked Slughorn.

"Hermione Granger, sir."

"Granger...Granger? Can you possibly be related to Hector Dagworth-Granger, who founded the Most Extraordinary Society of Potioneers?"

"No, I don't think so, sir. I'm Muggle-born, you see."

"Yeah, her parents are dentists," Cody added.

"Oho!" exclaimed Slughorn, turning to Harry, beaming. "'One of my best friends is Muggle born and she's the best in our year!' I assume this is the very friend of which you spoke, Harry?"

"Yes, sir," said Harry, looking faintly embarrassed.

"Well, well, take twenty points for Gryffindor, Miss Granger!" said Slughorn, before moving on. He began telling the class about Amortentia, which did not actually create love, as it was impossible to do so. It merely created obsession, which made it possibly the most powerful potion in the room. At Nott and Malfoy's sniggered, he said, "Oh, yes! When you have seen as much of life as I have, you will not underestimate the power of obsessive love."

Cody believed it! He'd read enough books where people get a huge crush on someone, and do stupid things because of it. He tended to avoid books with romance in them, but sometimes they snuck up on him.

Before Slughorn could start them working, Ernie asked what was in the fourth cauldron; it looked to Cody like Slughorn had melted a cauldron of gold, which was splashing out of the pot now and then to spatter on the ground.

"Oho!" said Slughorn again; Cody found himself rather liking the man. He was weird, but seemed nice enough. "That, ladies and gentlemen, is a most curious little potion called Felix Felicis." Hermione gasped, annoying Cody most thoroughly. He wished that he, for once, could know what was going on before she did. Slughorn chuckled. "I take it, Miss Granger, you know what this potion does?"

"It's liquid luck!" Hermione exclaimed. "It makes you lucky!"

She earned another ten points for Gryffindor, and Cody scowled. Not that he cared much if Slytherin got the House Cup, but it was the satisfaction of knowing that you'd done something well enough to earn points that he liked. He hadn't earned any points all day.

The class started asking questions, such as why people didn't take it all the time (unpleasant side effects) and if Professor Slughorn had ever used it (he had, twice.) And then came the bombshell; this potion would be a prize for the day's work. "One tiny bottle of Felix Felicis, enough for twelve hours' worth of luck. From dawn until dusk, everything you do will be lucky."

"Awesome!" exclaimed Cody. Maybe he could win it!

Slughorn warned them that they could not use it for things such as sports, or elections, or things of the like, but for ordinary days. "So, how are you to win my fabulous prize? Why, by turning to page ten of your textbooks. We have a little over an hour left to us, enough time for a decent attempt to make the Draught of Living Death. It is more complex than anything you will have tried before, so I don't expect perfection! But the person who makes the best attempt will win my bottle of Felix Felicis!"

Cool! Cody thought...at least at first.

A half hour later, he was not so thrilled with the idea of making a Draught of Living Death. It was the most difficult potion he had ever tried to make, and it was not coming along so well. It was issuing blue steam in erratic spurts, and Cody was having difficulty keeping his fire lit. He was doing better than Ron was by the looks of it, but that wasn't saying much. He and Ron shared a book, and were muttering rude things about the potion in turns.

By the time Slughorn called for the class to stop, Cody's potion was transparent, neon green. He glared at it angrily. "Bright green! Why do my potions always turn bright green?"

Slughorn laughed genially, and clapped Cody on the shoulder. "That's all right, young man. No one can be expected to succeed on their first try! Now, let's see how Miss Granger has done!"

Cody was somewhat consoled by this statement, but that did not stop him being jealous of Harry's potion, when Harry won the Felix Felicis.

After Potions class (grateful for a lack of homework from Professor Slughorn as well), Cody went up to the hospital wing to get the bite wound on his arm taken care of. He was treated to a rant that he had not come to her immediately, but Cody well expected it. He liked Madam Pomfrey, and even thought of her vehement rants about danger with a degree of fondness. And so he simply let her rant on, grinning. No dummy, the matron put her hands on her hips, and gave Cody one of her _looks_. "Don't think I don't notice you smirking at me, young man," she said, making Cody laugh. She sighed and swatted him lightly in the back of the head. "Go on, then."

He did.


	68. Y6 Chapter 12: The New Commentator

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 6**  
by Hyena Cub

**Chapter 12: The New Commentator**

In the following week, Cody was increasingly irritated by three things: a great amount of homework, a lot of struggling in Potions class (while Harry seemed to be having little trouble at all), and Draco Malfoy. Draco seemed to have decided that trying to convince Cody to join the Dark Lord, like a proper Slytherin, was a better course of action than constantly fighting with Cody.

Though Cody would in truth never join up with Voldemort, in fact hated him and his Death Eaters more than anything in the world, Cody was still appalled and shocked at how good Draco was at making Voldemort seem desirable. Even things that Cody recognized as carefully gilded lies, Draco made tempting. Cody had not yet blatantly told Draco off, enjoying a sullen sort of dislike from his housemates rather than outright hostility, but soon he thought he was going to have to get rude. He certainly did not want people thinking he was considering Draco's outrageous suggestion.

He was also less than thrilled, though not entirely surprised, when the new Quidditch captain, Urquhart, approached Cody during the weekend to tell him that he was off the team. "I need someone with a little more muscle," he'd said, affecting what Cody supposed Urquhart considered gentle sincerity...but Cody had seen the barely-concealed smirk.

"I wouldn't wanna be on a team Malfoy's on anyway," said Cody grimly, and walked away, hearing Urquhart's chuckle as he left.

That night at supper, Cody slunk over to the Gryffindor table, sat next to Neville, and sighed, putting his chin down on his arms. "What's wrong?" Neville asked.

It was strange. For the entire summer, Cody had resigned himself to the fact that he was going to leave the team, or be kicked out. For two months he had convinced himself that he would only be miserable if he stayed on, but now he just felt like crying. He didn't, though. After a thirty-second or so hesitation, he had managed to quash the urge. "I quit the Quidditch team," he said in a subdued voice. "Kinda. Urquhart...he's the new captain... was gonna throw me out, anyway."

"Oh. I'm sorry, Cody." Cody felt Neville's hand on Cody's back, looked up, and smiled. Neville really was a good friend; why couldn't more people see that?

"Thanks."

"You're really upset, eh?"

Cody shrugged, and was about to say "nah, not really," but the lie sounded so ridiculous, even to himself, that he didn't. "Yeah," he said. "Yeah, I am. But it'd just be worse if I stayed. I'm really gonna miss playing, though. I wish I could just try out for the Gryffindor team." But he knew _that_ wouldn't happen in a hurry. He scowled. "If I ever see the Sorting Hat again, me an' him are gonna have words." And they wouldn't be nice ones, either.

"If that ever happens, lemme know first, huh?" said Neville, gently teasing. "I'd like to see that."

Cody actually laughed a little bit, and was glad Neville had said it. "It's a deal. I guess it's not too bad. I'm gonna tell Professor Snape that I'm interested in doing the commentating. Lee Jordan's not here any more." And for that matter, the Weasley twins were not, either. They had been absent from the latter part of the previous year, but enough had been going on that Cody had not had a lot of time to miss them until now.

"That'd be cool," said Neville. "Probably not a lot of people have asked, so you might get it. Most kids just wanna watch, and cheer their teams. As commentator, you have to be objective. At least mostly," he added, probably thinking of the insults Lee occasionally threw at the Slytherin team. Well, maybe more than "occasionally".

"Yeah. I'll tell him next Defense Against the Dark Arts class."

He did not hear back until a week and a half into term, when Professor Snape told Cody that he was one of only a few who would be trying out for the role of commentator, and to report to Professor McGonagall that weekend.

Cody was finding that, even though the workload was immense, his academic life was that much more pleasant without Herbology or History of Magic. Neville of course had gotten an Outstanding O.W.L. in Herbology, about which Cody was not surprised. Though he, like Cody, had only gotten an A in Transfiguration, so they often spent the free time during McGonagall's N. E. W. T. class finishing up homework. Cody did miss McGonagall, since without Transfiguration, he saw little of her. He made it a point sometimes to go and see her on occasion.

They were learning an interesting lot in Charms, however, like Aguamenti...a shower of water from the wand. Cody was having a very good time with this one, unleashing it on unsuspecting victims like Ron or Graham and sometimes a random Slytherin when he felt brave. It usually resulted in various jinxes being thrown his way, but it was still worth it.

Care of Magical Creatures was very enjoyable. The weirdness of being Hagrid's only student had all but worn off, and Cody thought it very cool to have Hagrid's attention all to himself. He had been afraid at first, that Hagrid would try and use Cody as a sort of go-between in regards to Harry, Ron, and Hermione, but he had not; in fact he seemed to be trying to avoid them and the mention of them as much as possible. Cody did not like seeing Hagrid angry with them, but he knew full well that he was not the one who would be able to mend the breach. And so he simply enjoyed the classes. (He'd managed not to get bitten for an entire week.)

Sometimes, when the work of the class was done early, he and Cody would simply talk. Cody enjoyed this; he hadn't had much time to visit his friend this year, what with the mounds of homework. It seemed that once you made it to sixth year, the teachers got sadistic!

It was during one of these talks that Hagrid told Cody he was worried about Aragog. Cody didn't know at first who he was talking about, until he mentioned it was an acromantula, and then Cody remembered Ron and Harry's story from four years ago. That was one adventure Cody was happy enough to miss out on! Cody shivered at the idea of a giant, carnivorous spider, but managed to stay sympathetic as Hagrid talked about him. It was clear that Hagrid, at least, was upset.

The Quidditch trials were on the same day as the commentator's auditions, though the trials were in the morning, and the audition in the afternoon. And so Saturday morning, Cody joined Harry out on the Quidditch pitch to watch the Gryffindor tryouts. While waiting for everyone to show up, Cody told harry about Urquhart and his "reason" for throwing Cody off of the team.

"I know," said Harry sympathetically, pulling his attention for a minute from the gathering hopefuls to Cody. "Neville told us the other night. I know how you feel."

He did, too, Cody realized; Harry, too, had once been banned from Quidditch. "I wondered," Cody said hesitantly, "if...I mean I know I can't try out for the Quidditch team, but I wondered if I could join in with you guys's practice. I mean I just like the game. It doesn't have to be a 'real' game...."

Harry didn't say anything for a moment, and Cody got the idea that he had never heard of someone asking another House if he could practice with their Quidditch team. He turned his mouth downward in a sort of thoughtful expression before saying, "I don't see why not, so long as none of the team members have any objections. You can be the opposing team we practice against."

He winked, and Cody smiled at him. "Cool. Thanks." Malfoy would probably have a cow, Cody thought, but oh well! Cody sat in a warm patch of sun to watch the tryouts.

By the end of the morning, Cody was feeling very sorry for Harry. Between all of the people who had shown up for practice just because it would be amusing (including people from other houses), several people who could not fly to save their lives (Cody remembered his own first tryout for the Slytherin team and smirked with amusement and sympathy both), and the people who threw a fit at not getting a place on the team Harry looked quite harassed. Ron and Ginny both had made the team, of course, as well as a couple Cody didn't know.

After a quick conference with his new team, Harry told Cody that he would be welcome at their practices, and Cody laughed, and thanked him. Harry also said that he, Hermione, and Ron intended to go to talk to Hagrid, and asked if he wanted to go.

Cody winced. "Er, no...if it's all the same to you, I'd rather stay here. Besides, after lunch I have my commentator tryouts with Professor McGonagall."

"Ah, that's right!" said Ron with a grin. "Good luck to you then!"

Cody grinned now. "Thanks...and congratulations!"

Ron ruffled Cody's hair, and left with the other two towards Hagrid's cabin. He watched them from a distance, greeting Buckbeak, then meeting Hagrid, and Cody turned towards the Great Hall for lunch.

He sat at the Slytherin table for once, with Graham, whom Cody was pleased to see. Sometimes Graham joined Cody at the Gryffindor table, but not always, and Cody had been feeling guilty about staying away so often. He asked if Graham wanted to come and watch, but Graham had a really long essay to write for his own Defense Against the Dark Arts class, and wanted to get it done. So Cody left the Great Hall by himself.

When Cody got back out onto the Quidditch pitch, he was surprised to see that only about a dozen students had shown up to apply for the job, including Luna Lovegood and Zacharias Smith. Cody stuck out his tongue at Zacharias, who returned the gesture with a rather more vulgar one involving two fingers. He and Cody did not get along well; they had disliked each other ever since the D.A..

Professor McGonagall, who luckily had not seen the two exchanging pleasantries, had gathered everyone into a circle around what looked like a big bowl made out of stone. Cody looked at the thing curiously, tracing the runes set around the edges. He recognized about half of them from his Runes class. "What's this, ma'am?" he asked.

"This, Cody, is a Pensieve," said McGonagall.

"Oh! That's what one looks like! Harry told me about them but I never saw one before!" He gazed at the basin with a good deal more interest.

The woman chuckled lightly, then turned to the rest of the applicants. "All right, I assume you all are interested in the role of commentator for the school Quidditch matches, am I correct?" There were nods all around. "All right, then. What we are going to do is this: each of you is going to watch part of a Quidditch match in this Pensieve, and will commentate on it as if it were real. We will go into the memory, disappearing from the sight of the others. Does everyone understand?"

There wsa more nodding, though this less sure than before.

"All right," said Professor McGonagall. "Stewart Ackerly, you first, please. I am going to take you by the elbow, and take you into the Pensieve. Don't be nervous, it can't harm you. Just bend forward until your face touches the surface of the water."

Cody watched in utter fascination as Stewart and McGonagall both looked as if they had been sucked into the stone basin, disappearing as if they'd Apparated. He gasped, laughing in amazement. He wondered how that felt, disappearing into there like that!

The gathered auditioners could see nothing of went on in the memory, and could only wait for their return to the normal world. It was just as strange to see them reappear as it had to see them being sucked in.

After that, McGonagall went in alphabetical order, and with a surname starting with D, Cody was third in line. He took a deep breath, and leaned forward, "falling" into the basin the second his nose touched the silvery, watery contents of the Pensieve. He let a cry of alarm, even with McGonagall grasping his arm, and braced himself for a hard landing...but none came. He fell through a void, and suddenly found himself standing in the stands of a Quidditch game, disoriented and very dizzy.

"Easy, DeDannan," said McGonagall with a little smile. "It's not that much different than a portkey."

'Says you,' Cody thought. But after a moment, Cody laughed a little bit; it had been fun, once he realized he could not have been hurt. But it certainly had been alarming!

Cody felt very strange, being in a place that was neither in the air, nor among the students for a Quidditch match. And it felt even stranger that he would not be playing Quidditch at all, when he had been doing so, at least in practice, since his second year.

Since Second year...it seemed so long ago! He was in his _sixth_ year! It was unbelievable. Fifth year had not seemed so bad, so old, so close to the end...but sixth year....

He was surprised to find that a feeling of panic blossomed each time he thought of this, and wondered at it; he had to take a deep breath to calm himself, and force his eyes to focus on Professor McGonagall, who looked concerned. "Are you all right, Mr. DeDannan?"

Shaking his head briskly, Cody looked up at her and managed a smile. "Yes, ma'am. Just...thinking. About...things that my brain gets annoyed when I think about them."

McGonagall gazed at Cody for a moment, with the look that suggested a restrained smile, but said nothing. Cody often got that look from her. "All right, Mr. DeDannan," said McGonagall finally, looking out at the pitch, where fourteen players were zooming around the pitch, obviously in the middle of a match. The sound seemed to have somehow been turned off. "These are all players with whom you should be familiar." Again, the subtle twitch of the mouth that indicated a smirk - or at least as close to a smirk as McGonagall got. "Slytherin and Gryffindor. Whenever you feel ready, I want to you start commentating.

Cody took a big breath and nodded, gazing at the players. It was a memory caught mid-game, so Cody took a moment to orient himself with what was going on, and who was playing. He recognized Malfoy, which meant it was a recent game, and looked around for Harry. And there he was, circling above. One of the Slytherin players was smaller than all the others, and carrying a Beater's bat, and Cody gaped in astonishment to realize that was him!

It had to be a full minute that he stood there, gaping at this extraordinary scene, feeling an almost crippling sense of unreality wash over him. He was watching himself as if he were real...it was like finding out you had an identical twin, but coupled with a huge burst of deja-vu.

"Mr. DeDannan?"

Cody spun around to see McGonagall looking at him, reminding him he was supposed to be commentating, and Cody stammered for a moment before laughing. Well...so be it, then! He never thought he would be commentating on himself.

He always was more nervous with an audition than during the real thing, but even so, Cody was not too bad once he got started. He announced the teams playing, the names of the players (he knew the Gryffindor team almost as well as his own), and who played what position. He blushed and faltered for a moment in his commentary as he watched himself and the other Beater, Bole, collide, right in midair, as they were going after Harry. "And...there's...me, running into the other Beater, and dropping my bat on the ground!" Cody announced, a laugh in his voice, as his other-self shot towards the ground after his bat.

He conveniently forgot to mention that right after that collision, Cody had hit a Bludger at Lee Jordan. He also left out the part where he and Bole had hit Bludgers at Oliver Wood, even though it was an illegal move, choosing to comment on the Gryffindor Chasers instead.

"And Harry Potter spots the Snitch! Beater Bole of Slytherin fires a Bludger after the Gryffindor Seeker, but Potter grabs the Snitch first, gaining 150 points for the Gryffindors - and the Gryffindors win!" Cody found that as he commentated, he found his own rhythm, his own energy, and while it was not a exciting as actually playing the game, commentating certainly was fun! And, he consoled himself, if I get to be commentator, I can participate in all the games, not just Slytherin's.

When next he looked up at McGonagall (he almost forgot she was there), she was smiling. "Well done," she said. "Are you ready to head back?"

"Yeah! That was fun."

"Then hold still, and I shall bring you back through." Cody let her take his arm and felt the peculiar sensation of falling upward, and they were suddenly back in the chilly field.

It took the remainder of the afternoon for everyone's trials to be over with, and when they had finished, McGonagall gathered the memory of the match back into her wand, and returned it to her head. "Well then," she beamed at the lot of them. "It was a difficult choice between three or four of you..." Her glance shifted to include Cody and a couple of others. His heart leapt; he hated suspense! "...but I have decided on Cody DeDannan as our new commentator."

Oblivious to a couple of disappointed growls, Cody laughed elatedly, and shook a fist in the air. "All right!" he cried. "Awesome!"

McGonagall chuckled. "I will inform Professor Snape. The rest of you, very good job - it was not an easy decision."

Grinning, Cody turned and sprinted for the castle, eager to tell Neville and Graham that he had gotten the job.

He couldn't find Neville anywhere, figuring he was in Gryffindor Tower, and instead sought out Graham, who was in the Slytherin common room. It was obvious that Graham could tell Cody had gotten the job, but let Cody tell him anyway. Then, he snickered. "Awww," he said, grinning. "That'll be great, your cute little voice, calling out all the plays..." Cody shot Graham a very dirty look. "I wonder if the megaphone they use is loud enough so your ickle voice can be heard."

"Oh, shut it, you," Cody said, slugging Graham in the arm. "You git."

"Always glad to be of service," said Graham.

"IF you are quite done snickering...." Graham laughed, and Cody went on with his story, describing how bizarre it had been to use the Pensieve.

"I went into one of those once," said Graham. "It _was_ weird! It was a memory of my uncle's, he had a Pensieve. You know lots of people have photo albums or diaries? Well he didn't; he used a Pensieve instead. They're not common, Pensieves, but my uncle was a little, er, eccentric."

Cody giggled. "It sounds it." In his elation, Cody had not noticed that there were a few Slytherins in the common room, and not friendly ones either, but he wouldn't have cared, anyway. He had not been in such good mood since the middle of summer.

"I think we should celebrate by chasing down Peeves and starting an insult war," said Graham.

Laughing, Cody agreed, and the two boys left the room.


	69. Y6 Chapter 13: Enmity and Discord

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 6**  
by Hyena Cub

**Chapter 13: Enmity and Discord**

That night, as he lay in bed with a bit of free time he was dedicating to reading one of his fiction books, he was startled by Draco's voice behind him as he stormed into the dorm. "Did I hear right, DeDannan?" he said, sneering as he walked over towards his own bed. "You're practicing with the _Gryffindor _Quidditch team?"

Scowling, Cody set down his book. "Yeah," he said defiantly, watching Malfoy's lip curl yet more. "So what, what do you care?"

"What do I _care_?" said Malfoy incredulously. "It's nothing less than treason, DeDannan!"

"Treason! It is not treason! This school's not at war, stupid. Besides, it's not like I'm gonna be playing against Slytherin! Besides, that jerk that made captain kicked me off of the Slytherin team, what do you call that?"

"Smart," answered Blaise Zabini with a snicker, from where he lay on his bunk. Cody glared at him.

Draco shook his head, his expression that of deepest disgust. "I thought you might have potential, DeDannan," he said, as if Cody had committed the gravest of crimes. "But my father was right, you really are a traitor, of the--"

Beginning to lose hold of his temper, Cody slid off of his bed, grabbing his wand from his bedside table, and glared at Malfoy. "Oh yeah?" he said, interrupting. "Well your dad's kinda in jail, isn't he, so who cares what he says?"

The other four boys in the room watched eagerly as Malfoy turned slowly around, looking almost exactly _like_ Lucius Malfoy for just a moment as he narrowed his gray eyes at Cody. His hand shook slightly, as it hovered above the pocket in which Cody was certain he carried his wand. It almost scared Cody for a minute, the look of ruthlessness in the older boy's face. "Watch what you say, DeDannan," he said quietly. "My father won't be in Azkaban forever. And a Malfoy never forgets his enemies. You remember what my mother said, in Diagon Alley. I warn you one last time, kid. You're allying with the wrong side. Potter was stupid enough to choose the losing side, I knew that long ago, but you're a Slytherin. It's still not too late to choose."

"I _have_ chosen," hissed Cody, feeling heat rise in his face, the increasingly more familiar buzz of adrenaline in his head. It blocked out nearly everything from his vision except for Malfoy. "Look what he did to my friends - do you _really_ think I'd EVER join Voldemort?"

Cody noted vaguely that Theodore Nott gasped, Crabbe and Goyle winced, and Blaise's eyes went wide at the mention of the name...which was how people normally reacted to Voldemort's name...but Malfoy's eyes only narrowed further, almost making it look as if his eyes were closed. "Don't you dare say his name, DeDannan."

"VOLDERMORT!" yelled Cody at the top of his lungs. "Voldemort Voldemort Voldemort!" Childish, perhaps, but it got the point across; Cody would say his name whenever he bloody well felt like it.

Cody wasn't the only one to lose his temper. Malfoy hissed and drew his wand, shooting a Stunning Spell at Cody so fast that he only barely dodged it, ducking behind his bed. He popped up only to see another Stunning Spell coming at him, but deflected this one with a Shield Charm, so that it was Malfoy's turn to duck for cover. Cody pressed the advantage, leaping over the bed to hex Malfoy, but had to duck as Crabbe yelled, "Stupefy!" and another red jet of light seared towards Cody's chest.

"Stupid!" Cody yelled at the lot of them, all semblance of self-control deep in hiding. "Do you REALLY think Voldemort gives a crap about any of you? You, Draco, has he got your dad out of Azkaban? Of course not, your dad screwed up his plans, and that's all he cares about!"

Draco's face was contorted with fury. "Shut your mouth, DeDannan!"

"And you, Theodore!" Cody went on, completely disregarding Malfoy's warning. "You know what _his_ dad said last year in the ministry, when your dad got hurt? He said 'Leave Nott, leave him! The Dark Lord won't care about his injuries as much as the prophecy!' That cowardly jerk just _uses_ you people!"

_"CRUCIO!" _

Cody only just got out of the way of Draco's curse, ducking again behind the bed, a sudden, sharp, painful wave of deja-vu striking over him as a Stunning Spell lashed over him from Goyle's direction. The last time he'd done this, dueled, ducking behind the bed....

With an inarticulate cry, Cody stood and propelled himself over the bed, his wand forgotten in his hand, intending to tackle Malfoy and pummel him into very small bits. Draco, far enough away to see it coming and a good deal stronger than Cody, stepped aside and hit Cody hard in the middle of the back, sending him to sprawl on the floor, the breath knocked out of him. Draco grabbed the front of Cody's pajamas and hauled him against Theodore's four poster, jabbing his wand into Cody's throat.

"Lemme--" Cody began, grabbing at Malfoy's arm, but Malfoy slammed him against the heavy wood of the bed, and he clenched his teeth as his head began to ache.

"If I didn't have things I needed to accomplish here, DeDannan," Draco hissed, "I'd kill you. I'm damn close to doing it, anyway."

"You don't dare," Cody managed to gasp. "Not with Dumbledore--"

"To _hell_ with Dumbledore! That old maggot doesn't scare me anymore. And I tell you what, you tell him about this, and I'll make sure you regret it. I know what your sister looks like after all, and I know that she's staying with that damned werewolf. I could very easily arrange for her to meet an old friend of my family's, maybe you've heard of him. His name's Fenrir Greyback."

Cody's eyes widened, and he tried, even from his powerless position, to lunge for Draco's throat, but all it got him was another slam against the bed, and a shock from Draco's wand, strong enough to make him yelp in pain. Draco glared at Cody for a few seconds more, before hauling the younger boy up and shoving him violently away from him. Cody staggered, spinning around, but Draco had already turned his back on Cody, putting his wand away. The implied insult, that he did not consider Cody a threat and thus would turn his back to him, made Cody bristle, but he did nothing. Goyle and Zabini both also had their wands out, and neither of them was turning away.

Shaking, Cody looked slowly around for his own wand, and spotting it, picked it up. He saw Goyle tense, but Cody did not attack, he only retreated to his own bed and drew the curtains closed. He left a small crack open, through which he could see most of the dormitory, and watched the others boys go, one by one, to bed. But Cody did not sleep for a long time.

---

The next morning, Cody waited until everyone on his dorm had left, and then some, before getting out of bed and getting dressed. As it was Sunday, most of the Slytherins were already at breakfast when he entered the common room. Those few still there ignored him as he passed to the door and into the hallway beyond.

He caught up with Graham in the Great Hall, where he had been heading for the Slytherin table. "I'm sitting with the Gryffindors, if you wanna come," said Cody quietly.

Graham frowned at him. "You look terrible, what happened?"

"Explain in a minute." He'd caught a venomous glare from Malfoy, and wanted to get away from him. He was glad the Gryffindors sat on the opposite side of the Hall.

Five minutes later, he had greeted his friends and gotten himself a plate of bacon and eggs. He quietly related the "adventure" from the night before to Graham and the others, violently stabbing his eggs with his fork as he told the story.

Graham seemed shocked. "You mean he really tried to use the Cruciatus Curse on you?"

Cody nodded.

"Well - tell Dumbledore! He won't put up with that!"

"I dunno," said Hermione, looking at the two Slytherins seriously. "There might not be a lot he could do.... I mean, the curse didn't land on Cody, so Draco didn't break wizarding law, yet...otherwise Cody and Draco would probably _both_ get in trouble for dueling."

Cody scowled unhappily, and pushed his plate away, his breakfast half-finished. "I hate him. All of them."

"Well," said Ron after a moment. "At least he probably won't bug you anymore to join up with You-Know-Who."

Cody laughed a little bit at that, though there was little humor behind it. "Yeah...guess so."

"Look," said Hermione. "For now just keep an eye on Draco, all right? Make sure he doesn't try anything really nasty with you. I think that might be the safest choice. At least until you can write to Lupin, tell him about Draco's threat to your sister, make sure he keeps a good eye on her."

"Yeah...all right," said Cody, draining his glass of apple juice. "Thanks." But it did not set his mind much at ease; he had the idea that Draco could be almost as formidable an enemy as his father was. And as of the night previous, Cody and Draco were definitely enemies.

---

During the next weeks, there was a marked change in how the most of Slytherin House regarded Cody. About a fourth of them didn't care one way or another; half of them treated Cody with mild contempt, and the remaining Slytherins were outright hostile.

Cody had taken to spending as little time as he possibly could away from the other students of his House, often hanging out with the Gryffindors, grateful that just about all the Gryffindors at least tolerated him. He ate at the Gryffindor table at mealtimes, sometimes accompanied by Graham. And while normally this would be questioned, a student eating consistently at another House's table, no one ever said anything to Cody about it. (Except for the Slytherin students, and boy, was Cody sick of being called a traitor. He had become numb to the word. Malfoy did not use his name anymore half the time, just called him "the traitor".)

When he couldn't avoid the Slytherins, Cody would spend the time in his dorm, as the other sixth-years generally stayed out in the common room until they went to bed. Sometimes Graham would join Cody in the sixth-year dorm, or Cody would hang out in the third-year dorms. That was another thing that he was grateful for; Graham Pritchard's friendship. He was the only one left in Slytherin House that Cody could call a friend.

Quidditch practices started soon, giving Cody another thing to concentrate on, that kept him away from the other Slytherins. He began training with the Gryffindors, struck by how utterly different Harry's training style was from Marcus Flint's or Montague's. He enjoyed the Gryffindor practices a great deal, even knowing he would never play a game.

Cody did not just play Beater for these practices; Harry often had him switching positions to challenge his other players. At first, Cody wondered if he wasn't taking practice time away from the other Beaters (or Chasers, or whatever the case was), but Harry had said that it encouraged his players to try a bit harder to get to the Quaffle or the Bludger before Cody did. Made sense to Cody! And the rest of Harry's team was really nice. He already knew Ginny and Ron of course, and vaguely, Katie.

In fact, the next few weeks of school kept Cody very busy, busy enough that he had little time to be alone with the other Slytherins. Between choir practice (as he of course had continued with the school choir), the Quidditch practices, and the near overload of homework the N.E.W.T. students got from their professors, Cody hardly had time to eat and sleep. Even weekends were filled half the time, either with practices or homework. It made it a great deal easier to forget his other troubles.

---

The first Hogsmeade weekend of the year was in the middle of October, and Cody was excited about it. He was completely out of sweets, and intended to refill his supplies. But if Cody was excited, it was nothing to Graham - this would be his first time visiting the village. He said his parents had been reluctant to sign the form, what with all of the dangerous stuff going on, but in the end he'd convinced them.

"Awesome!" said Cody. They were sitting at the end of the Slytherin table at breakfast, talking about the trip.

"I can't wait to see Zonko's. I heard it's brilliant!"

Cody nodded his head. "Yeah, the Weasley twins went there all the time, that's how cool it is, but my favorite's Honeydukes! That's where I get my Blood Lollipops."

Graham gave Cody a look of disgust. "I swear, you're part vampire."

Cody frowned. _"Part_ vampire? Can you even _be_ part vampire? I mean if you get bit, you get bit."

"Well...." Graham thought for a minute or two, and then laughed. "I guess if someone is a vampire, but then has kids, the kids would be part vampire...."

Of course this brought up the question as to whether a vampire _could_ have kids, or whether he was even still technically alive, or whether certain equipment continued to function the way it was supposed to. The conversation devolved from there into a fairly slimy gutter that had both Cody and Graham snickering.

After breakfast, Filch was calling for everyone going to Hogsmeade to get outside and submit to his Secrecy search before they were permitted to leave the castle. He also growled that the third years better have their permission forms ready to show him. Several people ahead of Cody and Graham in the queue, Ron Weasley sassed Filch, and got jabbed hard in the side with the Secrecy Sensor. Cody giggled as Ron huffed away, scowling and rubbing his side.

Graham and Cody escaped with relatively little injury, following the smaller than normal crowd towards the village.

The first place Cody took his friend was to Zonko's joke shop, but the boys were highly disappointed to see that the place was boarded up and abandoned. Cody gaped at it for a moment, wondering what could have happened, before remembering the immense crowd he remembered seeing at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. "They put 'em out of business," Cody whispered wonderingly.

"Huh? Who put them out of business?" asked Graham, looking at the building as if it had personally insulted him by not being open.

Cody laughed in amazement. "The Weasley twins! They have a joke shop in Diagon Alley, and they had loads of customers...I bet they put Zonko's out of business!"

Graham frowned. "Well damn, I wanted to see this place...I wonder if Mum'll bring me to Diagon Alley over Christmas holiday."

Cody shrugged, and slung an arm around Graham's shoulder. "I bet she will! Come on, let's go see the Shrieking Shack. At least no one can put _them_ out of business!"

And so Cody spent most of the day showing Graham around the village. The older boy had never been to Hogsmeade, as it was quite a long way away from London, and his family shopped at Diagon Alley. Cody showed him the post office, the Hog's Head (though they did not stay long), The Three Broomsticks, Honeydukes, and everything else that Cody could think of. By the time the day closed, both boys were exhausted, but in a good mood.

It was not until the next day, that Cody learned that Katie Bell, a Gryffindor Chaser, had been attacked, right in the Three Broomsticks! Graham had learned if from a Ravenclaw girl in his year, that Katie had touched some kind of cursed item, and was hurt so badly she had to be taken to St. Mungo's. He knew little else about the incident, only that Harry and his friends had witnessed it.

And so, during their next Potions class, Cody asked Harry about it. In hushed tones, Harry told him about the necklace that Katie had been given, and that she had likely been put under the Imperius Curse, ordered to bring it back to the castle and give it to someone else. Cody listened, wide-eyed, almost forgetting to stir his potion. He only started again when it hissed angrily, and began to bubble pink. A hasty couple of stirs later, it was back to light tan, which was where it was supposed to be.

"Is she going to be all right?"

Harry frowned grimly as he stirred his own cauldron. "I don't know," he said. "She's alive, and the people at St. Mungo's are good...I hope so."

Cody forgot about his potion once more, causing it to turn a sort of reddish-brown, which of course Cody was not able to get rid of - he ended up with a very low mark that day in class. (At least the potion hdidn't turn green.) He didn't care just then, though; it was frightening, what he'd just heard. Cody had been there too, after all. It could have been any one of them there in Hogsmeade.

Their next Quidditch practice was with Dean playing in Katie's place, but tempers seemed to be rising among the Gryffindors, and there were several arguments. Cody tried to stay out of the entire thing, but was decidedly unhappy about it. He hated arguments. And he was getting so that he didn't like Ginny all that much; she could be pretty mean-spirited at times.

Things didn't improve much after that. Ron seemed to be in the foulest of foul moods, and even Cody was avoiding him as much as possible. He didn't know what had caused the snit, and didn't ask. He wasn't sure he wanted to know.


	70. Y6 Chapter 14: Quidditch & Christmas Eve

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 6**  
by Hyena Cub

**Chapter 14: Quidditch and Christmas Eve**

The Quidditch match approached quickly, and Cody was getting more and more nervous about it. The last practice before the game, he was distracted enough that he got beaned on the back of the head by a Bludger, and had to sit out for ten minutes while his vision returned to normal. He paid a little more attention after that, but the nervousness did not dissipate.

The day of the match, teeming with nervous energy, Cody ran the entire way to the pitch and climbed the stairs to the section where the teachers sat, which was where the scorekeeping device and the magical microphone both resided. Professor McGonagall was already there, smiling at the boy as he approached, panting from his sprint. Cody thought his nervousness must be painfully evident, since McGonagall grasped him by his shoulders and said quietly, "Calm yourself, Mr. DeDannan. I'd think that after being knocked about by Bludgers for three years, this should be quite easy for you."

Cody had to laugh at that, letting out some of the shaky energy that was attacking his body, and nodded his head. "Okay," he said, looking at the magical megaphone and the scorekeeper's panel in front of him. "Thanks...oh...I have to keep score, too?"

McGonagall chuckled. "Yes, but if you lose track, I can certainly help you out with it."

"Oh, okay, good." For a moment he had forgotten that McGonagall was going to be right there behind him, and the scoring device was simple enough. One button added ten points to one team, the other button added ten points to the other. He sat in the seat, scowling upon finding out he couldn't see over it. McGonagall wordlessly enlarged the seat, so that Cody was high enough to see, and he mumbled his thanks. Sometimes he hated being short.

He watched the stadium fill and grinned, excitement beginning to shove out the nervousness. This was going to be fun. And while he felt a sharp pang at not being out there hitting Bludgers...he was still okay with this job. He shivered a little in the chill wind, but he figured he'd forget it once he got into his task--he usually did while playing, at least.

Finally, the two Quidditch teams were walking out onto the pitch, Slytherin and Gryffindor, and Cody wondered why most of the Quidditch seasons started out with those two Houses. He felt a sudden panic, not knowing if he should start the commentary now or not, and got an encouraging sort of little nod from Professor McGonagall when he looked up in silent query. Just remember how Lee did it, Cody thought.

For a moment he thought he was going to freeze up with stage fright, but he closed his eyes, blotting out the immense crowd, and took a moment to mentally yell at himself for being a wuss. Once that was over with, he felt a lot better. "Welcome!" he cried into the microphone, trying not to listen to how very young he sounded, amplified across the entire pitch. "Welcome to the first game of the season, Gryffindor versus Slytherin!" Both cheers and jeers greeted these words, and Cody was encouraged; it was about the same reaction Lee normally got. "Both teams have a lot of new players this year - and both have new captains. Harry Potter for Gryffindor--" (boos from the green-clad students in the crowd) "--and Urquhart for Slytherin!" (This time the boos came from the red side of the crowd) - Cody didn't know Urquhart's first name, and so did not use it; his surname was difficult enough to pronounce! "This is our first chance to see how the new captains have managed their teams!"

The captains below shook hands, and rose sharply into the air at Madame Hooch's whistle. "And the Quaffle is up!" Cody exclaimed. "Slytherin gets possession first, and it's Urquhart with the Quaffle, heading right at the Gryffindor Keeper - and Ron Weasley saves the shot! Gryffindor has the Quaffle now, passing to Katie Bell, then Ginny Weasley...and back to Bell again--aw, nice steal there by the Slytherin Chaser--" Cody frowned as he gazed on the Slytherin team, realizing something very strange. "There's a substitute Seeker there for Slytherin, wonder what's happened to Malfoy...well, we'll have to see how he does. Can't do worse than Malfoy did!"

At a spate of mixed laughter and jeers, McGonagall sputtered behind Cody. "Mr. DeDannan! I suppose you weren't told that a commentator is supposed to remain objective?"

Cody turned around and shrugged sheepishly, catching a glance of Snape's furious glare, before turning quickly back around to announce the score and record it on the scoring device. "Er, looks like it's twenty to zero, with Gryffindor in the lead!" He covered his mouth to stifle the giggle that threatened to escape. This really was fun!

As the game went on, Cody became more and more comfortable with the commentary, pointing out the different players as they scored, and announcing the score every few goals. He found himself a sort of equilibrium of what McGonagall would and would not let slide when it came to commentary, so that he was able to get the slightest bit of revenge on the Slytherin team for kicking him off.

Thanks to a spectacular performance of goal-keeping by Ron, and some very aggressive goals by his sister Ginny, Gryffindor soon led 60 to 0. Cody watched as Harper, the substitute Seeker for Slytherin, ran into to Harry in mid-air, while Madam Hooch wasn't looking. "Oh, swift!" Cody exclaimed. "That's nice - Harper of Slytherin, flies to collide with the Gryffindor Seeker, and zooms off like some kind of--looks like he might have seen the Snitch!" Cody stood up, his eyes wide, as Harry looked around and sped after Harper, obviously caught off guard. "Whoa, Harper nearly has his hands on the Snitch, but misses it - and Potter grabs it up instead! All right! Harry Potter catches the Snitch, giving 150 points to Gryffindor!"

A great roar of cheering drowned out the Slytherins' hisses and boos, and Cody hardly felt it necessary to announce that Gryffindors had won the match; everyone already knew it. Laughing, Cody called out the score, as Harry was buried in midair by his jubilant teammates.

Cody hung up the magical microphone, reset the score, and looked up at McGonagall, silently asking how he had done.

The professor looked down at him, hands on her hips, eyebrows raised, a smile twitching to escape on her lips. "Well, DeDannan, you could have been a bit more professional about the whole thing...." Cody did not argue. "But that was very good for a first try."

"Thanks!" said Cody. "That was fun, I think I like this job! When's the next match?"

McGonagall chuckled. "I don't know yet, but you will be notified."

Smiling, Cody hopped down the stairs leading down to the Quidditch pitch and sprinted over to Harry's team, laughing. He waved a greeting and a congratulations to Harry, who returned the wave as he went into the locker room. Cody, who had suddenly noticed again how cold the wind was, headed up to the castle to warm up.

---

"Your commentary was good," Graham Pritchard told Cody later that day as they sat in the third-year dorms, eating Honeydukes sweets. "Especially that comment about Malfoy. I don't think the rest of the Slytherins were all too appreciative, though."

Cody snickered. "I don't care. It was fun. Did you see Malfoy in the stands, though?"

Graham shook his head, biting into a Chocolate Frog. "No," he said, muffled through chocolate. "Why, what was he doing?"

"I dunno! I didn't see him either. It's not like him to miss a match, he was such a freak about it, you know, getting on the team. You think he lost interest?"

"I dunno...that _is_ weird. Is he sick? Maybe he was in the hospital wing."

"Maybe...I guess I could ask Madam Pomfrey." He unwrapped a fat, pink toffee and popped the whole thing into his mouth. "I love this stuff. You know...Malfoy's up to something. Something bad, I know it. And after that fight we had...well...." Cody trailed off for a moment, having to concentrate on chewing his toffee, as it was very sticky. Once he could talk again, he finished, "I just think he's up to something no good. I'm gonna try and find out what it is."

Graham gave him a concerned look. "Well be careful then," he said. "If Malfoy knows the Cruciatus Curse, he probably knows the others. And he did kinda threaten to kill you."

"He wouldn't," said Cody. "No way. Not with Dumbledore here."

"Yeah, well...just be careful."

---

Over the next month, Cody tried several times to spy on Malfoy, but each time he heard nothing that would be of any use to him. It was a lot harder than he thought it would ever be, trying to listen in on other people's conversations, without being discovered. He wondered how the Hardy Boys did it! He did notice, however, that Malfoy rarely smiled anymore, and seemed to be tired all the time. He had dark circles under his eyes half the time, and slept uneasily from what Cody could tell. He wasn't sure what was bothering Malfoy, but it had to be something more than mere school stress.

In the beginning of December, Cody commentated his second game, this between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, and took great glee in describing in detail Zacharias Smith falling from his broom trying to avoid a Bludger. Cody suddenly caught sight of a huge shadow coming right at him, and before he could dodge, something slammed into his face, knocking Cody backwards off the bench with a shriek of pain. He staggered up, furious, holding his bleeding nose and realized that Smith had hurled a Quaffle at him! There was a sharp whistle blast from Madam Hooch, awarding a penalty against Hufflepuff for Smith's unsportsmanlike behavior, and Cody threw the Quaffle to her. He let McGonagall fix the nosebleed before going back to his loudspeaker and making sure that everyone knew Smith had gotten Ravenclaw a penalty shot.

Commentating could be as dangerous as playing!

As Christmas approached, the festive mood of the castle did a lot to distract Cody from Malfoy's mysteriousness, the enmity of his Housemates, and his increasing workload for his classes. Though Potions and Care of Magical Creatures did not generate much homework for him, his other classes most certainly did; Runes and Defense were the worst.

On the last day of school before the holidays, Cody approached the Gryffindor table, only to stop short and gape in disgust at the scene before them; Ron and one of the Gryffindor girls were sitting together on the bench, locked in a rigid embrace, kissing each other, right in front of everyone! "Ewwww!" Cody exclaimed, his eyes wide, his expression astonished and revolted. "Gross, Ron! Yuck!"

Several of the Gryffindors snickered at Cody's blatant reaction, and Ron and the girl broke apart to glare at him. The girl, Lavender Brown, Cody saw, gave him a particularly nasty look. "You may not be old enough for this sort of thing," said Ron. "But you don't have to ruin my enjoyment of it!"

"Yes, you're quite welcome to sit at your own table," Lavender added.

Cody gave her a filthy look, then turned back to Ron. "That is so gross," he said indignantly, the shock of it wearing off, now that they'd stopped playing tonsil hockey. "You looked just like Bill, with Fleur!"

There was a triumphant sort of sound from his left, and he looked to see Ginny, smirking at Ron. "See, Ron? Just like I told you - and you've got a lot of nerve talking about me and Dean!"

Cody gaped at her in disgust. "Oh, man, you've been doing it too?"

Unlike Ron, Ginny simply chuckled with amusement. "You'll understand in a couple of years," she said.

"Over my dead body," Cody muttered, giving a sort of horrified shudder at the idea, and squeezing himself onto the bench between Neville and Harry. "I'd rather kiss a hippogriff."

Ginny seemed to think this was highly amusing, because she giggled all the while Cody was pouring treacle onto his porridge. "Oh!" she said, once she was finished laughing. "Did Ron tell you Mum's having you over to the Burrow for the Christmas holidays? Lupin and your sister are going to be staying there as well."

"No!" said Cody, grinning as he looked up at her. "He musta forgot...are we leaving tomorrow then?"

"Yeah, the Hogwarts Express leaves tomorrow after breakfast for the kids who are leaving the school."

"Cool!" He had been afraid that he would have to stay here for the holidays, afraid that Lupin would be too busy with his undercover work to be able to spend the holidays with him. Cody realized that he had not written to anyone the entire year so far, else he probably would have known this already otherwise. He winced as he ate his breakfast, vowing to remedy that and start writing more often to his friends.

"Bill'll be there too," Ginny added after a moment. "But you'll have to fight Phlegm for any of his attention."

Cody blinked at her as he looked up from his bowl, sure that his face was completely blank. That's how his mind felt, at any rate. "Er...Phlegm?" he said finally.

"You know, that _creature_ that Bill's dating. Phlegm."

Creature? Cody thought. Was she talking about Fleur? "Oh..." he said, not sure exactly how else to react. "Er, okay." He was not terribly surprised that he would have to compete with the woman for any of Bill's time, but Ginny's little...nickname for her had taken him by surprise.

That night, Cody managed to finish all of his homework, not wanting to leave any of it for his vacation. He stowed his finished work in his trunk, packed all of his personal things into a bag to take to the Weasleys', and spent the rest of the evening playing Exploding Snap with Graham.

---

Cody was very quiet on the trip to King's Cross, having mixed feelings about the upcoming holidays. He had only ever spent two Christmases with his own mother; he was at Hogwarts for three of them, and hadn't been adopted long enough to have any before. And now he would be spending Christmas with a family that wasn't his.

Except Samantha. He still had her.

He greeted his sister enthusiastically when he arrived at the Burrow, grabbing her around the waist and lifting her up. (He was not able to do that two years ago.) Lupin was not there yet, but would be that night. He spent most of the day either helping Ron and Harry peel potatoes or playing with Samantha. He had brought his broomstick, and was teaching Samantha how to ride it; when last she had tried, she couldn't stay on it by herself for long, but now that she'd gotten a little older, she wasn't bad. She preferred to stay a few feet off the ground at first, but once she got fairly steady on the broomstick, she seemed to love it. Cody watched her zooming around the yard, giggling, for at least a half hour before she got tired of it.

By the time Lupin arrived, Cody had borrowed Harry's broomstick and was racing Samantha down the length of the Weasleys' yard, letting her win most of the time. (Harry's Firebolt could easily outrace Cody's Nimbus 1700.) Seeing Lupin walk up, Cody smiled, and hopped down off of his broom. He had worried here and there about Lupin, knowing how dangerous his job was. He ran over and hugged the man, who chuckled and hugged him back.

"I see Samantha has gotten fairly proficient in broomstick riding," said Lupin, as Samantha also approached and tried to stop, but ended up tumbling off the broom instead. Cody stifled a laugh and went over to see if she was all right, but she was already getting to her feet, looking sheepish.

"I'm not good at stopping," she said to Lupin as he gave her a hug.

"That's all right," said Lupin. "You'll learn! Shall I assume that Harry and Ron have arrived?"

This last, he directed at Cody, who nodded. "Yeah, they're inside. We'll be in too, after we put the brooms away in the shed."

"All right. I'll see you inside, then."

Cody and Samantha went and put the brooms away in the Weasleys' broom shed before going back up to the house, to be greeted by the wonderful smell of Mrs. Weasley's cooking, and the sight of Bill and Fleur kissing in the middle of the kitchen. Said Samantha and Cody in unison, "Ewwww!"

"Gross! First Ron and Lavender, now you two!"

Fleur broke off and gave Cody a haughty look, but Bill only laughed, leaving Fleur's side long enough to thoroughly mess up Cody's hair. "You'll like it soon. Couple of years, maybe."

"Hmph!" said Cody. "That's just what Ginny said. I say _no way_!"

"I'll tell ya a secret," said Bill softly, bending down to whisper. "When I was 11, I said the exact same thing. But love's weird that way. It'll get ya out of nowhere."

Cody crossed his arms, looking stubborn. "No way...I'll be ready for it - I'll find a good counter-attack!"

Bill threw back his head and laughed. "And I just bet you if anyone could manage it."

That night after supper, Cody sat in the Weasleys' living room, leaning tiredly against Lupin, Samantha leaning tiredly against him, and all of them on the couch. The Weasleys, Harry, and Fleur were there also, and the radio was on...the old-fashioned thing that wizards _used_ as a radio, that was. A very annoying woman was singing a gross, mushy love song. Cody had spent a good part of the last two minutes making horrible faces. Merlin was hanging upside down in his cage, squeaking at the radio, to which he seemed to have taken extreme offense. He sounded better than the singers, in Cody's opinion.

Not long after, Harry and Lupin had a mild debate over whether Snape was trustworthy. Lupin surprised Cody very much by getting a bit sharp with Harry, telling him it was not their business to know what Snape was up to. Cody sat up, gaping at him for a moment. He suddenly sounded just like all of the other adults! Cody had always thought him a bit more understanding and open-minded than the others....

And then...Harry asked Lupin if he truly liked Snape. And to Cody's astonishment, Lupin said that he neither liked _nor_ disliked Severus Snape. Cody gaped anew. Harry seemed to believe it about as much as Cody had, and Lupin knew it. "No, Harry, I am speaking the truth. We shall never be bosom friends, perhaps; after all that happened between James and Sirius and Severus, there is too much bitterness there. But I do not forget that during the year I taught at Hogwarts, Severus made the Wolfsbane Potion for me every month, made it perfectly, so that I did not have to suffer as I usually do at the full moon."

"Yeah," said Cody, "And all the while he was trying to get you sacked!"

"Not to mention telling all of Slytherin house that you were a werewolf!" Harry added.

Lupin shrugged. "The news would have leaked out anyway. We both know he wanted my job, and he could have wreaked much worse damage on me by tampering with the potion. He kept me healthy. I must be grateful."

'Grateful?' Cody thought in disbelief.

"Maybe he didn't dare mess with the potion with Dumbledore watching him!" said Harry.

Lupin smiled a little bit, though he seemed sad. "You are determined to hate him, Harry," he said. "And I understand; with James as your father, and Sirius as your godfather, you have inherited an old prejudice."

Cody, whose stress through the year did not help his temper, couldn't stand it anymore. He stood up, nearly dumping a startled Samantha off the couch, and stared at Lupin. "I can't believe you said that!" he exclaimed. "Making it sound like he...like Harry's got no reason to, except - do you even know how Snape _treats_ him in class?"

"Cody!" came Mrs. Weasley's voice, sounding very taken-aback. But Cody did not stop.

"Harry didn't even know about Sirius or his dad or anything when he first met Snape! In our very first class, we had it with the Gryffindors, he treated Harry like he was some kind of stupid show-off - and Harry didn't do anything to him at all! He says horrible, mean things to him all the time, and insults him, and makes fun of him and embarrasses him...and Neville, he's one of my best friends! _You_ remember Neville's boggart!"

Lupin himself looked very surprised with Cody's outburst. Cody did not often lose his temper like this, and when he did, he was not usually so rude to the people he loved. "Cody, please calm yourself..."

"It's all right," came Harry's voice, sounding slightly alarmed from Cody's right. But Cody was in no mood to be calm, and in even less a mood to be _told_ to be calm.

"It's _not_ all right! Do you know what Snape said once?" Lupin was very quiet, looking at Cody with an expression Cody couldn't decipher. Lupin slowly shook his head. "Draco was being a total jerk, and he and Harry got in a fight, and their spells bounced off and hit Goyle and Hermione, and he sent Goyle to the hospital wing. Hermione's teeth got caught by the spell and were growing really, really long, like a rabbit or something, and Harry showed Snape so he could see what happened, and Snape said 'I see no difference!' Hermione was crying when she ran off! And what about me? _My_ mom and dad didn't hate Snape and I still hate him. My mom probably _liked_ Snape, she was a Death Eater!"

He had not quite meant to just announce that in the middle of the living room, and he turned beet red as he felt eyes staring at him. He bit his lip, his angry impetus badly interrupted. He finished in a hurry.

"And I hate Snape too. He's mean, cruel, and he's not a good person. He tried to get the Dementors to give you the Dementor's Kiss. I hate him for that, even if the other stuff didn't happen! And even when we said you were innocent, he wouldn't believe because he wanted a reason to do something more horrible than killing you!"

Feeling that he was about to completely lose control of himself, Cody ran out of the room, feeling his face burn as if it had gotten very cold, and then slapped. He felt all at once angry, embarrassed, frustrated, and hurt; he didn't look at anyone as he escaped through the door, putting something solid between himself and all those eyes. 'I don't believe it,' he thought furiously. 'I can't believe I said that, right in front of everyone. And I can't believe I told them about my real mom.'

He started to cry, slipping out of the house itself, and into the frigid night. He had not meant to get that angry with Lupin, or even that angry at all. He knew he had been hurtful. He also knew he couldn't have stopped himself any more than he could stop himself from breathing for long. Remus didn't really think that the only reason harry was suspicious or hated Snape was because he was prejudiced, did he? Neville didn't have an old prejudice, and he hated Snape! Cody didn't have an old prejudice and he hated Snape, too. Snape was unkind and cruel to everyone he met, and there was no excuse for it. Why did most the adults defend them as if with their last breath?

Cody ran to the garden, kicking the stone wall as hard as he could, and crying out with pain. He kicked it again, more carefully, but it still hurt just as much. Finally he just knelt down and cried against the cold stone. Out here, alone, away from the house and its inhabitants, with only the sky to see, he let himself cry as hard as he needed to.

He didn't just think it was that night's scene he was crying about, either. There were too many things going on that he was crying about...he hadn't cried much during the school year, if at all, which was strange, as he was usually not afraid to. But he hadn't. Too busy and distracted, he supposed. But now, he wept until he was exhausted.

After a very long time, Cody got shakily to his feet, slinking over to a wooden bench in the middle of the overgrown garden. He was clad only in his pajamas, and he was shivering already, but he felt no urge to go back inside. He wrapped his arms around himself and looked upwards, a glacial wind numbing his wet face; he took a big breath of cold air, and let it out slowly, watching the stars above. He caught sight of Orion, his favorite constellation, and looked up at him, wishing that he could stand so stolidly, always. His eyes slipped down to Canis Major, containing the star of Sirius, after which Cody assumed Sirius Black had been named. He wondered how Harry felt every time he saw that star in the sky, and wished there was a star that had his own mother's name, too.

What a way to spend Christmas Eve. He had probably angered every person in that room, upset the Weasleys.... He felt himself wanting to cry again, but he thought that it might be too cold out, because the tears never came. Instead, he felt himself calming slightly, and wondered if it was because it was Christmas Eve. Even though it was absolutely freezing outside, there was a sort of calm serenity in the night and the stars, and even in the cold wind - a comfort that made him feel much like Christmas morning always made him feel. It was a magic that even Muggles felt.

He wasn't sure how long he had been outside before he was badly startled by a noise very close by. He looked up, alarmed, only to see Lupin walking towards him, wearing a winter cloak. He frowned when he saw how badly Cody was shivering, and took the cloak off. "You've sat here all this time in only your pajamas?" he asked quietly, securing the cloak around Cody.

Cody took the cloak, gratefully wrapping it around himself, and staring miserably at his feet. He felt the seat of the bench shift as Lupin sat next to Cody, but he did not look up.

"Are you angry with me, Cody?" asked Lupin softly. He did not sound angry himself; if anything, he sounded worried, possibly a bit puzzled.

Cody did not answer for several seconds, caught off guard by the question, because he truly did not know the answer to it. Not at first. _Was_ he angry at Lupin? "A little," he finally answered.

Lupin's voice was gently wry. "It seems like you might have been more than a 'little' angry with me."

Cody surprised both himself and Lupin by bursting into tears and turning to Lupin to fling his arms around him. He was eleven years old, he shouldn't be crying this easily anymore, should he? Especially when there wasn't any reason to! But Lupin said nothing, only held Cody for several minutes while he cried. Once his sobs had subsided, Cody pulled away, wiping at his face with his cold sleeve. "I'm...sorry," said Cody finally. "I didn't mean to yell that much at you. I didn't mean to be mean."

"I accept your apology," said Lupin, but he kept his arm around Cody's shoulders. "I would like to talk for a little while, though. You said you are a little angry with me. Why is that?"

Cody took a deep, shaky breath before he answered. "Harry's got enough people against him," he finally said. "But half the time even the people on our side are too. They tell him he's too young. They yell at him for wanting to help. They don't believe him when he says things. They think he can't possibly be right because he's a teenager. Same with me, too, but worse, because I'm just eleven. Do you know how it feels to have everyone tell you that you're wrong, just because you're a kid and they think you don't know anything?"

"I do," said Lupin after a moment. "I do remember that horrible feeling from childhood. Sometimes we forget, Cody. Sometimes we forget that children can be trusted, too. And that there are better ways of saying things sometimes, and sometimes we just forget that it's not always necessary to use the blunter version."

Cody was strongly reminded of a very similar conversation he had with Professor McGonagall in his first year at Hogwarts. "And...and Snape's the other reasons. He's said horrible things to some of my best friends. And me. He scared Neville all the time, screamed at him when he couldn't get something right. And Neville _really_ tried! He embarrassed Harry and...well, I told you. He's done bad things. I mean...he's hurt my friends. Including you! You're _always_ on our side. So...so it made me angry when you defended him this time."

Lupin was quiet for a much longer time this year, only holding Cody, and looking up at the stars, as Cody had earlier in the night. Finally, he said, "Firstly...I did not know many of the things that you told me about Severus Snape and his behavior towards his students."

Cody stared at him; he _didn't?_ It had never occurred to him that Lupin did _not_ know about it. Cody was old enough to realize, when he thought of it, that adults were neither perfect nor all-knowing, but it still often surprised him when an adult he admired admitted to making a mistake, or to not knowing something that was obvious to him.

Lupin must have seen Cody's astonishment in his face, because he chuckled slightly. "I do not know everything, Cody. I have seen very little of Severus's interaction with Harry, or you, or anyone. I did not know how...extreme his behavior was. But I was not defending him. At least," he said before Cody could protest, "not intentionally. I can see how it would have looked that way. As for his wanting to hand me over to the Dementors...yes..that was cruel. But he was angry. I do not know if he would have gone through with it."

'I do,' Cody thought. 'I'd bet Hogwarts he woulda.' Normally Cody tried to be optimistic and think the best of people, but there were exceptions!

Lupin went on. "But I do implicitly trust Dumbledore and his judgement. And I do believe that there is something he knows about Snape that causes him to trust Snape just as much."

Cody scowled. "Why doesn't he _tell_ us then? If Snape did something so good it made Dumbledore think that he's totally on our side, and he wants people to trust Snape, why doesn't he tell us?"

"I am certain he has his reasons."

"Well then - he can't complain when other people don't trust him!" Cody sputtered. "You can't get trust just because someone else _tells_ you to...I mean...if people can't see what makes Snape trustable, they can't really trust them. All I see is him being mean most the time. I just..."

"...can't trust such a man?" Cody nodded, and Lupin sighed. "That is understandable."

Cody bit his numb lip, and looked up at Remus. "Er...what did everyone say...about my...mom? I didn't mean to say that part."

"I suspected you had made a mistake," said Lupin. "Well at first most of them were confused, and Fleur Delacour was not very polite. Ginny told her where to, er, stick it."

Cody blinked, and then smiled a bit that Ginny had defended him.

"But I believe they thought you referred to your adopted mother. I explained to them that it was your birth mother, and how you found out about it. I wouldn't worry about it. They were startled, but they certainly will not begin treating you as if you were Voldemort's apprentice."

He gently shook Cody, and he finally relented, and laughed a little bit. "Okay."

"Come on, kiddo. You are freezing...we need to get inside. Don't want you to get hypothermia."

Cody didn't ask what hypothermia was; he really didn't want to know. He only let Lupin lead him inside, trailing the overlarge cloak behind him.

The warmth of the living room felt wonderful. They had left the fire blazing, and Cody suddenly felt very tired. Keeping Lupin's cloak wrapped around him, Cody lay down on the couch and curled up under the cloak. Lupin drew the blanket that Cody assumed Mrs. Weasley had gotten out for him over his body, and kissed Cody's hair. The gesture was unexpected, but Cody smiled at it, knowing he was forgiven.


	71. Y6 Chapter 15: Gloomy Holidays

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 6**  
by Hyena Cub

**Chapter 15: Gloomy Holidays**

Cody woke the next morning to the sound of soft giggling, and slowly opened his eyes to find himself completely covered from head to foot in colorful paper chains. He gazed at this strange phenomenon for several moments, his sleep-fuzzed brain trying to comprehend it. Then he looked to the side and saw Ginny kneeling on the floor beside the couch, a paper chain in her hands. She giggled again when Cody frowned, sat up, and rubbed his eyes, spilling chains all over the floor. "Hey," he said sleepily. "What's the big idea?"

Ginny laughed, and put the chain she was holding on top of Cody's head. He gave it a dirty look and dropped it on the floor. "Here," Ginny said, dropping a large, stuffed stocking into his lap. "Happy Christmas!"

"Oh!" Cody's eyes consented to open the rest of the way once he remembered that it was, indeed, Christmas. He noticed Samantha was with her, and she pounced on Cody once he was fully awake. He laughed and hugged her, as she sat on the couch next to him. But then he realized something: "Oh no, I forgot to get everyone presents!"

"That's all right," said Ginny, her smile more gentle this time. "Mum said you had plenty and enough to worry about this summer without worrying about that."

Yeah, that was definitely true, and he was relieved that no one would be upset he hadn't gotten them anything. Cody smiled back at her, and then investigated his stocking. His smile widened on discovering a large bundle inside, a sweater (or jumper, as the English called it) that was made of neon green wool from the look of it.

Ginny laughed. "Mum made it for you. She said that she found wool in just the right shade of eye-rending green at Gladrags Wizardwear. She made Samantha this pretty violet one."

And Samantha was indeed wearing a Weasley sweater. Cody laughed delightedly and pulled the neon sweater over his pajama top. With the fire out, the room had become chilly, and the sweater blocked that out. He would have to thank Mrs. Weasley.

The rest of his presents were just as good. They included a box of stuff from the twins' shop, a gift set of Hardy Boys books (Remus's); a coloring book that Cody could use his magical crayons on (Kathy had given those to him a few years earlier); and long brass horn of the type that Cody always saw in the movies about knights and kings. He laughed in delight at this one, which was from Harry, and immediately began trying to make sounds on it.

"Mum says that the rule on that is you have to practice outside," said Ginny with a grin.

Cody snorted, but obligingly put the horn away.

At lunchtime (as everyone seemed to have slept late), more than half the guests at the Weasley household exclaimed that Cody's sweater had blinded them. Cody blew a raspberry at each one of them. It was a typical Weasley dinner. Someone got annoyed (Mrs. Weasley with Fleur), Ginny found a maggot in Harry's hair (Cody didn't even want to know the story behind that one), and there was a lot of good food. Cody was quite used to weird things happening by this point.

Even so, he was not prepared for what happened next. Harry looked out of the window, looking astonished, and a moment later, Mrs. Weasley exclaimed that _Percy_ was coming up the walk! Cody gaped along with everyone else as the third eldest Weasley brother walked up to the door, accompanied by the man Cody had seen in the Daily Prophet and thought looked like a Thunderian.

"Arthur!" cried Mrs. Weasley. "He's with the Minister!"

No one in the kitchen seemed able to believe what they were seeing; even when Percy opened the back door, regarded everyone, and then said stiffly, "Merry Christmas, Mother."

"Oh, Percy!" cried Mrs. Weasley, throwing her arms around him.

The Minister came in then, smiling at them all, as if he were watching a very touching moment. "You must forgive this intrusion. Percy and I were in the vicinity, working you know, and he couldn't resist dropping in and seeing you all."

Mrs. Weasley seemed to believe him, indeed she seemed completely oblivious to Percy's stone-faced expression, the stiffness of his posture, the look in his eyes that said plainly that he wished he were somewhere else. She invited the minister in but he declined, saying that they had little time, and that they were only there because Percy had so wanted to see his family.

Cody looked around to the rest of the Weasleys; none of them seemed to believe the Minister, either. In fact, when he asked Harry to take a stroll with him outside, Cody for one was convinced that Percy had not wanted to get anywhere near the Burrow; the Minister had only wanted to talk with Harry.

Percy did not sit down, only stood awkwardly in the kitchen as Harry and the Minister left. "Er...Percy? you gonna sit down?" Cody asked.

Percy looked at him briefly, then looked back at the opposite wall. "No, thank you, Cody. We shan't be here long."

"Oh. How come you came, then?"

Looking irritated at the question, Percy answered curtly, "I wished to wish my family a Merry Christmas."

Ginny snorted. "You don't sound very 'merry'."

"I have a lot on my mind, Ginny," said Percy, in the same haughty voice. "These are dark times, I have little to be 'merry' about."

"Oh, Percy," Mrs. Weasley sighed, going over to hug him again, her face suggesting that she wanted to offer comfort. But even she was beginning to get the idea, that Percy was not happy to see her. Her hug was brief, and awkward. "Percy...I've missed you. A great deal...." Percy's lips got thinner, but he said nothing.

"He's kinda grumpy, isn't he?" asked Samantha in a whisper to Cody, who nodded his head emphatically. "Grumpy" was a vast understatement.

"You're wasting your time, Mum," said George, his expression ugly. "Percy doesn't care about anyone anymore that doesn't have the Ministry insignia burned on their forearm."

"George!" Mrs. Weasley said, shocked, as Cody looked at him with wide eyes.

Percy gave George a filthy look. "How dare you compare the Ministry of Magic with You-Know-Who's followers?"

"About the same way you dare to treat Mum like dirt," Fred snarled.

"Boys, please," said Mrs. Weasley, looking like she was about to cry. Cody felt sorry for her, but he couldn't help but agree with Fred and George. Percy was being absolutely awful to Mrs. Weasley. He clenched his fists, turning to glare at the older boy...well...he wasn't really a boy anymore. Percy's mother was alive; she was right there, she wanted to hug him, she still loved him...and he was shunning her. While Cody would never get a hug from his mother, ever again. _How_ could he act so cold to her?

"The Ministry--" Percy began, looking flustered, as it became apparent that there was only one person in that kitchen who felt anything but contempt or anger.

Ginny slammed her fist on the table. "Will you shut up about the bloody Ministry, you stupid prat? The Ministry didn't give birth to you!" And before anyone could stop her, she had scooped up a large spoonful of mashed parsnip.

Percy's eyes widened in indignation. "You don't dare," he scoffed.

The twins, not wanting to be left out, also scooped up a large spoonful, and on Ginny's nod...they all let loose. Three large globs of mashed parsnip hit Percy, right in the face, covering up his glasses and obscuring his freckles. Mrs. Weasley rounded on the three assailants, but froze as Percy called them a name Cody was sure he had never said before in front of his mother, and stalked out of the kitchen, slamming the door. Mrs. Weasley burst into tears.

Mr. Weasley, who had remained silent through the whole thing, went over to comfort her. The twins both stood, looking very much like they would love to go outside and bloody Percy's nose for him. Ginny sat glaring at the door through which Percy had gone. Cody and Lupin exchanged a grim glance, as Harry walked in the door, looking at once irritated and confused. "Er...about Percy...."

"We did it," said George, Fred, and Ginny together.

"We shoulda done more," said Fred.

"Why the blazes did he come here?" added George. "All he did was upset Mum."

"And dirty the kitchen," said Ginny vindictively.

Harry frowned, biting his lip, and shook his head, gesturing to Mrs. Weasley. It was clear that he didn't want to continue the subject now, not while she was so upset. "Are you all right, Mrs. Weasley?" he asked.

Taking a big breath, Mrs. Weasley wiped her eyes, taking a step backwards. "Yes...yes, I'm all right, Harry...I'll be upstairs if anyone needs me." And she left the kitchen in a hurry, Mr. Weasley following close behind.

As soon as the adults had left, Cody leaned forward in his seat, asking Cody what the Minister had said. And Harry told them. He said how he was sure that the only reason they had come, was so that the Minister could talk with him. How he wanted to know what Dumbledore was up to, and how he wanted Harry to let the wizarding community know how he approved of the Ministry and what they were doing, and that he was working with the Ministry. His lip curled, as he clenched a fist, and thrust it out for the others to look at.

Cody saw with a jolt of alarm that it was scarred with the words that Dolores Umbridge's quill had cut into it. Cody's hadn't scarred! Not permanently! Had it? He looked down at his own hand, which was smooth, and was relieved. Harry had gone through it far more often than Cody.

"I showed him this," said Harry. "I told him that after what the Ministry put me through I wasn't about to side with them. I told them that as long as they kept arresting people like Stan Shunpike because that can't catch any _real_ Death Eaters--"

_"What?_" Cody exclaimed, all of his attention caught by this last sentence. "They arrested _Stan Shunpike?_ Why?"

"Because they're stupid," said Ron. "They figure Stan must be a Death Eater. Claim they overheard him talking about You-Know-Who's plans in a pub or something."

"But-but that's ridiculous!" Cody said blankly, gaping at Ron in astonishment. He'd not used the Knight Bus that year, and this was the first he'd heard of it, and if Stan Shunpike was a Death Eater, Cody would eat the Sorting Hat! "They can't possibly think--"

"Of course they don't think," said Ginny. "That's the problem."

"Ministry's got to be seen doing _something_," said Harry bitterly. "They'd rather hold an innocent man in Azkaban than admit they were wrong. It's the same reason they took Hagrid when the Chamber of Secrets got opened."

As the others continued to talk about the incident in vindictive, scathing tones, Cody sat back, mulling over the whole idea. How could people possibly be so utterly stupid? If they would truly rather ruin someone's life by imprisoning them the rest of their life, than admit they had made a mistake, then why were they bothering to fight Voldemort at all? Why not just join forces? There didn't seem to be a whole lot of difference in their mindsets to Cody, only their methods. And even then...there were not enough differences for Cody to feel comfortable.

He looked over at Samantha, who looked upset, and put an arm around her. "Come on, you," he said. "Let's go wrestle in the living room." Looking happy to leave, Samantha agreed quickly, and the two children left the table.

As the day wore on, not one of the most cheerful Christmases Cody had ever encountered, the subject died out to return to more positive ones, but a somber mood still hung over the household.

---

The rest of the Christmas holidays were marred only by Mrs. Weasley, who cried on and off several times after Christmas Day. It seemed that the smallest thing upset her now, and Cody wondered how he would feel if a beloved member of his family turned on him. Probably pretty lousy. Lupin left three days later, having to get back to his undercover work. Cody did not like him going someplace where Cody could not write to him, or contact him in any way... He could only hug him and hope that Lupin would be all right.

Term was to start about a week later, and Cody sighed, feeling the lightness of the holiday wearing off fast. It was back to the Slytherin dorm room, where he had to endure Malfoy's verbal abuse of him. It was tough, living in a place where he was so blatantly unwelcome, and he began to understand how Harry felt going back to the Dursleys for the holidays. At least Cody had _some_ people around who liked him!

Mr. Weasley, the twins, and Bill were all supposed to be at work the day they were to go back, Cody had said goodbye to them as well, feeling his spirits sink yet further. He'd definitely had better Christmases.

Samantha's school did not start again until a couple of days after Hogwarts did, and so the Weasleys were keeping her until then. Cody hugged her good bye, and told her to be good and not to give Mrs. Weasley an ulcer. Samantha giggled and told Cody to punch out Draco Malfoy for her. It was amazing, Cody thought, how bad a person had to be for people who never even saw them before hated him!

Everyone was taking the Floo network back to Hogwarts. Cody asked why they were risking it, but was told that Mr. Weasley would be keeping an eye on it long enough for them to get back to school. Mrs. Weasley hugged Cody as he stepped inside with all of his belongings, and shouted out, "Hogwarts!" He closed his eyes and laughed as he began to spin, whizzing past fireplaces and grates....until finally he tumbled out onto a soft carpet.

It was Professor McGonagall's office; the Transfiguration professor chuckled and helped Cody to his feet. "Thanks," said Cody.

"You're welcome. Welcome back, Mr. DeDannan."

Cody had to grin. "Thanks." And using a spell to lighten the weight of his trunk, Cody left the office, heading for the dorms. Harry and the others had already gone to Gryffindor Tower, which left Cody with little to do except see if Graham was back yet.

He was not back, it turned out...but Malfoy was. And so leaving his belongings behind, Cody left the common room and headed for Hagrid's house. He spent the rest of the day visiting with him.


	72. Y6 Chapter 16: Harassment

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 6**  
by Hyena Cub

**Chapter 16: Harrassment**

The next day, Cody noticed a new bulletin on the announcement board in the Slytherin common room. It announced Apparition lessons at Hogwarts. He was very excited about it until he realized he would not be able to take the course; he was too young. He gave it a dirty look and stormed out of the dorms.

Worse yet, he found out that every one of his friends except Graham was enrolling in the course, and spent the day feeling extremely left out. He and Graham spent a whole hour abusing the Ministry about their age-limit for Apparition.

Classes resumed of course, and got harder than ever. Runes was becoming Cody's most difficult subject, though Defense Against the Dark Arts came in a close second. The only classes he was not struggling with were Astronomy and Care of Magical Creatures.

In fact, Hagrid's classes had become his favorite. It was very cool being the only student in the class, which meant that Hagrid was able to spend more time with the lessons, gave Cody more hands-on experience, and often left ten or fifteen minutes at the end of the lessons to talk with Hagrid.

They had moved on from kappas to kelpies before the holidays (Cody had begged Professor Flitwick to teach him a charm that would keep him warm in the water), and Cody reckoned that if he were ever to want either of those creatures for a pet, he would be well able to care for him. Of course he never _ would_ have them as a pet, but that was beside the point.

After Christmas break, Hagrid told him they were finished with water creatures (a fact that Cody cheered), and were moving on to somewhat more dangerous stuff. Cody did not mind danger, though he wondered what Hagrid had planned that was more dangerous than the kappa (which tried its best to take a chunk of Cody's flesh every time he got near it) or the kelpie (which had twice tried to drag Cody to the bottom of the lake and devour him.)

"Don' worry, Cody," said Hagrid with a chuckle. "We'll only be workin' with the young fer now. Babies, maybe slightly older. And come the end of the term if we've time, we'll do some study of phoenixes and other special creatures, creatures that are rare, or protected. But for now..."

Hagrid went over to a darkened glass cage with a mesh top, and opened it up. He reached inside, and Cody stayed his distance, wary, until he saw Hagrid pull up a thick piece of black cloth about a foot wide. "Er...it that its bed or something?" he asked.

Hagrid laughed. "Nah, this is the creature, Cody."

The black cloth moved, and Cody gave Hagrid a _look_, thinking that he was putting Cody on, moving his hand under the cloth...but then it slid completely off Hagrid's hand and rippled towards Cody along the table, looking a bit like a sting ray out of the water. Cody let out a cry of startlement and leapt backwards, staring at it. "What the!"

"Nothin' teh worry about, said Hagrid, chuckled, scooping the "cloth" back up into his hand. "Didn' yeh learn about these in Defense class? I coulda sword that ol' Quirrel included these in his book lessons. At any rate, Cody, this is a Lethifold."

Cody stared; he knew what Lethifolds were, there were Lethifolds in Florida, according to Remus, but Cody had thought that they were a whole lot bigger. "But...is it a baby?"

Hagrid beamed. "Yep! Got me one from the Bahamas, special order fer me higher level classes. Now, what do yeh know about Lethifolds, Cody?"

"Well...they, well adults, kinda look like a living cloak. Maybe bigger than a normal cloak, 'cuz they can wrap all the way around an adult person. They suffocate the person then, er, digest it...once it's dead." Cody gave a little shudder, trying to imagine what it would feel like to be suffocated by something like that.

"Easy there, Cody. Babies're harmless. Even knew a few wizards in my time that kept 'em as pets. Babies can't secrete the digestive juices they need ter eat meat. This one drinks milk, still. They're mammals, after all. Yeh can go ahead and take him if yeh want."

Cody was still wary, knowing what Hagrid's definition of "harmless" was, but the baby Lethifold didn't seem to be hurting Hagrid. He stepped forward and let Hagrid put the creature in Cody's arms, where it immediately began crawling up them curiously, giving Cody the impression it was sniffing him out. Cody laughed, a slow grin surfacing on his face. "Neat," he said.

It felt strange, like warm, living leather. It moved as he had seen earlier like a sting ray did in the water, rippling over the surface it was traversing. Cody thought that it was the weirdest thing he had ever seen, and that included the Blast-Ended Skrewts. "I like it!' said Cody with a laugh as the Lethifold climbed up top of his head and rested there, shifting slightly so that Cody assumed it was looking around.

"They're not common creatures, but they're not endangered, either. They can't see, but they have the keenest sense of smell of almost any creature." Hagrid took the baby and held it down so that Cody could see, turning it over onto its back. (How did Hagrid _know_ what was front and back, anyway?) Hagrid pointed out a barely visible pair of slits, almost like those on a snake. "There's its nose, well, it's not really a nose I s'pose. It's the scent organ, anyway. It's got glands along the sides, here." Hagrid ran his finger along the creature's side, making it move as if it was ticklish, and Hagrid chuckled. "He gets a little irritated when turn 'im on his back. Anyway that's where the digestive juices come from. They dissolve the prey, and they absorb it through their skin, which on the bottom is porous."

Cody felt slightly sick, thinking about some Lethifold doing that to some poor sleeping human (or any animal for that matter), and shuddered a little, trying not to dwell too much on it.

He spent the rest of the class trying to draw the baby Lethifold. This was a very difficult task, as it kept trying to climb on Cody, clearly wanting to play. Cody had to hold it still several times, look at it, and draw the portion he remembered best. It was a very fun class, though, and Cody thought that he would like to have a Lethifold for a pet, himself.

"Yer welcome teh come down anytime and play with him, Cody," said Hagrid. "If yeh do well with him and still are interested in a pet, I can help yeh get the permits yeh need to keep one...we'll see how yeh do with this one. I'll be keepin' him here the rest of the year."

"Awesome!" said Cody, handing over the drawing. "You know I'm glad I'm the only person in the class. More fun that way. And no stupid Malfoy here to be a pain in the butt, either."

Hagrid chuckled. "There is that."

"Er...did you ever make up with Harry and the others?"

Hagrid sighed quietly, sitting in his chair, and finally nodded his head. "Yes, I did," he said, and then snorted. "In fact Harry threatened ter break down my door if I didn't let him in." Cody laughed hard at that; he almost regretted not going along. "We talked it out, they didn't tell yeh?"

Cody shook his head. "No, they haven't been talking about a lot...I haven't seen much of them lately, except over Christmas. They're really busy, too."

"I've not seem much of 'em, either," said Hagrid, but smiled as he pulled Cody up by the scruff of the neck and set him on his feet. "It's all righ', Cody. Things'll ease up some, yeh'll see. Now go on, you'll be late for Potions."

Cody nodded in agreement and hurried out of the door. Professor Slughorn was nice enough, but Cody figured he would get points taken off all the same if he were late.

After Potions was supper, and Cody sat with the Gryffindors, as usual. The Slytherins seemed to be stepping up their efforts to make his life as unpleasant as they could without actually getting themselves into any real trouble. It wasn't all the Slytherins, Cody was objective enough to know that...but those who weren't against him were staying out of it, which Cody highly resented. Everyone but Graham, that was, who was getting his own fair share of unpleasantness for defending Cody. Cody finally convinced him to stop, since it did no good whatsoever, and only made things difficult for Graham. Instead, Cody would simply remove himself from the situation.

That night, he asked if he could come up to the Gryffindor common room, remembering he had done so last year, and it was readily allowed. The others were used to Cody by now, and no one had any objections. They certainly seemed to be, for the most part, a lot more accepting than the Slytherins did.

When it was nearly curfew, the boy reluctantly left the game of wizard's chess that he was losing to Ron and said he had to get back to the dungeons. He looked longingly at the fire, which was making the tower room warm and comfortable, and thought of the chilliness that always managed to permeate the Slytherin common room no matter how much the fire roared.

"Chuck Malfoy in the fireplace for me, will you?" said Harry, bending over a Transfiguration essay.

Cody laughed. "Yeah, right. He's bigger than me."

"You have a wand, don't you?"

"Yeah...but so does he! See you guys later."

Cody was in for an unpleasant surprise when he got down to the dorms. As he set his school bag on his bed, he caught sight of his trunk on the other side of the bed. Peering over the bed, he saw that all of his belongings had been taken out of his trunk and strewn on the floor...and worse than that, nearly every one of them had been ripped or broken. His Simba plush toy that he still took to school (out of habit now, rather than usage) had its head torn off, and the word "Gryffindork" painted in ink on its front. His books had pages torn out, his robes had gashes cut in them.

He glanced quickly up at Merlin's cage, but remembered that he was out hunting, and closed his eyes briefly in relief, before turning them back on the mess, walking around the bed to look at the pile.

Cody gaped at it, slowly shifting through the mess, unable to believe what he was seeing. Those miserable cowards! He clenched his fists, starting to shake with anger, and stood up almost before he could think what he was doing. He stalked out into the common room, fury pounding through his head so that he could barely see, much less think.

Draco and his cronies were sharing a table in the far corner, where they seemed to be working on some kind of homework assignment, but Cody wasn't all too fooled. As soon as he came close, Draco stood to face him, smirking. Cody stopped within two yards of him. "What's the big idea!" he demanded at the top of his voice, ignoring the various stares of other Slytherins. "I haven't even talked to you for weeks, and you wrecked my stuff, you stupid jerk, I'm telling Professor Snape about it, I hope he gives you detention for a month!" Cody kept his fists clenched, because if he didn't, he knew that one of his hands was going to grab his wand and hex Malfoy in as nasty a manner as Cody could think of.

Draco's smirk only widened. "I don't know what you're talking about, DeDannan."

"You do too!" He pointed vehemently at the dorms, his hand shaking. "Everything in my trunk, on the floor and broken! Who else would do it, you're the only jerk in here who hates me that much!"

"No, I hate you too," said Crabbe with a snicker.

"Yeah, me too," said Goyle, and Cody felt like crying; he had like Gregory before. He hadn't been nearly as bad as Crabbe was.

Draco leaned forward, the smuggest smile he could muster on his face. "Prove it," he challenged, reminding Cody strongly once again of Draco's father.

But he was right. Cody would not be able to prove anything, and any one of the Slytherins could have done it. The dorms were not locked, after all. Cody glared viciously for several seconds, fighting with the notion to pound Malfoy's face in, but he knew he'd just get hurt. Finally he turned around and stormed back towards the dorms, his face tingling as several Slytherins began laughing.

'Amusing, am I?' Cody thought furiously on gaining the relative peace of the dorm, slamming the door as hard as he could, and hissing, "Colloportus!" with his wand pointed at the door. He was sure Malfoy could open it, but he might take a moment or two finding the right charm. "I'll get him," Cody hissed, picking up the various parts of his belongings and slamming them onto the bed. He hoped he would be able to repair everything.

He cleaned Simba's fur and reattached his head. He mended the book covers, and attached pages. He was furious when he discovered two of his books were missing pages; he couldn't mend what he couldn't find!

With the "Reparo" spell, Cody was calmed by the fact that most of his belongings were restored, if a little crookedly, but he still shook with anger that it had been done to begin with. He was going to have to start cursing his trunk to zap anything but himself if they tried to open it.

He held an ink bottle in his hands; it was empty of ink of course, but the bottle was repaired. Cody contemplated the ink on the floor, then glanced around the room, narrowing his eyes delightedly on a spare bottle of ink over on Theodore Nott's bedside table. The boy took the bottle and pulled out the stopper, happily sloshing it into his hand and splashing it all over the sheets of three bunks: Crabbe's, Goyle's, and Malfoy's. It was the scarlet ink that half the students used, which was definitely not a Slytherin color. Smirking, Cody wrote "Gryffindor rules" across Malfoy's white pillow, then turned his wand on his hand and cleaned off the ink.

Satisfied, Cody went back and lay back in his bed, picking up one of his repaired books. It was one that was missing a page, but he had already read that part of the book, so it could have been worse.

Fifteen minutes later, there was a sound outside the door of someone trying to get in, and Draco's angry voice: "Open the damn door, DeDannan!"

"Open it yourself!" Cody called, holding his wand in his hand. "I'm sure your mighty brain can handle it!"

There was a curse, a pounding sound, and finally the "alohomora" spell, which unsealed the door and allowed Draco entry. "You little--" he began, glaring at Cody, but then his eye was caught by the ink splattered all over his bed. He gaped, his eyes widening, then narrowing dangerously. "You miserable little worm," he hissed, raising his wand.

Cody raised his in case he needed defense, and smirked. "Prove it."

For a moment Cody thought Draco was going to curse him, but all he did was stalk over to his bed and begin cleaning the sheets with his wand. Goyle and Crabbe went over to do the same thing (though Cody laughed uproariously when Goyle accidentally set his blanket on fire).

There was no more trouble that night, but Cody was tense, expecting retaliation. 'Something has to change,' he thought. 'I can't spend every night afraid my dormmates are going to jinx me in my sleep. Or worse.' Too bad he couldn't get Malfoy expelled.

---

As January wore on, the classes seemed to hit a bit of a lull. The workload was not ridiculous, and the classes were in the middle of mid-term review, it would seem, so they were going over past lessons for the most part. This was good for some reasons, and bad for others; it was bad because it gave Draco more opportunity to harass Cody. He'd come back to the dorm to find the contents of a chamber pot emptied on his bed (the house elves had to get him a new mattress, let alone bedding), various rude things painted on his belongings, and twice he'd found Merlin cowering in the rafters; unhurt, but terrified.

After that, Cody brought Merlin in to stay with Hagrid, explaining why he was asking that favor. Hagrid readily agreed to let Merlin bunk there, and Cody expressed his gratitude.

He told Professor Snape about the harassment, but all he got was, "If you would behave a bit more becoming of a Slytherin, perhaps this would not be happening." Which, of course, made Cody hate the man even more. At one point in Cody's career at Hogwarts thus far, he thought he and Snape had sort of reached an understanding, but not anymore. All bets were off.

By the time January began, Cody was more paranoid about Draco and his stupid Slytherin flunkies than he was about Voldemort. Voldmort seemed distant, in another world, but Draco was right there in the next bed.

One day during Study of Ancient Runes, Hermione came over to work with Cody on a Rune assignment. When they had been working a few moments, Hermione suddenly said, "Oh! Harry meant to ask you yesterday but forgot; he wants to know if you've heard anything about Malfoy."

Cody scowled and dropped an inkblot on his parchment, scowling yet more darkly as he sucked up the spill with his wand. "No," he finally said. "He trusts me about as much as Harry trusts him. He's been careful not to talk about anything while I'm around him."

"Didn't you bring an Extendable Ear to Hogwarts, though?"

Cody sat straight up and gaped at her for several moments, before smacking his forehead and putting his head down on his half-finished worksheet. He heard Hermione's soft giggle, as Cody grumbled with sheer irritation at himself. "Yeah, I hid it in Merlin's cage, since it's a banned item. I made a sort of little compartment under where the droppings land...I'll go get that tomorrow during Care of Magical Creatures."

"Good idea. Er...do you truly enjoy those classes?"

"Yeah! Hagrid's got a Lethifold and I've been learning how to take care of him." At Hermione's alarmed gasp, he quickly added, "It's okay, Hermione, sheesh. It's a baby, they don't even eat meat until they're a year old. And Hagrid says if you train one up from birth, they can make good pets."

The feeling of eyes on him made him look up again from his parchment to see Hermione gaping at him in amazement. "You sure you're not part giant, too?" she finally asked.

Cody laughed aloud at that, clapping his hand over his mouth when several Ravenclaws swiveled their heads over to glare at him for the disruption. He could only shake his head in answer to Hermione's question; he was certain she'd made the remark in jest, but even as a joke, the idea of Cody being half giant was utterly ridiculous. "I wish," he said after a moment. "Then maybe I wouldn't have to stand on chairs all the time to reach stuff."

And so the next day, Cody retrieved his Ear out of Merlin's cage, explaining to Hagrid why it was there. Hagrid warned Cody to be careful where he stuck his nose...or his ear for that matter...especially after all the problems he had yet had with Draco.

"He doesn't know I _have_ the Ear," said Cody confidently, slipping the Extendable Ear into a robe pocket, and scratching Merlin on the head.

Hagrid snorted. "He'll know if he catches yeh with it!"

Which was a very good point. Still.... "I don't intend to get caught."

"Maybe," said Hagrid grimly as he ushered Cody and Merlin out of his cabin. "But remember that what yeh intend an' what yeh get can sometimes be very different."


	73. Y6 Chapter 17: Imperio!

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 6**  
by Hyena Cub

**Chapter 17: Imperio!**

After two days of spying, even with the Extendable Ear, Cody was not so sure that he was going to succeed. Spying wasn't nearly as easy as the Hardy Boys made it seem, not even when you could use magic to assist you! He couldn't catch Draco or his two thugs anywhere alone (though he did seem to be away from the both of them quite often), and in the Slytherin common room, it was nearly impossible to try a bit of spying without being seen by someone. He had taken to carrying his Extendable Ear in his trouser pocket, just in case he got the opportunity to use it.

He had overheard plenty of interesting, amusing, and plain disgusting things with his Ear, but nothing that would help him figure out what Malfoy was up to...

...until the third week of January. And it was one of the biggest mistakes Cody ever made.

The Quidditch field was deserted, or so Cody thought. There was no game, no practice, and students did not generally hang out on the Quidditch pitch during the weekends. Cody had his broom with him, and was intending to do some flying, as it was an unseasonably warm day, but was intrigued by voices coming from the Slytherin locker rooms. His curiosity aroused, Cody crept up to the door and pressed his ear to it, and was surprised to hear Draco's voice. After he'd missed the last match, what was he doing here now, with no game to attend?

"Well let's find out," said Cody quietly, took his Extendable Ear from his pocket, and stuck the end into his own ear. The flesh-colored... (what _were_ Extendable Ears made out of, anyway? Cody wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know) ...device slithered under the door of the changing room, and as it approached the speaker, the voices became louder and clearer.

The first clear voice was Crabbe's. "But how do you know that Dumbledore will even drink this mead?"

"I _told_ you," said Malfoy, sounding more irritable and uptight than Cody ever remembered his sounding. "I overheard Slughorn telling Madam Rosmerta that he wanted a bottle of her oak-matured mead to give to Dumbledore for Christmas."

"But...it's February," protested Goyle.

"Glad to know you've learned the months of the year," said Malfoy, his voice spitting sarcasm. "But he hasn't given it to Dumbledore yet, he's forgotten about it in his office. Just make sure he stays out of his office for...twenty minutes or so when we get back to the castle. That should give me plenty of time to get into his office and slip the poison in the bottle. When he does get around to giving it to Dumbledore, the old fool'll drink it. Mission accomplished."

Outside the door, Cody gaped in shock, his Extendable Ear hanging from the side of his head; he had almost forgotten it was there. Surely he couldn't be hearing right!

"What if he drinks it himself?" asked Goyle.

There was a pause, and then Draco's voice: "No loss then." The words were cold, but Cody imagined for a moment that there was a slight tremor to it.

"All right," said Crabbe, "We can get him out of the office...we can...I dunno...ask him for some help with Potions or something, or tell him that Madam Sprout needs some help with something or that Dumbledore wants to see him..."

"You idiot!" hissed Malfoy. "Don't tell him some other teacher wants to see him." The voices were getting farther away, and for a moment Cody wasn't sure why. "Then he'll know you tricked him. The idea is NOT to arouse suspicion, Crabbe. Look. Just use the Polyjuice Potion and use one of the first-year disguises. Ask for some help with one of the first-year assignments." Cody realized when he heard a heavy footfall, that they were moving away from the door. Frowning, Cody gave a slight tug of the ear, causing it to inch a little further in, following the three boys farther into the locker room. Cody wondered just how far they could stretch.

Goyle's voice was almost loud enough to hear without the Ear. "I'm sick of pretending to be a little girl, Draco," he growled. "Why can't we at least use a boy's disguise?"

"Because--" Draco's voice cut off abruptly, and for a moment Cody thought that his Extendable Ear had been found. His eyes widening in horror, he made as if to tug the ear back to him, but Draco's voice continued a moment later, and Cody continued to listen. "Because no one's going to suspect a cute little girl." There was a pause in which Cody could imagine Goyle glaring at Malfoy. Cody would have been highly amused, had it not been for the fact that he was overhearing his dorm mate plotting to kill the Headmaster. He squinted his eyes up, desperate to hear the rest. But Malfoy was only repeating to Crabbe and Goyle how they should get Slughorn out of his office, and when.

When he heard the footstep on the other side of the door, he had time to do nothing, except recoil from the door in horror, realizing that his Extendable Ear _had_ been seen. He was going for his wand when the door to the changing rooms was flung open and Crabbe lunged out, his own wand out. "Stupefy!" he snarled.

Caught full in the chest, Cody felt himself knocked backwards for an instant, before everything went black.

When he woke, the first thing he realized was that he was sitting, his head mildly aching, propped up against the wall in the room where Marcus Flint had always given his pep talks. The second thing he realized (with some degree of anger and uneasiness) was that he was bound from the waist up in heavy cords, the sort that he'd seen Snape use on Lupin at the end of third year in the Shrieking Shack. The third thing was what took all of Cody's attention; there was a wand in his face, and Malfoy was the one wielding it. Cody didn't think he'd ever seen the older boy looking so angry. Cody's first thought was, 'He's going to kill me.'

Draco looked like he could do it, too. "You little bastard," he hissed. "How much did you hear?"

Cody glanced at Crabbe and Goyle, both of whom were looking at him with expression of deepest contempt. Cody did not much like them looming over him, either.

He was surprised when Draco moved forward and kicked him viciously in the side, knocking him onto the floor with a yell of pain. "Damn it, answer me, DeDannan!"

Sprawled on the floor, Cody gaped at Draco for a moment, afraid at how mad he seemed - Draco looked like he was about to lose control. He made a split-second decision and hoped desperately that Draco did not know Legilimency. "I h-heard you guys planning on getting into Professor Slughorn's study! I heard that Crabbe and Goyle's been pretending to be a little girl." He managed to manufacture a smirk for the pair of them, Crabbe in particular. "Bet it didn't take much pretending."

It was a dangerous thing to say while he couldn't defend himself, but it had done as Cody had hoped, and distracted Malfoy from Cody long enough for him to put out a hand stopping Crabbe from stomping Cody into the floorboards. The less Draco scrutinized Cody, the less chance of him perhaps deciding that wasn't _all_ Cody had heard.

"He's lying," said Goyle, looking worried. "You shoulda killed him that one night."

Cody bit his lip, looking at Draco, who was clearly in charge.

"No," said Draco worriedly. "Even if he heard more...I can't kill anyone here, not yet. Somehow I think getting sent to Azkaban is going to make my mission extremely difficult to accomplish, don't you?"

Cody would never have been able to imagine just how intimidating it was, being at the mercy of someone who wanted to kill him, and had the means with which to do so. Books never quite seemed to convey the terror of such a feeling. All he could do was to stare at Draco, who stood there, staring back, both malice and worry in his expression, his wand held shakily towards Cody's face. Even Cody could tell Draco was furiously debating what to do.

"Can't you just do a Memory Charm on him, make him forget it?"

"I haven't learned that yet," said Draco. "Not well enough not to be detected."

"So...then what?" asked Goyle after a moment.

Draco did not answer at first, and when he did, it wasn't with words. He hit Cody with an unspoken hex that knocked him back against the wall, followed by a hissed, "Imperio!"

Reeling from the first hex, Cody was not ready to try and resist the Imperius Curse when it hit him; but the curse itself seemed to fizzle out in his mind, confusing him for a second, and making him shake his head. He blinked, and realized what Malfoy was trying to do to him. "NO!" he yelled, beginning to fight his bonds. "Forget it, you're not using that on me!"

Draco's eyes widened in surprised fury, and he pointed his wand at Cody once more; "Stupefy!" Cody had no more time than to begin a protest when once again he was knocked out.

When he came to a second time, Cody felt nothing but a sort of euphoric lightheadedness, and all of his fear, anger, even the soreness from where Draco had kicked him were gone. Draco was speaking, but Cody only vaguely caught their meaning. It took several minutes for him to realize what had happened; Draco had used the curse while Cody was out cold.

He had experienced this curse before; when "Professor Moody" had taught, he used it on everyone in the class, making them practice throwing the curse off. (Cody still couldn't figure out why, after learning he was really a Death Eater.) Though the professor said that the curse would be difficult to get on his unpredictable mind, once the curse took hold, Cody had not been able to resist it. Now was no exception.

"You will tell no one of anything you might have heard from me today," said Draco's voice, only registering by the barest amount in Cody's consciousness. "Nor that you are under the Imperius Curse."

"Okay," Cody heard himself saying agreeably, and felt a modicum of annoyance that he was agreeing, but was far too distracted to do anything about it.

"You will go about your life as you always do. Just behave normally. If someone asks how your side got hurt, tell them you got into a fight with Crabbe."

As Cody agreed, he heard Crabbe, saying something, and got an agreeable reply from Draco.

"And one more thing, DeDannan. Find out what Potter's doing against the Dark Lord. If he tells you something, you report it to me, got that? I especially want to know what the hell he's doing with Dumbledore all the time."

An immediate protest rose in Cody's chest, though to his fury, he heard himself say, "Okay," with no hesitation whatsoever. At the idea of betraying the people who trusted him, he wanted with every bit of himself to refuse, and could not do it! It was the first time in his life he had tried to desperately do something and his body simply did not respond. It was a terrifying sensation.

"Good," said Draco, and Cody felt the cords loosen from around his torso. "Take your wand then, and get out of here. Fly your broom if that's what you were here for. And remember. Just be yourself."

Cody nodded, and escaped the changing room, grabbing up his wand, but not asking for his Extendable Ear. He had the idea that Draco had taken it, and probably would not give it back.

Some of the euphoria wore off as Cody mounted his broom and took to the air, but the frightening lack of mastery over his own self did not fade. He could no more rush to Dumbledore's office to tell him what he had heard than he could pick up Hogwarts castle and throw it. At least he could _try_ to pick up the castle if he wanted to. He couldn't even try to go and see Dumbledore.

Cody did not know how long he stayed on the Quidditch pitch, zooming around at full speed, flying through the goal hoops and trying to do things like loop-the-loops, but it was late enough that he was getting very cold.

Figuring it must be time for supper, he hurried into the Great Hall, his stomach rumbling, to see that supper was indeed on the tables, and that he was probably the last student to arrive. He slunk over to the Gryffindor table, hoping not to be noticed by any of the Slytherins, and sat next to Harry. He turned to speak to him, but could not say anything, and ended up only grabbing himself a plate and piling it with chicken.

"You all right, Cody?" asked Harry.

"Yeah!" said Cody with a grin. "Why?"

"Oh...I dunno, you seemed weird for a moment."

Across the table, Ron snickered. "Just for a moment?"

"Yeah," agreed Neville. "How can you tell the difference?"

As he would have always done, Cody stuck out his tongue at Ron and Neville, and went back to his meal. The good-natured teasing went on for a few moments, as usual, and Cody felt a mounting panic on realizing that no one knew that something was wrong. No one could tell that he had been cursed.

After dinner, Cody spent the time until curfew skipping stones on the lake with Graham, who also seemed quite unaware that there was something very wrong with his friend. And when Graham suggested they go back inside, because it was freezing out and they didn't want to be late to the common room, Cody agreed with little hesitation.

Blast it! He thought furiously. Look at me, Graham, there's something wrong! Tell Dumbledore, tell Snape, even, tell anyone! But of course Graham could not hear his thoughts.

His thoughts! Snape! Maybe Professor Snape could tell, he was a Legilimens! Tomorrow... tomorrow when they had Defense Against the Dark Arts, he would try then.

But until then, he had to face going back into the dorm room.

After saying goodnight to his friend, Cody walked into the dorms, biting his lip, and wishing he could sleep elsewhere. Draco was sitting on his bed, and Cody narrowed his eyes, glaring evilly at the older boy, his hands clenched. Draco looked up at him. "Don't even think about attacking me, DeDannan," he said. "Did Potter say anything?"

"No," said Cody curtly. "It's not like he discusses anything at the dinner table, you know."

Draco nodded. "Fine. Be sure and report when you do find something out."

Cody nodded, seething inside, and got into bed, but if he slept that night, he didn't notice it.

The entire next day, Cody did three things, alternating: he tried to throw off the curse or get someone to realize he _was_ being controlled; he talked with Harry, finding out what he had been up to and what 'lessons' Dumbledore was teaching him; and going about his lessons and his leisure as normal.

In the first, Cody had no luck whatsoever. It was something he had never had to face the like of before, and had no idea truly how to break out of the strange mental hold it had over him. The third was becoming increasingly more difficult as he fought an almost constant mental battle.

In the second, however, he was a bit more successful...if you could call it success, when he knew that he was just going to spew everything to Malfoy the moment he asked.

When Cody caught Harry on the school grounds one evening, he asked Harry what Dumbledore had been teaching him.

"Oh! I never did tell you, did I?" he asked.

"No," said Cody eagerly. His stomach felt like it sank a foot or so when he realized Harry was going to tell him the information he wanted. _No, stupid, don't tell me,_ he thought furiously.

"Well for now, I'm looking at memories. Yeah, memories from different people, you can store them in little vials until you get them to a Pensieve." Bottled memories? "It's kinda creepy, actually. I'm learning about Voldemort's past. His parents, his childhood...all that kind of thing."

Despite his frustration, Cody found that he was highly intrigued, and tried hard to envision Voldemort as a child; he could not do it, not even with Harry's description.

"He was evil, even when he was your age," said Harry, frowning a little bit. There was a comparison Cody didn't care for much! "And his parents, well, his mum was pretty messed up. The whole family since Salazar Slytherin, well, you remember what Sirius said. If you won't allow your family to marry Muggles or half-blood...you start mating with your cousins."

"Yuck!" exclaimed Cody, and his revulsion was real. "Gross, Harry!"

"Hey, don't look at me! I certainly don't want to mate with my cousin."

Ron snickered. "Good thing too, as he's male."

Cody scowled at Ron. "Gross. You are so gross."

Ron only shrugged.

"Anyway," Harry went on. "There's something else, I have to get this memory from Professor Slughorn. See, he taught Voldemort when he was a teenager...Voldemort was a teenager, I mean. And there's this memory that Dumbledore got from Slughorn that Slughorn tampered with. So until I get this damned memory...." Harry trailed off, then shrugged. "Well I have to try, don't I?"

"Want me to tell him you wanna talk to him?" Cody offered.

Harry shook his head quickly. "No. No, actually, he's not that thrilled with me, I've already tried to get him to tell me, but it's not something he's willing to talk about. I need to approach him just the right way."

"I say you ought to get him drunk," said Ron with a chuckle. "You know, lower his inhibitions."

Once Ron had explained to Cody what an inhibition was, Cody asked where Hermione was.

Harry sighed. "Er...she and Ron...aren't exactly speaking with each other right now."

Cody looked to Ron, who was suddenly stony-faced. "She's just upset because of me and Lavender," he said. "As if she hasn't been sending love letters to 'Vicky'."

Oh, Cody thought. Stupid mushy crap again.

"But you don't wanna hear about that," said Harry shrewdly, clapping Cody heartily on the back. "Let's head inside, it's nearly suppertime."

And so Cody followed them inside, thinking hard about Voldemort's childhood - he wasn't too upset, that didn't seem like anything that would end the world if Malfoy knew. But it certainly was a scary thought.

At supper, Cody grossed out half of Gryffindor house by eating a Blood Lollipop after the meal, and then went to his dorm.

At the sight of Malfoy's disappointed face when Cody gave his report, Cody was relieved; he obviously did not think the information was anything special, either, and that was a good sign.


	74. Y6 Chapter 18: In Like a Lion

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 6**  
by Hyena Cub

**Chapter 18: In Like a Lion**

February had always been the slowest of months for Cody; it was the last of winter, chilly, dreary, rainy, and here in England, downright freezing. The only holiday you had was Valentine's Day, which only disgusted Cody. His birthday was not until March, which made it doubly hard to get through February.

But this February took at least five years to get over with. Cody was beginning to get a very good idea how Bartemius Crouch had felt, living months on end under the Imperius Curse. In everything that Cody did, there was a fake-cheery mental vagueness fogging up his brain, preventing him from concentrating sometimes on even the easiest thing. The feeling was not as intense as when the curse was first put on him, but it was affecting his mind just the same, even when he was not actively fighting it. It didn't help that Malfoy had reinforced the curse once in the dorm room, with Cody helpless to stop it.

Cody's grades began to suffer for it. Half his Runes and Defense Against the Dark Arts assignments were handed in late or half-finished, a fact that Snape was quick to berate him about in front of the class. He got bitten three times within two weeks in Care of Magical Creatures (he was learning about Quintapeds, which were nasty, even as babies) and in Charms, he accidentally set poor Professor Flitwick's robes on fire and Neville had to put them out with an Aguamenti charm.

Ron and Hermione were still fighting, which Cody hated to see them do. Where lessons like Potions and Defense had been fairly enjoyable before, now in addition to the Imperius Curse, there was the added tension of seeing Hermione and Ron refusing to speak to each other. Cody was afraid that they would never become friends again.

The scary feeling that someone else was in control of Cody's mind was not too bad when he was not doing anything that could make him go against his command...but the feeling was still there. As the weeks passed, and Cody fought more and more furiously...there were brief second when he could break free of the curse...but he could never maintain the control long enough to tell anyone.

As February died in a cold gust of wind, Cody's friends finally began noticing that something was wrong, which at first had Cody hopeful that they would figure out what was going on. They noticed the circles under Cody's eyes, and the haggard appearance of his face. But when they asked, Cody found himself exclaiming angrily that it was Malfoy's fault, that his harassment was getting more and more frequent, and Cody was afraid to sleep half the time for fear of being jinxed, or his things being damaged. As Draco often harassed Cody in the hallways, and Harry said he'd seen Cody and Draco fighting in the Slytherin dorms before on the Marauder's Map, this was a lie easily believed, and Cody began to think that no one was going to realize that he was in trouble.

And what would happen at the end of the school year, or when Draco accomplished his task? Cody thought that he himself would be found dead on the school grounds some morning. It was becoming more and more difficult not to panic.

When the first of March arrived, and Cody noticed that Harry, Ron, and Hermione were absent for lunch, he was not overly concerned. But when dinner came (and Cody once again had no appetite), Harry came over and told him quietly that Ron had been poisoned. Cody elt like fainting right there at the table, as Harry rushed on to assure him that Ron was all right, that he had gotten an antidote in time, but if Cody wanted to visit him, Harry was on his way up.

Wordlessly, Cody followed Harry to the hospital wing, where he saw Ginny, the Weasley twins, and Hermione there already. Cody barely noticed when the twins hugged him, and he hugged them back; all he noticed was Ron, lying as if dead on the hospital bed.

"He's gonna be all right," said George to Cody, giving him a friendly little shake.

"H-how'd it happen?" Cody asked.

Harry confirmed Cody's fear by telling him that Ron had been poisoned by Slughorn's mead, and that it had been intended as a gift to Dumbledore.

Cody nearly did faint then, he must have, for the next thing he knew, Fred was grabbing his arm and steadying him, directing him to a nearby chair. "Whoa, easy, kid, George told you, he's going to be fine."

But that wasn't it, at all. The twins couldn't know the dizzying jolt of fear and guilt that overwhelmed him, or that Cody had known about this and could have prevented it. It had only been dumb luck that there had been a beazor present when Ron was poisoned, as the poison was strong, and acted fast. Ron had come within less than an inch of dying, and if he had....

Cody started to shake, feeling tears running down his cheeks. He felt one of the twins (he didn't know which one) sit down next to him and put an arm around him, trying to calm him in a slightly alarmed voice. He heard Hagrid and then Mr. and Mrs. Weasley come in, but he couldn't gather his attention enough to pay attention to any of them.

Finally, the twin that was not sitting with Cody brought over something in a cup, saying that it was a Calming Draught from Madam Pomfrey, and Cody took it gratefully.

Even calmed as he was, Cody did not stay long in the hospital wing. As soon as he could politely do so, he hurried from the hospital wing and sprinted down to the Great Hall, every furious part of his body intent on finding Draco and hurting him as badly as he could. The damnable curse didn't stop him doing that, and Cody intended to do it--and if he had to use magic, attack from behind, or sic Hagrid's Quintaped on him, then so be it!

It was late when he found Draco back at the common room, where most of Slytherin House had retreated due to the bitter cold outside. When Cody entered the room, several students were present including Graham, Draco, Goyle, and some girl that Cody didn't recognize (who if Cody had been thinking clearly he might have realized was a disguised Crabbe). A few students turned to sneer at him, and he vaguely noted that Graham's expression was that of sudden worry at the look on Cody's face. His hand shaking, Cody took out his wand, pointed it at Draco's back, and clenched his teeth, concentrating as hard as he could on a nonverbal hex to throw Draco across the room. He thought fiercely, 'Everte Statum!'

There were several gasps of surprise as all of a sudden, Draco was thrown violently from his chair into a nearby wall. He hit the wall with considerable force, and dropped to the ground, coughing, looking furiously up to see who had done it. Spotting Cody, he snarled and pulled his own wand, making Cody duck for cover to avoid being cursed.

After that, all was chaos. Several of the Slytherins got into the fight, and before long the Slytherin common room was full of smoke and light from various hexes and charms, and Cody had lost his wand among the brawl. He'd been hexed by something that had laid his cheek and his arm open, but he scarcely felt it; all of the rage, all the fear, the desperation and frustration of the last month and a half came out in furious punches kicks, and any other damage he could inflict. He'd bitten Draco twice, Goyle once, and someone that he wasn't sure _who_ it was.

He was getting hurt too, and rather badly. Nearly everyone in the dorm was both bigger and stronger than he, and despite his fury and the adrenaline that went with it, he was being hurt. He just didn't notice it.

The next thing Cody knew, a furious voice had shouted "FINITE INCANTATEM!", and every spell in the room stopped. As Cody turned to look, he caught a fleeting glimpse of a scared-looking Graham next to an absolutely outraged Snape, before both he and Draco were both knocked aside by an Impediment Jinx.

Sitting on the floor, panting, Cody glared at Snape for a moment, as the room slowly became silent. It was a shambles; papers shredded all over the floor, furniture turned over, a broken window.... Cody realized that he had actually started a _brawl_ in the middle of the common room, and wondered wildly if his own rage had somehow leaked out to affect the other Slytherins.

"Who started this?" asked Snape, his voice murderously cold, and his wand still held in his hand. "Malfoy. Who started it?"

"DeDannan, sir," he replied, also somewhat out of breath, and sounding as angry as Snape did.

Snape turned to narrow his eyes at Cody. "Did you?"

"Yes," gritted Cody. He wanted to tell Snape why, he wanted to shout that that miserable coward Draco had nearly gotten Ron killed, that he was trying to poison Dumbledore, that he was probably already in Voldemort's service.... Of course he could not, but he was finding that the Imperius Curse seemed to be at its most tenebrous - as if a good mental strike could shatter it - but Cody was far too distracted to even attempt it.

Snape gazed at him for a moment more before looking the boy over and realizing that he was injured, indeed he was the most badly hurt of the whole lot, who mostly had bruises and minor scrapes. The professor turned curtly to Graham and said, "Pritchard, take him to the hospital wing. Once Madam Pomfrey is done with him, he is to come to my office."

"Yes, sir," said Graham timidly, and slunk over to Cody, who stood shakily up. Not looking now at Draco or Snape, Cody grabbed his wand and limped out of the room, letting Graham help him out.

Neither Cody nor Graham said anything as they made their way through the corridors towards the hospital room, but tears were coursing down Cody's face, and Graham looked downright alarmed. Cody had a fleeting thought that his friend probably thought that he was going mad, and Cody wondered if perhaps he was.

When they got back to the hospital wing, it was empty, save for Ron unconscious on his bed, and Madam Pomfrey in the office. Graham helped Cody get onto a bed, then trotted over to knock on the office door and explain to Madam Pomfrey what happened. The matron came out of her office and looked him over, shaking her head. "Oh, Mr. DeDannan," she said with a sigh, getting out her wand. "Take your robes and shirt off, please."

Wordlessly Cody did, exposing some nasty cuts, and several spreading bruises. He realized that his face felt weird, and that his eye was swollen. Madam Pomfrey took some purplish potion and began cleaning the cuts; Cody hissed as the cuts burned. With a wave of the wand, Madam Pomfrey had healed most of the cuts, and had made his face stop feeling weird as well, and it was only as she was working on the hex-induced cuts that Graham told Cody he'd gotten hit by a Furnunculus jinx and had boils all over his face.

It took a while, but finally, Cody was cleaned up, and didn't hurt anymore, but he was forbidden from leaving the hospital wing until the weekend was over.

"But he's got to see Professor Snape, ma'am," said Graham, frowning. "I mean not that I want to send Cody to the wolves or anything."

Madam Pomfrey gave Graham a reproving look, but Cody felt a sudden, grateful lurch of fondness for Graham, and as he had been several times in the past year, he was highly grateful that Graham was his friend.

"I shall tell Professor Snape he may see Mr. DeDannan on Monday," she said, pressing Cody down onto the bed. "I will get some pajamas for you, DeDannan."

Feeling too tired to protest, Cody lay down, and Graham took a chair next to the bed, still looking worried, but evidently Cody was calm enough that Graham was no longer afraid that Cody might go off on him.

When Cody was clad in a clean pair of pajamas, and Madam Pomfrey was safely back in her office, Graham turned to Cody, his eyes wide. "What _happened_ back there?" he asked in a near-whisper. "You came in looking like some...demon or something almost, I've _never_ seen your face look like that. Then Malfoy went flying across the room!"

"Everte Statum," said Cody quietly. "That's the hex I used." 'Damn it, tell him,' he thought furiously to himself. 'Tell him! Break through, you've almost done it several times!'

"But why?" Graham asked.

Cody clenched his fists, his eyes widening with effort, as he raged in his mind to break through and tell Graham what happened. Several moments went by in silence. "I - I can't," Cody finally gritted out, frustration contorting his features.

"But...but why?" Graham asked, a little puzzled and possibly a little hurt. Cody had never refrained from telling Graham anything. But Cody could only shake his head, seething with frustration.

Graham did not push the point, and changed the subject, but Cody thought he might be upset with Cody, if only a little bit. He did not stay long, as it was nearly lunchtime, but he promised to come by later that evening and visit again.

As Graham was leaving, Cody sat bolt upright, a moment of clarity breaking through the perpetual vague fog in his mind, and he blurted, "Imperius!"

Graham blinked and turned back to look at Cody. "_What?_"

The fog was closing in again, Cody fought against it, closing his eyes and focusing every bit of his concentration into one crucial sentence: "Imperius Curse - Dumbledore - tell him!" He could get out no more than that, before he lay back on the bed and closed his eyes, hoping that Graham would get the point.

It appeared that he did. He tore from the room, robes flying, and Cody heard his footfalls for a moment as he sprinted down the hallway.

Madam Pomfrey came out of her office then, frowning, and looked over at Cody. "Did I hear yelling?" she asked.

Cody opened his eyes to look at her mildly, and shook his head. "No, ma'am."

Her frown deepened, as if she were saying to herself, 'I could have sworn...' but then she shrugged, and went back into her office.

Her peace and quiet ended five minutes later, when a very out-of-breath Graham came back with a very serious-looking Dumbledore. Graham watched tentatively as Dumbledore went over to Madam Pomfrey's office, talked for a moment, argued for several _more_ moments, then came out of the office, leaving Madam Pomfrey inside looking vexed.

The headmaster came over to Cody's bed and sat at the end of it, looking over Cody for a moment. "I have heard tell you have a slight problem, Mr. DeDannan."

'Yes!' Cody thought, relief flooding his body. 'Yes, I do!' He could only frown in polite puzzlement and shake his head, but he knew, just knew that Dumbledore could fix this. "No, sir," he said. "Well, unless you mean the fight in the common room."

"No," said Dumbledore quietly. "That is not what I am referring to. I would like you to come with me into my office if you don't mind, Mr. DeDannan."

"Okay." Smiling a bit, Cody got wearily out of bed and made as if to follow him out, pausing once only to ask if Graham could come, too. Dumbledore surprised Cody by agreeing that he could. Relief, that's all Cody could feel. Dumbledore could fix it. Dumbledore could fix just about anything.

Once up in Dumbledore's office (the password having been to Cody's great, if distracted, amusement, 'Blood Lollipop'), the headmaster asked the two boys to sit. Cody chose a comfortable plush chair, looking hopefully up at Dumbledore, while Graham sat near the desk, watching with wide eyes. Dumbledore stood before Cody, his wand in his blackened hand, and frowned before switching it to his uninjured one. For a moment he only gazed at Cody's eyes, his wand held loosely pointed at Cody.

"Er...sir?" said Cody after a moment, slightly alarmed. Even though he knew Dumbledore would never hurt him, the sight of him pointing a wand at Cody was still a little imtimidating. No wonder even Voldemort himself was afraid of Dumbledore.

"I must ask you to be silent and still for a few moments, Mr. DeDannan," said Dumbledore softly, his eyes never leaving Cody's, and so the boy was quiet. He watched with some apprehension, until a moment later, Dumbledore's grip on his wand firmed, he aimed it at Cody's head, and said carefully, "Finite Incantatem."

It was exactly as if his head had been stuffed full of cotton but a moment before, and the entire mess was cleared within less than a second. Cody could suddenly think perfectly clearly, felt no vagueness clouding his thoughts, and most importantly, no inhibitions against telling Dumbledore exactly what had happened.

And so he did. In a great, relieved, frantic rush of words, Cody told Dumbledore the whole story, beginning with him trying to find out what Malfoy was doing, on Harry's request, and ending with what he had heard with his Extendable Ear, and what Malfoy had done once he was caught. Cody half-wondered if Dumbledore had understood a word of it, as Cody was crying and talking faster than he ever remembered talking in his life.

Dumbledore's expression did not change, except perhaps to soften once Cody was done with his story, and sat, breathing as if he'd run a mile, in the oversized armchair. The headmaster put a hand on each of Cody's shoulders, and said in a very soft voice, "Please, calm yourself, Cody."

As always, Dumbledore's words and his voice helped to ease the franticness and the panic, and Cody took a huge breath, holding it a moment before letting it out. "O-okay."

Dumbledore smiled. "Okay." He walked to his desk, and turned around to open a cabinet set against the wall nearby, and took out a bottle of amber liquid. Cody glanced then at Graham, who looked pale and scared. Dumbledore poured out three short glasses of the liquid, and offered one each to Graham and Cody. "Mead," he said with a calm smile. "And I assure you, this mead is completely safe."

Graham took his, but Cody only blinked at it, looking up at Dumbledore. "Er...you know I-I'm only eleven, right, sir?"

Dumbledore chuckled and pushed the glass into Cody's hand. "Yes, I know. But I think that for this once, you and Mr. Pritchard may have some mead."

"Oh...." said Cody, taking the glass and managing a feeble smile in return. "Thanks...."

"Yeah...thanks, Professor," said Graham, smiling a little as he tasted his drink.

Distracted by this very cool novelty, Cody sniffed his mead, and found that it smelled sweet, not hot and harsh like the Firewhiskey he had once tried. When he sipped it, it tasted sweet, not at all like he had expected. He'd never tasted anything of the like in his life before. It was so strong, not with alcohol but with taste, that he felt sure he could never drink a lot of it.

"Do you like it?" asked Dumbledore, sipping his own mead.

"Yeah!" said Cody, sounding amazed.

"It is, of course, Madam Rosemerta's." Dumbledore took another sip and sat behind his desk, motioning for Cody to come and sit next to Graham, so that they could talk without shouting across the room. "Now," said Dumbledore. "First of all, I am very sorry that you had to endure this, Cody. I of course knew nothing about it, else I could have stopped it a lot sooner. Secondly, and you may be very surprised to hear this, but I have known for a while now that Mr. Malfoy was planning on trying to kill me."

Cody gaped, his mead suddenly forgotten in his hand. Even the very great novelty of being allowed an alcoholic beverage was not enough to keep the shock out of his voice. Beside him, Graham choked on his mead. _"What?"_

Dumbledore nodded grimly. "Yes. He is, as you may have suspected, under orders from Lord Voldemort."

Beside him, Graham gasped, and Cody could imagine that he was gaping at Dumbledore much as Cody was. For the briefest of moments, Cody thought that the Imperius Curse had returned, for his mind could not comprehend what Dumbledore was telling him. Dumbledore looked worried now, and tense. "You know what Voldemort is like. He does not suffer failure from any of his servants, not even one as young as Mr. Malfoy. If Voldemort even suspects that Draco has been found out, Voldemort will kill him."

Cody's first thought was that it would be no great loss, and that the world would be safer without him. He swallowed hard. "But...but sir, he almost killed Ron with his poison! He's up in the hospital wing right now! If...if Harry hadn't--!"

"I know," said Dumbledore wearily. "He was also responsible for Katie Bell's being cursed as well. I am going to have Professor Snape watching Draco carefully, to prevent something like this from happening again."

"So--" said Graham, sounding disbelieving. "You're not going to...to arrest him? Or have the Ministry arrest him, or--"

Dumbledore sighed. "No, Mr. Pritchard. I am not." He held up a hand to forestall what he must have sensed would be an outraged protest from both boys. "Draco has made some grave mistakes in his life, and has done a lot of wrong things. But he is only a boy. Not that much older than either of you. I don't want him sent to Azkaban, to rot away, or killed mercilessly by Voldemort. I want to give him the chance to make the right choice, and learn the right way."

Cody wanted to argue; he wanted to argue very badly. After fighting the Imperius Curse for over a month, after learning that one of his friends had nearly been killed, after learning that Draco had joined Voldemort's army of ruthless killers.... He wanted Draco to be punished for it. He slumped back in his seat, taking a sip of his mead.

"I must ask you boys to keep silent about this." Dumbledore leaned forward now, his gaze intense, looking at each of them in turn. "It could very well mean Draco's death if you do not. From what you have told me, Mr. DeDannan, he very likely thinks that you only heard him planning to break into Professor Slughorn's office, and that he placed the Imperius Curse on you solely as a precaution. Am I correct?"

"I-I guess so."

"I will let him keep thinking that then. I am certain that _he_ will not mention the subject to anyone, lest it get back to Voldemort that his attempts were discovered. Incidentally...is this what the fight this afternoon in the Slytherin common room was about? The Imperius Curse?"

"Kinda," said Cody miserably. "I just found out Ron got almost killed by the poison I heard him talking about, and knew he almost killed my friend, and that I knew about it and couldn't do anything about it." He felt himself begin to cry again and wiped his eyes angrily.

"Ah, I see," said Dumbledore quietly. "I shall see that you do not get in trouble for it."

Cody blinked, then bit his lip. "Okay...thanks."

"And you will no longer be living in the Slytherin dorms."

It was Cody's turn to choke on his mead. "_What?_" he managed to sputter as he tried to catch his breath.

"I do not feel that you are safe there," said Dumbledore once Cody was breathing again. "I am going to speak with Professor McGonagall about moving you into the Gryffindor dorms, as you seem to be friends with most of the Gryffindors in your year."

"But sir!" protested Cody. "What about Graham? I don't wanna leave him alone there!"

"Graham will be safe, Cody," said Dumbledore. "He is not nearly as involved in this as you are. And I daresay that you can see just as much of him as you do now if you wish to, as you do not have to be in your dorm until ten o'clock. Professor Snape will keep an eye on him as well."

Cody bit his lip and looked at Graham, who seemed just as surprised by this turn of events as Cody did. Finally, he shrugged. "Well, he's right about that," he said. "We're in separate dorms at night, anyway, and in class during the day. I don't mind if you move, I mean, especially if it keeps this from happening again."

After several minutes' worth of silence and hard thought from Cody, he finally nodded his head. The thought of going back to the dorm room now, of remaining until the end of term with Slytherin House after this was both an intimidating and miserable prospect.

"All right," said Dumbledore quietly. "I will have your things moved up after lunch, then. You will still be listed as a Slytherin, and for anything that requires you to be categorized...if I may use that word...you will be with the Slytherins. And as N.E.W.T classes include all Houses, your schedule will not be changed."

"Okay," said Cody in a small voice. "Can't I even tell them that he put me under the Imperius Curse?"

Dumbledore was silent for a moment, considering, then finally nodded. "You may. Just make sure not to mention the whole story. Harry already firmly suspects Malfoy, so there is no harm in making him more suspicious. You might also tell him that Malfoy did so to make you give him information."

Cody nodded.

"All right. Go ahead and finish your mead, boys, and I'll take you on back to the hospital wing. I think you should remain there for tonight, Cody. Tomorrow I will show you up to the Gryffindors' tower common room."

Cody looked down at his drink and finished the last half of it, beginning to feel as if he might go to sleep right there in the chair. He vaguely wondered if Dumbledore hadn't slipped some sleeping potion into the mead, but found he was too tired to care.


	75. Y6 Chapter 19: The Calm Before the Storm

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 6**  
by Hyena Cub

**Chapter 19: The Calm Before the Storm**

On Sunday morning, Cody received a visit from Professor Dumbledore, who told him that his belongings and his fruit bat were all up in the Gryffindor common room. "I have spoken to Professor McGonagall, and told the Gryffindor students that you will be sleeping in the sixth year dorm. I did not, of course, tell them everything, but I did tell them that you were no longer safe among the other Slytherins."

"Bet they weren't happy," said Cody gloomily.

"Actually, no one seemed upset. Surprised, certainly, as this happens very rarely, but there was no one that seemed particularly put out. I believe that you are at least vaguely known to most of them."

Cheered somewhat by this, Cody spent a few moments talking with Dumbledore, before Madam Pomfrey came over and declared that Cody could leave if he wanted to. "No more fighting, Mr. DeDannan!" she said firmly, shaking a stern finger in his face. "I don't want to see you up here again!"

"Yes, ma'am," said Cody meekly.

"Well, go on then. You do know that since I met you, Mr. DeDannan, I have gotten at least three dozen new gray hairs on my head? You'll make me old before my time, boy!"

Cody looked unhappily up at her for a moment before spotting the twinkle in her eyes that told him that she was not truly angry, and that she had only been teasing him. "Aw, that's not so bad. If you go all gray, you could look like Professor Dumbledore. And that would be a good thing."

"Heavens, no," said Dumbledore, though he looked a bit flattered. "I think that the wizarding world could not survive two of me!" He chuckled and gently pulled Cody from the bed. "Come on then, Mr. DeDannan. I will accompany you up to Gryffindor Tower."

With Cody still in the pajamas Madame Pomfrey had given him, he and Dumbledore headed for the stairs and made their way up the many staircases that led to the tower common room. On one of them, Cody suddenly yelled in alarm as his foot went straight through one of the steps, and he fell awkwardly down on the staircase with a cry of pain, stuck fast. "Evil!" he exclaimed accusingly down at the stair, grimacing at the stunned tingle in his arms after slamming into the stairs. "Oww.... Er, Professor?"

Professor Dumbledore chuckled and pulled Cody out of the trick stair, ascertaining that he was unhurt, and reminding him that he needed to jump that stair when he used the staircase. "Most of the Gryffindors already know about that stair, and jump it out of habit," he said. "I daresay once you've gotten stuck a few times, you'll remember it, too." He winked, then led on. Great, Cody thought. He hoped he wouldn't ever get stuck while he was alone. It was lucky he was so flexible, else he could really have been hurt! Cody glared at the step as he followed Dumbledore up.

The Gryffindor common room was nearly deserted when Dumbledore led Cody there, telling him that the password was "abstinence". Cody asked what that meant as they went inside.

"It is the act of refraining from doing something," said Dumbledore. "You can abstain from drinking liquor, or abstain from beating up your housemates."

Cody turned red, crossed his arms, and then snorted. "Yeah...you can do that," he said. "It's sure not as satisfying though."

Dumbledore laughed and clapped Cody on the shoulder. "I am glad to have met you, Cody," he said quietly.

Cody blinked, then found himself smiling, pleased, at the compliment. "Me too, Professor... Hogwarts wouldn't be the same without you as Headmaster."

Dumbledore smiled, gave Cody's shoulder a squeeze, then led him up a small staircase within the common room. Cody was aware of curious stares from those Gryffindors still in the room as he went up. Curious, but friendly. How pathetic, he thought angrily as he and Dumbledore walked into the sixth-year dorm room. He was more welcome here, in a "rival" house, than in his own.

"Here is your bed," said Dumbledore, indicating one of the six four-posters in the room. Cody's neon green trunk sat next to it, and Merlin was curled up in his cage on the bedside table. "I think you'll do fine here."

"Thanks," said Cody gratefully, sitting down on the bed. It was just as comfortable as his own. It was strange, Cody often felt the same attraction towards things, as he did with people. They were friends, in a way. He looked curiously up at Dumbledore. "Er, sir..._is_ this my bed?"

Dumbledore looked pleased. "I wondered if you would notice. Yes, it is yours, we moved it from the dungeons."

"Oh, awesome! Cool...I like my bed."

"Well then. I think as soon as you're dressed, you should come on down to breakfast. I am heading down there myself." He lifted his hand in a wave to Cody before leaving the room.

The boy took several moments of quiet to himself as he realized that yes, this had really happened. He had been freed of the horrid Imperius Curse, and would not have to deal with the Slytherins for the whole rest of the year! He laughed and got up from his bed, putting on some blue jeans and his ThunderCats T-shirt. (He had had to use an Enlargement Charm for it to fit him, and it was fairly out of shape now) he slipped on a robe over it, then slipped out of the dorms.

"Oi, you!"

Cody tensed as he stepped off of the last stair, into the round Gryffindor common room. He relaxed a bit when he turned to see a boy even smaller than Cody looking at him with not hostility, but curiosity. "Yeah?"

"What's your name?"

"Cody DeDannan...and you?"

"I'm Dennis Creevey. I'm a third year.... You're that Slytherin Dumbledore told us about, right? How come you're up here? He said you weren't safe there, what happened?"

Cody sighed quietly. "I don't really wanna talk about it. Just... Draco Malfoy, we got in a big fight, and he's a git, so he tries to hurt me." He shrugged. "And the other Slytherins, er, don't like me much."

"Oh. Well then that's okay with me. I think they're gits, too."

Cody laughed. "Cool. I'm goin' down to breakfast...er, you coming?"

"Nah, I have this essay I wanna finish first. It's due tomorrow for Charms. See you later!"

Cody said good bye to Dennis Creevey, and went on down to the Great Hall. It definitely was more exercise to get up to the Gryffindor common room than it was to go down to the Slytherin one!

When Cody got down into the Great Hall, he glanced over at the Slytherin table. Most were not paying any attention, but he caught sight of Malfoy's face, looking worried and tense. Cody found that he was cheered by it, and gave Malfoy a smirk before heading to the Gryffindor table. He spent several moments telling his friends a slightly altered version of what had happened, using a few rather descriptive terms to describe Malfoy. He asked them not to tell anyone about the Imperius Curse, and that Dumbledore was dealing with it. He was not expelling Malfoy, but he had his reasons. The other Gryffindors were not entirely impressed that Draco was going without punishment, and expressed their sympathy.

Cody was rather annoyed that no one seemed all that worried about what had happened to Ron, as most were of the opinion that it was an accident. He longed to smack the idiots upside the head and tell them otherwise, but sadly he had to refrain from doing so. As a result, he did an awful lot of eye rolling over the next few days.

It was bizarre, living in the Gryffindor dorms. By habit, more than once, he found himself descending the stairs down into the dungeons before realizing he was supposed to be in Gryffindor Tower.

He was a lot happier out of the dungeon common room, though. He didn't have to worry about vandalism or teasing or violence with the Gryffindors. He found that his schoolwork improved at least twofold; part of this he knew was the lack of the Imperius Curse on him, but he suspected that some was the improved setting. He found that several of the students, though none in his own year, treated him with suspicion; but it was nothing to how the other Slytherins had treated him. Cody spent much of the next few days familiarizing himself with the Gryffindor common room and dorms, and getting used to living there.

---

The next Quidditch match was between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. Cody was not sure that he was up to commentating, so he let Professor McGonagall know that he wasn't feeling up to it, and she told him not to worry about it. He suspected that she knew what had happened to Cody, but he wasn't certain of it. "I'll just get one of the other applicants to substitute for you this time," she said. "But I'll expect you at the next match, and no excuses, got it?"

She smiled a bit, and Cody smiled back. "Yes, ma'am. I'll spend the time in the hospital wing with Ron, maybe. Bet he's getting bored in there all this time."

Harry was already there with Ron when Cody came to visit, but had to leave for the match soon afterwards. Cody took Harry's seat.

"So why aren't you commentating?" Ron asked him once Harry had left the room.

Cody shrugged. "I dunno. Just didn't feel like going, that's all. And that stupid Smith git's gonna be playing, and I'd probably call him some name that'd make McGonagall give me detention, and--" He cut off as Ron started laughing. "Well, it's true!"

"I doubt that," said Ron. "I mean Lee Jordan, he's said worse, and all McGonagall did was yell at him. I wonder who she'll get to commentate this match, then."

"She said one of the other people who tried out for commentator, but she didn't say who. Can we see the match from here?"

Ron shook his head. "No, probably not, but we should be able to hear the commentary. And Madam Pomfrey says that Quidditch matches are too stressful, so she wouldn't let me go." He rolled his eyes with frustration. "I swear, if she had her way, the entire school would spend the entire day covered in foam insulation."

This caught Cody just right, and he broke into a fit of the giggles. Ron chuckled as Cody got them under control.

A moment later, there were faint cheering and yelling coming from the direction of the Quidditch pitch, and Cody grinned, listening for the voice of the commentator. When it came, Cody could not believe his ears.

"And that's Smith of Hufflepuff with the Quaffle...." A vague, feminine voice drifted over from the pitch, and Cody turned to stare at Ron, who returned the look of incredulity.

"Is that--?" Cody began.

"No," said Ron, his mouth open. "They've got _Loony Lovegood_ commentating? Is McGonagall mad?"

"Well, she _did_ try out for it...but--" As the dreamy voice floated in to them once more, Cody began laughing; there was no doubt at all that it was indeed Luna Lovegood out commenting on the match. He couldn't believe it!

The match seemed to be going all right at first, though it was difficult to glean the score from Luna, as she went off on tangents almost constantly. Though it did seem that the name "McLaggen" was mentioned an awful lot, and Cody remembered that he was replacing Ron this game for Keeper.

"And Harry Potter's now having an argument with his Keeper," said Luna at one point. "I don't think that will help him find the Snitch," Luna continued, "but maybe it's a clever ruse..." Cody burst out into snickers again, lying back on the bed with his hands on his forehead.

"I like Luna all right,' said Ron, shaking his head. "But the girl's barking--listen, she's gone off on some...she's not even talking about Quidditch anymore!"

"At least she's not cussing at the Hufflepuffs."

"No. I guess not." After several minutes of Luna's commenting on cloud formations, Ron turned over in his bed to face Cody again. "So. You said Malfoy had put the Imperius Curse on you, that's what's been wrong with you?"

Cody sighed, and nodded his head.

"Why?"

He really did not want to talk about it. But he didn't want Ron not to know, either, especially as Cody still felt guilty; he knew it was stupid, but that did not stop the feeling. "Well, he caught me eavesdropping, but he caught me before I heard much. Course he didn't believe me. And then he wanted me to start giving him information about you guys. Luckily, I didn't learn anything that was any help to him. Nothing he didn't already know. Well...I told him about Harry learning about Voldemort's past, but nothing else about that. Harry hasn't told me it all yet, he says he still has to find some stuff out.

Ron was shaking his head, looking disgusted. "I can't believe they're not throwing Malfoy out - I mean he used an Unforgivable! That gets grown wizards a life sentence in Azkaban!"

"I know. Dumbledore has his reasons I guess. Maybe he wants to convince Draco to be on the good side for once."

Ron snorted in disbelief. "Fat chan--" He broke off as a bit of Luna's commentary caught his ear, and he stared unbelievingly at the window. "Did she just say that Zacharias Smith has _Loser's Lurgy?"_

Cody burst out laughing and fell back against the pillows, holding his gut. "Yes, she did!" he cried gleefully. He and Ron had quite a good laugh over that, and both of them changed their minds about Luna then and there.

"She's a brilliant commentator!" Ron exclaimed.

"Yeah, I better be careful she doesn't take my job," said Cody, finally simmering down to a gleeful chuckle. Madam Pomfrey yelled from the office that they had better quiet down else she'd throw Cody out, and so Cody muffled himself with a pillow.

"Bet the Hufflepuffs didn't like it too much," said Ron with a chuckle. "Not that Smith doesn't deserve it."

The two of them spent the next half hour talking about Quidditch and Malfoy, and a series of awful things they would like to see happen to him. They chuckled about Luna's interesting method of commentary, and how McGonagall had to take it upon herself to list the score. A moment later, there was a comment about the Keeper taking one of the Beaters' bats, and then a sort of collective gasp and several screams from the pitch. Ron and Cody exchanged a puzzled glance, and then Cody shrugged. "Maybe someone turned Smith into a toad."

"Nah, no one would gasp about that, they'd cheer," said Ron. "I'll ask Harry later, maybe someone got hurt."

They both found out a moment later, however, when the door opened and a stretcher was born in by Professor McGonagall and another teacher. To Ron and Cody's surprise, the person lying down on it was Harry himself! "What the--" Ron blinked. "What happened?"

"Bludger," said McGonagall curtly, hovering the stretcher onto a bed, and calling for Madam Pomfrey. "That fool McLaggen."

Cody was highly alarmed; there was blood all along one side of Harry's face, and a horrid looking gash on the side of his head. He sat on in the bed and watched, his eyes wide. Madam Pomfrey hurried out, saw Harry, and rushed over, drawing her wand. She looked Harry over for a few moments, murmuring, "Fractured skull, concussion...no complications. Good."

"What's a concussion?" Cody asked, but no one answered him.

A moment later, Madam Pomfrey had uttered an incantation, and presumably fixed Harry's head injury. After a quick cleaning spell, the blood was gone, and the gash was gone, too. A final flick of the wand, and a bandage was wrapped protectively around Harry's head. He reminded Cody suddenly of Quirrel and his turban.

Cody sighed shakily; it had been a shock, seeing so much blood. No one should ever see that much blood on a person. He began to shiver, remembering Mom, how she was covered in blood when they took her into the hospital. He bit his lip hard and sat back in the bed. He was glad of the distraction when a very irate Professor McGonagall turned on Cody and snapped, "You will be commentating next match, Mr. DeDannan. Understood?"

"Er, yes, ma'am," said Cody, blinking. He smiled a little as she marched from the room. Apparently McGonagall was less than thrilled with Luna's performance that afternoon. Cody turned to Madam Pomfrey. "Is he gonna be all right?"

"Yes, Mr. Potter will be fine. Though he'd be a good sight better if he didn't play Quidditch!" Cody stifled a smirk. "Now, if you can help Mr. Potter into a pair of pajamas, I will be in my office." With that, the matron marched off into her office.

Cody blushed. "She wants me to undress him?"

Ron laughed. "Unless you intend to get his pajamas on over his Quidditch robes, I'd say yes. I'd help but you know, I've got to take it easy."

Cody shot Ron a glare as the other boy reclined on his bed and watched. "Brat," Cody muttered, then shrugged. It wasn't like Harry was awake, and he knew Madame Pomfrey certainly would not undress a male unless she had no other choice.

Cody got a footstool to stand on, and began what ended up being a very difficult task. Harry was _he_avy! And with him just flopping around on the bed, it was nearly impossible to get him undressed. Harry nearly fell off the bed twice, and Cody only just caught him. His face still red, Cody decided he was getting nowhere near Harry's underpants and he could wait for clean ones when he was awake.

A good twenty minutes later, Harry was clad in a soft, clean set of pajamas, and Cody was quietly telling Ron how many different kinds of a dork he was. Far from being offended, Ron seemed highly amused. It was only then that he mentioned to Cody that he could have used magic to levitate Harry, and Cody looked incredulously at him. "Why didn't you tell me _before_ I did all that?"

Ron shrugged, looking unconvincingly innocent. "I didn't think of it."

Cody refrained from dumping Ron onto the floor of the infirmary, but vowed revenge later. That made Harry, Neville, and Ron that needed revenge...he was going to have to start a list.

Finally, he shook his head and turned his attention back to the window, through which drifted Luna's voice, still commentating on the match. It wasn't sounding too great for Gryffindor. "Three hundred and twenty?" he exclaimed when it was all over with.

"Harry won't be too thrilled once he wakes," agreed Ron. "Mind you I'm not thrilled, myself."

"Zacharias Smith is gonna be overflowing with smug," Cody said disgustedly. "I'm sure glad I don't have any classes with him." He rolled his eyes, and got down out of the bed. "Listen, it's nearly supper time. See you later?"

"Sure, kid. Thanks for the company." A slow grin emerged, and Ron said, "Loser's Lurgy...."

Cody laughed and nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah...Loser's Lurgy!"

Cody was surprised to see that when he got down to the Great Hall that evening for supper, Graham Pritchard was there, chatting amiably with one of the younger Gryffindors. Cody grinned happily at the sight; maybe it was the start of a little inter-House unity, like Hermione always wanted. He spent dinner telling Graham what had happened, and what a stupid git that McLaggen dude was, and what an even _stupider_ git Zacharias Smith was.

Harry and Ron both got out of the hospital wing the next morning, Monday, but Cody was too preoccupied with classes to dwell much on it. They were both fine, but there seemed to be an awful lot of revolting romantic things going on. (He was just glad that Ron and Lavender had pretty much stopped their kissing and hugging all over the place by the time Cody moved into Gryffindor Tower. He wasn't sure how much he could have stood of that!)

He was avoiding the Slytherins as much as humanly possible, and since he sat with the Gryffindors for classes and meals. Now that he didn't have to see his Housemates every night and bunk with them when he slept, he was finding it a lot less difficult to ignore them when he did come into contact with them. Even Merlin was a lot happier. He flew around a lot more, and Cody saw a return of the "happy-bat" face that Merlin had when he was content or agreeable.

Cody spent the rest of March being very envious of most of the other sixth years, as they were able to take their Apparition lessons. Cody wouldn't be seventeen for another six years. Though the prospect of being a grown-up was thoroughly frightening...the prospect of Apparating was fantastic. He was unused to being unable to do the same things as the others in his grade. Sometimes he forgot he was so different in age.

It was becoming more and more apparent, though. When Cody first went to Hogwarts, the others were years ahead of him, but they were still kids. Cody was on far more even footing with them. He was friends with older-year students, but they were not his peers, they were in different classes, doing different things, and they were far older. But now, the boys and girls he shared dorms and classes and adventures with were all becoming men and women. And Cody was still a child. Their interests were becoming more adult-like, too, and Cody was feeling more like he had with Kyle and Kathy and Flint: child and adult. Perfectly friendly, even close...but still child and adult.

He did not like it.

Cody witnessed a lot more arguments, living in Gryffindor Tower, too. As he stayed up late at night sometimes, completing homework and asking Hermione for help when something stumped him too badly, he heard a lot more of either her and Ron or her and Harry rowing nearly every night. The Potions book Harry had, the one with all the Potions notes and spells and things from its previous owner had Hermione in a tizzy. She hated the thing. Ron was probably right when he said it is because he helped Harry be better at Potions than she was.

Cody did wonder who the Half-Blood Prince was, and why he had used such a really weird name for himself. It was the name in Harry's Potions book, and none of the Gryffindors had been able to find it in the library. Cody had little interest in the matter; he was good at Potions, that's all Cody knew. He did take the advice from the book on occasion when he was really struggling in class - not completely honest perhaps, but it was interesting!

While everyone else in sixth year was taking extra Apparition lessons in Hogsmeade, Cody spent the time with Graham Pritchard, being jealous of those who got to go. "Age is stupid," he said to Graham. "Really stupid."

"Hey... Didn't you say that you were raising a Lethifold in Care of Magical Creatures?" asked Graham, as he had heard this particular complaint now at least five times within the last two hours.

Cody was a little bit annoyed at the sudden change of subject, especially as he wanted to continue ranting about age and adults, but he answered, "Yeah. Got a Quintaped in there too, but he's still just young."

"Wicked! D'you think he'd let me go in and see?"

"Well, we could go ask." Cheered by the idea of visiting Hagrid and his beasts, Cody led Graham over to the groundskeeper's hut and knocked on the thick, wooden door. Hagrid's giant figure loomed over Cody and Graham, smiling on seeing who it was. He let the boys in and began making a pot of tea. (Cody wondered if his body would someday suffer from tea overdose living here in England.)

"So, yeh want ter see the Lethifold, eh?" said Hagrid to Graham, grinning. "Aren't you afraid of bein' eaten?"

"Nah," said Graham. "If shrimpy Cody can handle him, I'm not afraid of it!"

"HEY!" Cody protested, slugging Graham in the arm, and making him spill his tea all over the table.

"Watch it!' growled Hagrid, slipping a huge towel onto the table and soaking up the spilled tea. "Yeh tryin' ter burn yer friend's hand off, or what?"

Cody snorted.

"Yeah, well.... I suppose I can bring him out. The Lethifold, I mean," Hagrid said. "Just be careful, Cody can show yeh how ter handle him."

"It's not like he's an adult," said Cody. "He's just a little one for now. Well he's not a _small_ baby anymore, but still."

Graham nodded eagerly as Hagrid went over to the crate he kept the Lethifold in, and opened the lid. An inquisitive "head" poked out, looking like a rounded bit of cloak fabric, and then the half-grown creature slithered out, rippling across the floor like a sting ray and about three feet long now. Graham got hastily out of his seat in alarm and took several steps backwards, but Cody grinned and crouched, holding out his hand. "He's been fed today, right, Hagrid?"

"Of course," said Hagrid, sounding insulted. "Yeh think I'd sic him on yeh otherwise?"

"Maybe if you were bored," said Cody cheekily, and got a snort in reply. The Lethifold approached Cody, recognizing his scent, and went to slither up towards Cody's head. The boy stood, moving so that the Lethifold draped around his arm, and grasped it gently about the middle. The Lethifold reared its head up to lay it on Cody's head; he laughed. "These are neat," he said.

Seeing that Cody was not being eaten, Graham came cautiously forward and looked at Hagrid. "Can I pet it?"

"Of course. He's feelin' friendly tonight. Yeh can hold him if yeh want."

"Well...maybe." Graham reached out a hand to pet the Lethifold, starting back when it turned its head towards him, but resuming on seeing that the beast was simply curious. He laughed a little, shaking his head. "Strange. This is a strange thing...it feels really...weird."

"Aren't they cool?" said Cody. "Go on, go ahead and hold him. Here, hold out your arm like this." He demonstrated with his free arm, holding it straight out from his body. Graham did so, if reluctantly, and Cody draped the Lethifold over it. "Now just sort of curl your arm in, but don't squeeze him, he'll think you're attacking him."

"It's how they themselves attack, after all, wrapping themselves around something," chimed in Hagrid.

Graham gave Hagrid a look. "You're not making me very confident here."

Hagrid only chuckled. "Don' worry, Graham. He'll be a good boy."

Graham was relaxing as he realized that he was not about to be eaten, and even let the Lethifold crawl over him a bit. He finally gave it back to Cody, who put the Lethifold back in its crate. He grinned over at Graham, who had an expression on his face that Cody couldn't quite read. "What do you think?"

Graham laughed. "I think it's weird," he said. "I guess they're kinda cool if they're tame."

"I want one," said Cody.

Graham sputtered. "Merlin would pitch a fit," he said. "And he's just snack sized."

"Aw, go on. Hagrid says when you raised them by hand they don't attack you and your stuff. They're pretty smart animals. This one didn't try to eat you, now did he?"

"I suppose not."

Hagrid grinned and clapped Cody on the shoulder, sending him sprawling on the ground. "Oops. Sorry, kid," he said, pulling Cody back onto his feet.

"I should be used to that," the boy grumbled, rubbing his sore shoulder.

"Aw, yeh're tougher'n that," said Hagrid. "Like I was gonna say, Graham, Cody _appreciates_ the interestin' creatures I bring in. Makes me proud!"

Cody laughed. "Thanks. Well, I think they're fun, anyways. Maybe I can do something for a job with magical creatures! Or any creatures really."

"I think yeh'd be great at it!"

Cody brooded about this as he sat and talked with Hagrid for an hour or so...he wasn't so sure he wanted any kind of Ministry job, but that didn't mean he couldn't work with animals in another way! The Muggle world wasn't entirely connected with the government, surely not all wizarding careers were tied to the Ministry!

After the visit to Hagrid's Hut, Graham and Cody spent the day playing tag in the courtyard.


	76. Y6 Chapter 20: Highs and Lows

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 6**  
by Hyena Cub

**Chapter 20: Highs and Lows**

The following days brought a mix of good news and bad. Ron failed his Apparition test, but Hermione passed it, making Cody feel quite surly. He could sympathize completely with Harry, who was not of age, either. He, though, would at least be able to take the test that summer! He wondered if Cody could learn on his own, and decided that he was going to try.

Hagrid was devastated one class, enough that he taught Cody nothing, only spent the time talking with him and drinking way too much brandy. Aragog, it seemed, had died. He had been a good friend of Hagrid's, who had raised him from an egg, and cared for him. Even Cody did not think the idea of a giant, vicious, carnivorous spider was a cool animal, but that did not really matter. What mattered was that Hagrid had loved him, as he loved all of his pets, and Cody respected that. He was not good at comforting people, but he tried, and he knew that the effort was appreciated.

Cody had been nearly in shock to learn of the death of a five year old boy from Greyback, the werewolf that had bitten Lupin. Cody cried for the child for a long time that day, skipping his last two classes, because he was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to concentrate. He wanted to kill Greyback. He wanted to kill him more than almost anyone else. He thought that the only person he hated more than him was Dustin Tiller.

Voldemort needed to die. This was his fault, all of it. These were his people, his doings... Even Hagrid's expulsion from school had been his doing, Voldemort, at the age of sixteen. More than anything, Cody wished he could help it happen. He wished that he could do _something_ that would help in making sure that Voldemort never walked the earth again.

Cody was cheered when he got a belated birthday present from Kyle Tiller, who sent him a set of the new Hardy Boys books and some Honeydukes chocolate. He got a letter from Samantha, who said that she had been staying with Kathy Skinner, and Cody remembered Lupin telling him that might happen. While Cody would have liked to have his sister at Hogwarts with him, he worried about what could happen to her there. It was a dangerous place! Samantha and Kathy were getting along fine, and she was enjoying it there. He got a letter from Charlie, saying that next time he saw Cody he was going to noogie him until he was bald because Cody kept forgetting to write to him. Cody sent a nice, long letter back apologizing and telling him about the school year thus far, and pleading for a reprieve from the noogieing.

The next bit of news that Cody received was not exactly good...nor was it bad. But it _was_ incredibly shocking. During Charms class, Harry told Cody the most important thing that he had learned from Dumbledore's private lessons, the thing to which all the lessons had been leading up to. As he, Harry, Hermione, and Ron sat trying to turn vinegar to wine (and failing miserably except for Hermione), Harry told him what he had been up to the night before. After casting a charm that would allow them to speak without being overheard, he told them he had to get a memory from Slughorn, a memory about something called "horcruxes". When Cody and Ron asked in unison what they were...Harry told them.

"A horcrux is an object in which someone puts a part of his or her soul."

Cody made a face. "Huh? How do you do that?"

"Well...like Dumbledore said, it's _really_ Dark magic. You have to kill someone. Killing someone rends your soul. And it's some kind of evil incantation to bind the broken part into an object."

Cody gaped at him, feeling something that was too deep to be disgust. A person's soul, his spirit, that was what made a person what he was. That was what let him love or hate or be angry. What happened if a person lost part of his soul to something that vile? He bit his lip as he realized he knew, at least a little bit. He knew why Voldemort looked so inhuman, or why in the two times Cody had been in close proximity to Voldemort that he had felt such an unnatural, soul-freezing evil come from him. His glass of vinegar forgotten before him, Cody turned to Harry, appalled.

"That's revolting," said Ron from Cody's right, though Cody barely noticed him.

Harry nodded grimly. "And Voldemort's not just done it once, but six times. Six horcruxes. Two are gone...his diary..." Cody's eyes widened to think he'd actually _touched_ one, "...and a ring that Dumbledore found. There are four more. They have to be destroyed."

Cody said nothing as the others discussed the idea; he was still trying to wrap around the idea of splitting your soul, not just in half, but into seven pieces. What did it feel like? Aside from having to kill someone, what did it feel like to rip your soul? Even he, who had an extraordinarily powerful imagination, could not imagine that.

They had to abandon the conversation then, to try and turn their vinegar into wine for Professor Flitwick, but only Hermione made any progress. The boys were given the homework of practice.

Cody had a lot to think about in the next few days. He almost told Graham, but realized that he still lived in the Slytherin dorms, and if Malfoy found out that Graham knew what Harry was up to.... Cody shook his head. No, he would tell Graham another time, when it was safe to do so. He hated keeping something from him, but it really wasn't safe, not for Graham, nor for anyone else.

He seemed to be getting the hang of his classes a lot more too, and he figured it was in part because of the absence of the Imperius Curse. Even two months after it had been lifted, he still could not believe the difference. There was a lot more physical practicing in his classes, too, rather than book work, and Cody worked best when he tried something himself.

Cody began to enjoy Quidditch practices again with the Gryffindor team. They'd had him playing Chaser with Katie Bell (who had returned, recovered, another good bit of news) against the other two Chasers. Cody was getting pretty good at the positions with all the practice he was getting in. The Gryffindors' match against Ravenclaw was coming up, and with Katie back, the team was doing great. He had been playing Seeker, too, against Harry. He even caught the Snitch once, before Harry did, for which Cody was immensely proud. (It was the one and only time that he ever managed it.)

It was less than a week away from the Ravenclaw match when the news suddenly spread that Harry had managed to get detention for the upcoming match. Cody didn't know why at first, but he did notice that the Gryffindors were being highly unforgiving about the whole thing - something that Cody was furious about. He had seen this before, in first year, when Harry and the others lost a whole load of points for Gryffindor. How could they be so mean to people that were their friends, over a mistake? Did they never make mistakes? Even the Quidditch team was furious about it - that night in the Gryffindor common room, Cody stood up and yelled at one of the Chasers and told her to quit being a git.

The Chaser, a girl called Demelza, glared down at him and snarled, "You be quiet, you stupid little Slytherin, this is Gryffindor business!"

Cody felt his face burn, and his eyes tingle, like they always did when he felt very hurt or embarrassed. A few Gryffindors muttered agreement, but Cody did notice distractedly that some of them frowned at this bit of meanness. Trying not to cry, he put his hands on his hips, his fists clenched. "Don't be stupid. Harry's my friend, I don't have to look at what color his tie is to know that! He made a mistake, jeez, I'm _pretty_ sure he didn't get detention with Snape on purpose!"

From that point on, it had degenerated into a pretty nasty shouting match, which was broken up halfway through by a couple of prefects. Cody turned his back on Demelza and stalked away towards the dorms. Harry and the others weren't there yet, so he didn't even have them to talk to. Sighing, he flung himself into bed and spent the next half hour playing with Merlin.

He found out what had happened from Harry later that night, how Harry'd come across Draco, sobbing in the bathroom, how they'd fought, how Draco had tried to perform the Cruciatus Curse, and how Harry had retaliated from a curse he'd come across in the Half Blood Prince's book - Sectumsempra. Cody's been shocked to hear it, recognizing it as the Curse that had nailed him...and killed his mother. The others didn't seem to realize how dire the connection of this curse was to Cody, and he remembered that he hadn't really said how Tiller had done it, only that he'd hurt her. He was very quiet as the threesome talked about it, Hermione reprimanding, Ron defending Harry, and didn't join in the conversation again until he had an opportunity to tell them about his fight with Romilda. He half expected Harry to be angry at him; he seemed slightly exasperated, but he did say he appreciated that Cody defended him, but to try not to rile up the team any more than they were. Cody agreed.

The next day he still practiced with the team, though his reception was a little chilly from most of them at first. As they began to play, though, sharing their common interest, things relaxed a little. Cody and Demelza, however, refused to speak to each other.

The match was exciting. It was strange, seeing Ginny playing Seeker again, but Cody had to admit she was good. He had asked if he could substitute for Chaser, but was told by McGonagall that it was against the rules, and besides, Cody was to commentate; she would not have another fiasco like the last match! It had been worth a try.

And so Cody sat in the commentator's box for the last time that year, blaring out the action to the entire school. It wasn't as much fun as Quidditch, but Cody did enjoy it a lot. He laughed when Gryffindor scored, groaned when they lost the Quaffle or Ravenclaw got a goal. (He cheered some really cool plays of Ravenclaw's too.) He called one of the Chasers a stupid, slimy scumsucker when he fouled Ginny and nearly knocked her off her broom, which made most of the students laugh, and made an exasperated McGonagall holler at him, "Did you take lessons from Lee Jordan?"

Cody gave her a sheepish grin while at least half the student body roared laughter.

Gryffindor won the match that day, by over 200 points, and they had won the Quidditch Cup once more. Cody happily roared out the score as the Gryffindor team took a couple of victory laps around the pitch.

Later that evening, Cody joined Gryffindor house in a celebration of their winning of the Cup. There was butterbeer and sweets from Hogsmeade (Cody wondered how the heck they'd gotten there), and a whole lot of yelling, laughing, and reliving of the match. 'I'm going to miss this,' Cody thought suddenly, feeling one of the occasional squeezes of sorrow he felt when he realized that he would soon be leaving Hogwarts. It would be like losing a dear, dear friend... Or like losing family. He gulped down his swallow of butterbeer.

Fortunately he was given little time to grieve his eminent departure from Hogwarts; Harry walked in through the portrait hole, and about a dozen people pulled him physically into the room. Ron yelled that they'd won, and Harry's unhappy face slowly brightened into a grin.

Ginny ran enthusiastically to Harry and threw her arms around her...and then it happened. He _ kissed_ her. Cody gaped as the room went silent, a disgusted look on his face as they stood like that for about five days... Someone whistled, several people cheered, and Cody exclaimed, "Gross! Gross!" He looked up at Ron, who looked about as shocked as Cody was, and then Ginny and Harry left. Cody made a gagging sound, which made a few nearby Gryffindor girls chuckle, then looked up at Ron. Ron shrugged, and Cody shrugged back as if to say, "Well it's his bad taste." Then both of them sort of laughed and rejoined the celebration.

Things seemed all right for a good long while after that. Hermione became obsessed with discovering the identity of the Half-Blood Prince, which strained things slightly, but other than that, things were all right. Cody personally agreed with Hermione that the Prince was no good, after discovering he had _invented_ the spell that Dustin had used on Cody and his mother, but he did not say so. He was trying hard not to think of it.

---

As the end of the school year approached, and Cody became busy with studying for exams, he began thinking also on his years at Hogwarts. The friends he had made and seen leave, the things that had happened to him, and how much he himself had changed in six years. Next year would be his last. The next opening feast he ate at, the next list of banned items (with at least three new ones added on) would be the last he ever heard. The next Halloween in the Great Hall, never again... By then any friend of his in higher grades would be gone, and Cody would have to face the fact that this part of his life, a part of his life he loved was coming to an end. And he couldn't stop it.

He tried not to think of it too much, but still occurred to him every now and then.

Summer sighed over England, turning the weather warm and sunny, and Cody once again could be seen outside of class in shorts, a T-shirt, and no shoes on. This seemed to annoy half the teachers, but as it was not class time, no one actually said anything to him. When he was not studying for exams, practicing charms, spending time with friends or the Lethifold, or trying not to get his arm torn up by Hagrid's Quintaped which was now fully grown, Cody spent his spare time simply walking or flying his broom over the school grounds. He wanted to remember it all, he wanted to remember the Quidditch pitch and the Great Hall, the greenhouses and the hospital wing, Hagrid's hut and the Forbidden Forest, the lake and its squid, and the classrooms and common rooms. (He realized he had never seen the Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw common rooms and vowed to try and see what they looked like before the year was over.) Next year he decided he would bring a camera like Collin Creevey had, or perhaps would simply borrow Colin's.

At the beginning of June, chaos struck Hogwarts, and struck her hard. One night, as Cody had just gotten back to the common room to join Hermione and Ron at the fire, Harry burst into the room looking anxious. Hermione asked him what "he" wanted (Cody had no idea who), but Harry said little, only rushed up to the dormitories. Cody exchanged a puzzled frown with Hermione, who shook her head in bewilderment, and looked back up the stairs.

Finally Harry ran back down and explained that Dumbledore thought that he was getting his invisibility cloak. He told them that Dumbledore had found a horcrux..._ and they were going to retrieve it that night._ Cody felt his eyes get painfully wide, as a sudden jolt of dread sank into his stomach. He shuddered, chills tingling his back.

Harry hastily shoved two items at them: a map at Hermione and a pair of socks to Ron, and whispered urgently that he wanted them to watch Draco, that whatever he was going to do, it was going to be tonight. The intensity of his voice, the angry way he hissed at them not to interrupt, made Cody think that Harry might just be right. "Get anyone you can from the D. A.," he said to them, speaking as quickly and quietly as he could and still be heard. "Watch for Draco, watch for Snape. Dumbledore said he put extra protections on the school, but Snape'll know how to get past it! He won't be expecting you."

"A-and the socks?" asked Ron.

"The Felix Felicis is there, you'll need it, share it with yourselves and Ginny. No, don't argue!" he yelled as Hermione protested. "I'll be with Dumbledore, you lot won't have any protection! Don't look at me like that... Look, I gotta go." And he was gone.

Hermione, Cody, and Ron exchanged stunned glances, then Hermione stood up. "All right," she said decisively. "Ron, go get Ginny and any other D. A. members from Gryffindor that you can find that are still here. I'm going up to get my D. A. Galleon and hope that the other members still have theirs. If not, I'll have to see if I can't round them up personally. I'll have them meet..."

"The Room of Requirement?" asked Cody.

Ron shook his head. "No. Not there, not if Harry's right about Malfoy, that's the last place we want to meet."

"Good thinking, Ron. We'll have everyone meet in the Entrance Hall then, that's as good a place as any. I'll mete out the Felix." Hermione took out a few tiny vials out of her school bag and portioned out five doses. "I'm giving one for Neville, too," she said. "If he comes."

Hermione handed Cody a stoppered vial. "Here. But don't drink it now!" she said, stopping him with a hand on his. "There's not a lot, it won't last that long. Drink it only if trouble starts. We'll be patrolling, I suppose. I'd be willing to bet the teachers are, too, the ones in the Order...and other Order members too, for that matter."

Cody nodded and slipped the vial into his pajama pocket, suddenly hyper with nerves.

Ron went off to find Ginny and the other Gryffindors, and Hermione dashed up to the girls' dormitories to fetch her Galleon, while Cody stayed below and shuffled back and forth from foot to foot. Hermione came back down as Ron arrived with Neville and Ginny. He looked disgusted. "These're the only ones," he said as Neville and Cody grinned at each other.

"The others can't be arsed," said Ginny, her tone nearly identical to Ron's. "And we can't find the Creevey brothers, we think they're off on their own adventures."

"I'm not surprised," said Hermione wearily. "On either count." She aimed her wand at the Galleon that she held, changing the date and the location that was etched around the edge. "I've added a short message; 'urgent mission.' I just hope people still have their Galleons."

"Shouldn't we go meet them?" asked Cody.

"Yes." She looked at the boy, who was in his worn, thin ThunderCats pajamas, and frowned. "I hope no one else is in their pajamas yet, they _ surely_ won't have their Galleons with them. Well, come on, then."

Cody followed, his heart seeming to leap all over his chest, making that weird, jumpy, excited sensation that he always got when he was about to do something dangerous or frightening.

The group moved silently down several flights of stairs, all carefully avoiding the trick one that Cody usually got stuck in. They jumped at every noise, expecting...well Cody didn't know what the others were suspecting, but he himself felt that if Filch caught them, their missions would be over before it began. He also had an irrational fear that Voldemort himself was going to pop out of nowhere and attack them. Jump out from behind a bin, possibly, as Harry had once suggested with a good degree of sarcasm.

The fivesome made it to the entrance hall unhindered, but saw that no one had shown up yet. Cody hoped that someone _would_ show up.

"Oh, you're here," came a voice from the shadows.

Cody jumped so high he thought for one irrational moment he had hit his head on the ceiling. He very nearly screamed, and spun around, his wand out. But it was only Luna, giving him a curious look. Cody closed his eyes, shaking with a sudden rush of adrenaline through his body, and slumped against the wall.

"You scared the hell out of me!" Ron hissed.

"Did I?" Luna offered no apologies, only looked to Hermione. "I asked the other Ravenclaws, well, the ones still here, anyway. None of them wanted to come." She smiled. "But I did!"

Hermione nodded. "All right. We'll wait ten minutes. If no one from Hufflepuff shows...."

Cody's eyes widened. "Hold on!" he whispered. "Ten minutes? I've got time, it's just downstairs. I'm gonna get Graham, we need all the help we can get!"

"Your friend from Slytherin?" Ron said with a frown.

"Yes."

"How will you get into the common room?" Hermione asked, also frowning. "Surely they won't have told you the password."

Cody bit his lip; this had not occurred to him. It had been over two months, now. Then he grinned, looking up at Hermione. "Disillusion me!" he said. "You know it, right?" It did not occur to him that Hermione did _not _know the spell.

"Y-es," said Hermione. "It's not a simple spell, but I've learned it...but that still leaves the matter of the password."

Cody grinned. "That's okay, I got an idea." Hermione shrugged, and rapped Cody hard on the head with her wand, as Lupin had when he put the spell on Cody the previous year. He felt the sensation of cold water down his neck and winced. "I hate that," he whispered as he began to blend into his surroundings. "That's so cool. I'll be back!"

The boy sprinted down the stairs, stumbling twice because he could not see his feet at all in the gloom of the dungeon stairwell. How the heck did people move around like this, anyway? He dashed to the Slytherin common room... and stopped. What a strange feeling of deja-vu. He knew for certain he no longer belonged there, by the feeling he had of being somewhere he wasn't supposed to be. Taking a big breath, stopping at the hidden brick door, he took his wand and used the handle to rap hard on the door. Then he stood still.

He waited an entire minute, but no one came, so he did it again...and again. He did it until someone inside _must_ be wondering what it was!

As five minutes passed, five minutes that seemed to take so long that Cody feared he would not be back in time, the door suddenly opened, and an irate-looking girl he recognized as a seventh-year opened the door and looked out. She cursed, then ducked back in, and Cody sprinted through the door before she slammed it. He let out a silent, mental yell of elation.

The common room was crowded, and people were talking and laughing. Cody didn't see Malfoy anywhere, which didn't surprise him. Nor did he see Graham, which also didn't surprise him, so he slipped over to the third-year dormitory. Hoping that there would not be anyone but Graham inside, Cody carefully opened the door and slipped inside.

His friend was on his bed working on an essay for something or another, and looked up, frowning. Not able to resist, Cody snuck up behind him and whispered, "Hi!"

Graham let out a yell and jumped, spilling ink all over his bed, and slid off of it, his wand waving. Cody had to duck a wild Impedimenta jinx, holding his hand over his mouth so he didn't bray laughter. "It's me, Graham!" he said quietly, laughter in his voice.

"What the hell--_Cody?_ What in the bloody blue hells!"

"'Bloody blue--'? You are weird, Graham. Listen...c'mere, I got a Disillusioning Charm on me." When Graham got close enough for Cody to whisper, he told him the whole story, speaking as quickly as he could. "So we've got to go help...you wanna go?"

Graham seemed undecided at first, but then he finally nodded. "Lemme clean up the ink...I missed out last year on the adventure. Not missing out this year."

"I dunno about 'adventure'," said Cody quietly as Graham sucked the ink up with his wand. "We could get killed. Where's Malfoy?"

Graham shook his head. "He never came back to the Common Room."

"Harry's right then, he's gotta be. Well, come on."

Graham grabbed his wand and stuck it in the pocket of his robes, and the two boys made their way out into the common room. Cody slid against the wall, waiting for Graham by the door so that the other boy could open it. And soon they were both out in the hallway.

When they got back to the Entrance Hall, Ron nearly jinxed Graham (who had taken him by surprise), and Cody said, "Chill, sheesh."

Hermione felt for Cody's arm so that she could remove the spell she had cast. Cody became visible again.

"All right," said Hermione with a sigh. "I guess this is it."

"A lot of D. A. people were older, too," said Cody. "And gone now."

"Yes. Well, all right. I am sure that Dumbledore has Order members prowling, I think I heard McGonagall a bit ago talking about patrols - don't worry she didn't see us."

"Yeah, or else we're be in detention," grumbled Ron.

"So what are we doing?" asked Cody.

"Well, I say we patrol in two groups, one group for the lower levels, and one group for the upper levels. The lower group can patrol outside, too." Hermione chewed her lip for a moment.

"Okay," said Ron to her. "We've got me, you, Neville, Luna, Ginny, Cody, and Graham. Blimey, I wish we had more. That only leaves three in one group, that's not a whole lot."

"Yes," said Hermione. "You're right. All right, we'll all go upstairs. If Harry's right...the Room of Requirement, well.... Yes, let's all go upstairs, then, we can take different corridors. That way we'll be within yelling range of each other. Make sure that the secret passages are covered." She showed the map to everyone, pointing out the passages that she said she didn't even think the adults knew about. "Don't let anyone come through!"

This agreed, the group made their way up to the higher levels of the castle. Cody wished that there were magical elevators in the stupid place sometimes, like at the Ministry. He looked up to see shadows here and there, and knew that they had been right about the Order patrolling. "What if the grown-ups see us?" Cody asked.

"Just tell them the truth," she said. "They know what happened at the Ministry, they know what we can do. I think...I think that they'll be all right with it. And if not, run like hell, and hide, then patrol elsewhere."

Cody gaped at her then began to giggle, stifling it with his hand. It was odd to hear Hermione cuss, and even odder to hear her urge him to so blatantly disobey an adult. He could only nod in agreement. "What if we're somewhere else and hear trouble like in a different hallway?"

"Then you go to help whoever's there," said Hermione. "I think that if it's gonna happen, it's gonna happen all in the same place."

"I just wish I knew _what_ was gonna happen," Ron grumbled.

They split up into pairs, each pair taking a different corridor. Hermione and Luna took one, Ginny and Ron another. Neville, Cody, and Graham took a third; Cody privately figured this was best, as each of them had a bit of a disadvantage the others did not; Neville had improved a thousandfold, but was still awkward with much of his magic. Cody was small and had no strategy skills, and was an average spellcaster. Graham was at a third-year level of magic and had no battle experience.

Cody's group had the area where the passageway that led to Honeydukes was. The adults didn't know about that one, Cody bet, then blinked. Lupin would know about it. What if he came down there? He supposed there was nothing to be done for it then. What would happen would happen.


	77. Y6 Chapter 21: Enemy Invasion

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 6**  
by Hyena Cub

**Chapter 21: Enemy Invasion**

Ten minutes later, Cody's adrenaline rush had worn off, and he was getting bored. "It would suck being a security guard," he grouched. "When something happens, it's okay. But when it doesn't--"

"--which happens a lot," Neville interjected.

"--yeah, it gets really boring." Cody yawned. "And it's late, too. I need to punch Malfoy's nose for him for pulling this stunt!"

"I think you already _did_ that," chuckled Graham. "In March."

"Nah," said Cody. "I just threw him against the wall with magic; that's a lot different!

They fell silent then, and simply walked back and forth in the corridors, looking in the windows of classrooms and making sure that no one was lurking around. It was really too big a school for so few people to try and guard, but what could they do? The minutes crawled by, and Cody was starting to wish that he'd never agreed to help; it was boring. Maybe Hermione was right, and nothing would happen.

The group got a big scare after about ten minutes of guarding; a shadow that didn't belong to any of them rounded the corner, raising its wand. Three wands came up to meet the stranger's, as he stepped from the shadows. Cody gasped, and lowered his, quick. "Remus!" he exclaimed.

Lupin's eyes widened, and he also lowered his wand, and for a minute they all stared at each other. Then Lupin said incredulously, "Cody! What in the _blazes_ are you doing?"

"You scared all the heck out of me!" Cody was shaking a bit, but Remus was still waiting for an answer. Finally, Cody shrugged. "Patrolling."

"You guys can use all the help you can get," said Neville. Remus raised his eyebrows, and Cody turned to look at Neville, who blushed. "No, I mean, that's not how I meant it," he said, his face turning yet redder. Cody heard Graham stifle a nervous snicker.

Lupin seemed to smirk the smallest bit, but turned back to Cody. "I don't know about this," he said. "You're awfully young, especially you, Cody." He held up a hand to stem the flow of protests that he accurately predicted. "Yes, I know you are all skilled and most of you are experienced. But anything can happen, Cody. You, all of you, you're too young to be killed in some battle." His expression was not patronizing, nor stern, only worried.

Cody sighed quietly; hearing it that way, it made it all seem so much more real and frightening, but it did not change Cody's mind. A dozen rationalizations came to mind, but spoken aloud, even he could tell they would sound weak and maybe even petulant. Lupin knew Cody had a stake in this. He knew Cody and Neville both had suffered because of Voldemort, had fought battles against the Dark magic, and that neither one would be able to simply abandon the battle now and walk away. He also knew that neither of them would ever just leave their friends to their fates. Lupin did not know Graham well, but likely guessed much was the same was of him, too. Cody could feel Neville's and Graham's eyes on him, but he said nothing...only looked up at Lupin in silence.

No one spoke for a long time. Finally, Lupin nodded, and looked the trio over. "All right," he said. "I won't tell you to go back to your dorms, nor turn you and the others that I am certain are lurking about also, in to McGonagall. But you _will_ be extremely careful, okay?" He gave Cody a brief hug. "You are not to get yourselves killed, or I _will_ find a way of making your life miserable for it. Okay?"

Cody smiled at the small bit of teasing, and nodded. "I promise," he said. "But only if you promise, too."

"It's a deal. I need to head back up, then, looks like you've got these corridors covered."

Cody beamed proudly as Lupin laid a hand on Cody's head, then hurried down the hallway, his wand in his hand. Cody turned around excitedly, seeing the incredulous looks on Neville's and Graham's faces. "Wow!" Graham exclaimed. "He really _is_ cool! He must've been a _brilliant_ teacher, I wish I coulda had him!"

"He _is_ awesome," Cody agreed. "He doesn't treat kids like they're stupid."

"Or fragile," Neville added, and Cody wondered if he was remembering his boggart, and how Lupin had shown confidence in Neville to Professor Snape.

"Maybe when You-Know-Who is gone, he can come back and teach," Neville said hopefully. "Then other people could have him teaching them. It'd be good."

"Oh!" Cody said. "We need to go back patrolling, we're just standing here like dorks!"

They all laughed and continued their relentless pacing, each now more determined than ever to do well.

For a while, Cody wasn't convinced that there _would_ be anything happening. They saw Lupin once more, who approached in a far less startling manner than before to see how they were doing and to answer Cody's same question by saying it was quiet in their areas, also. They got the heck scared out of them by a rat who scampered across the floor (and Cody was paranoid for a moment that it was Peter Pettigrew before realizing the rat was tan, and "Scabbers" had been gray).

Finally, as Cody's determination and patience were wearing thin, they all heard a noise that made them stop where they were, and listen. From upstairs came the sound of a shout, and then the sound of several spells all going off at once.

The three boys looked at each other in shock, and Cody could actually see the color drain from Neville's face. "Uh oh," he said.

There was a cry of pain from above, which seemed to break the horrified spell; it had sounded like Ron. "Come on!" Graham cried, and sprinted for the nearest set of stairs; Neville and Cody were on his heels.

Neville cursed as they dashed up a set of stairs, and Cody turned back to see him half-stuck in the staircase; he had forgotten the evil step. Graham and Cody heaved him out of the step and back on his feet, before they rushed off once more towards the unmistakable sounds of a battle.

Cody yelled as a red jet of light seared past him, and he backed up violently into the railing to avoid being hit. A Stunning Spell, he thought, though he wasn't sure. He looked up to see who had fired it, but there was no one in sight, and he thought it must have been a stray shot.

He hated what adrenaline felt like sometimes, he hated how it seemed to make his head buzz, and his eyes feel hot. He hated how it made him shake with energy, and with fear. He took deep breaths as he and his friends raced towards the fight, which seemed to be taking place on the sixth and seventh floors.

He caught sight of Ron and Ginny fighting someone that Cody had never seen before, and of Lupin fighting a large, hairy, disgusting looking man up on a staircase landing. He caught sight of a trio of adults he didn't recognize rushing upstairs, and he realized these were adult Death Eaters, and he gaped at them; how had they gotten inside? He saw Tonks fighting, and McGonagall; they were all on the sixth floor, there could not be that many Order members on the seventh; those three would overwhelm the fighters!

"Oh no you don't," Cody hissed under his breath. He rushed forward, aiming his wand, and bellowing, "Stupefy!" It was a spell he'd had a lot of practice with, and knew well. His voice was lost among the din of the fighting, but the spell shot true, and struck one of the adults in the back. He went down, unconscious, and the other two spun around to see Cody, Graham, and Neville. One of them snarled, the other smiled, and they both raised their wands.

This is it, Cody thought with a sort of horrified wonder. I'm in a battle. A real battle. The thought nearly froze him with its enormity, and he felt Neville crashing into him as a green jet of light came their way. "Damn it, get down, Cody!"

The boys fell to the side, and Cody saw Graham had leapt aside already, and was firing a Disarming spell at one of the adults. It hit, and the man's wand went flying; Cody aimed a hasty Summoning Spell at the wand, but missed, and the man grabbed it up once more. Cody had no time to thank Neville as he stood and tried Stunning a second one, only to dodge aside once more as the man deflected it back at him. 'That would be real nice,' he thought, 'getting hit by my own spell!'

There was a yell of rage from down the hall, and a quick glance told Cody that McGonagall was there, fighting a large, blond man, who was firing spells all over the bloody place; that must have been where the stray Stunning Spell from before had come from. Even the Death Eaters were ducking his spells, and Cody gave the idiot a wide berth.

He learned quickly to keep his eyes on his opponent when a burning pain slashed across his cheek, and he yelled, staggering back. He put his hand to his face and felt blood there; for a moment he panicked. After all the times he had gotten hurt, the idea of bleeding still startled him every time. He'd been caught a grazing blow by a spell. Neville and Graham had ganged up on one of them, leaving the smaller one to Cody. He ducked a Killing Curse, his heart leaping fearfully in his torso; he wondered inanely if people's heart really did leap like that when they got a scare that bad, or if it was just a feeling.

For the next five minutes; an insanely long time to constantly throw spells, dodge curses, and worry that his friends might die with the next flash of light; Cody could only fight. He couldn't spare a look to see if his friends were all right, or who he might be fighting alongside, or whether or not they were winning. He thought more of the bad guys must have joined the battle, because he was suddenly having a very hard time keeping himself alive and conscious.

He yelled as an Impedimenta Jinx hit him from behind and sent him sprawling on the floor, and he turned to shoot a Jelly-legs Jinx back at his attacker, who suddenly fell to the floor with his legs wobbling like Jell-O. Cody had to laugh as he sent a Stunning Spell to finish the job. It hit the man only a grazing blow, however, and he sent a Cruciatus Curse in retaliation that Cody only barely deflected.

"Who _ are_ these guys?" exclaimed Graham's voice; he had made his way back to Cody's side, his nose and mouth bleeding, and a large burn mark on one of his arms. That sleeve had been completely torn off of his robes, and his expression was a wild, excited sort of fear.

"I dunno!" Cody cried. "I never saw any of them, not even in pictures! Death Eaters, is all I know!" They could say no more, as each dodged in the opposite direction away from a Curse neither of them could identify. It had come from the big man McGonagall was dueling with. Cody growled and sent an Impedimenta Jinx at him from behind (it was the easiest jinx Cody knew, and thus he used it when he wasn't sure he could use anything else) and the man stumbled. He did not fall, though, and Cody wondered if really big people weren't affected. The man turned around angrily, looking sort of like the Missing Link to Cody, and aimed his wand at the boy. Fortunately, McGonagall was able to hit the man with a Stunning Spell that nearly downed him. The big man again began firing spells in all directions, and Death Eater, Order member, and student alike had to duck.

"Cro-Magnon!" Graham called as he sprinted for the steps, pursued by a tall, scrawny-looking woman with a very long wand in her hand.

"Hey!" Cody bellowed, running after the woman. "Leave him alone! Stupefy!"

The woman ducked the spell, but it gave Graham time to get down the flight of stairs, and Cody time to find cover behind a suit of armor. It was good that the battle was so vicious and quick; it didn't give Cody time to really contemplate that he _was_ in a real wizard's battle against some of the foulest humans ever to walk the earth. He wondered if Voldemort was there among them, and thought that if he were to see him right there with a wand, ready to curse him, he might just faint.

He saw Neville go down at one point, bleeding badly, but could not get to him across all the fighters. Cody felt like his chest might be squeezed, thinking Neville had been killed, when he saw the older boy stir and put a hand to his face. Cody breathed a sigh of relief, but then had to run, for two more people had joined the fight on the Death Eaters' side.

Cody thought that this group must be Voldemort's lowest ranking Death Eaters. They were neither as skilled nor as powerful as ones he had met before; if further proof was needed, Cody had Stunned two of them already, and had only so far gotten a grazing hex across the face. But the good guys were outnumbered now, and Graham was downstairs somewhere; Cody had not seen him come back up. As if his thought provoked it, a sudden scream from below made him freeze. 'Oh jeez,' he thought frantically. 'God, what if they killed him?'

Seized with horror for his friend, Cody ducked between two fighting Order members and sprinted to the staircase, not even seeing one of the enemy standing there; Cody all but collided with him. The man started, but then laughed and swung his fist around, catching Cody alongside his face, where he'd already been hurt. Cody cried out in pain, sprawling down onto the staircase. The man smiled unpleasantly and aimed his wand at Cody. "Crucio!" he hissed.

Cody didn't know what hit him; all that he knew was that one second he was sore, but okay, and the next second a blazing agony ripped across his body, searing his nerves; nothing in the world would have prepared Cody for the pain he felt. All thought ceased, he could get nothing in his mind except a half formed mental plea for it to stop.

It did, once, leaving him sobbing helplessly on the stairs, his wand several steps down. He gasped for breath, trying to comprehend what had happened, battling terror and residual pain. He heard an amused laugh above him and looked up to see the man with his wand still pointed at Cody, and his mind finally cleared enough to remember the word he had heard before the pain: Crucio.

The Cruciatus Curse--the Curse that "Moody" had demonstrated on a spider in his classroom two and a half years ago, the curse that Neville's parents had endured for who knew how long. Cody couldn't think, could not seem to move, too horrified by deeply malignant the curse was. No amount of demonstration or description could convey the soul-deep pain Cody had just experienced.

"Was that fun?" the man asked, and Cody realized with wild panic that he was going to do it again. He tried to scramble to his feet, hoping frantically that someone would see them, hear them, Cody knew he must have been screaming, where _was_ everyone? He had gotten only to his knees before he heard the word again, and collapsed to the stairs.

He didn't know what happened then, or how long it took to happen, but the pain was gone, and two people were yelling. Cody was sobbing again, the sound of spells flying above him, and he finally recognized one of the voices: Graham's. He opened his eyes, blurry with tears, and saw something he couldn't quite comprehend just then; the man who had used the evil curse was retreating under a furious barrage of powerful-looking Stunning and Impedimenta jinxes that Cody at first thought must be coming from an Order member. But then someone ran past him, and it was Graham!

The Death Eater finally collapsed under a Stunning Spell to in the chest, and Graham darted forward to grab his wand, snapping it in half. Graham ran back down the stairs, stopping halfway where Cody was, and crouched down, putting an arm around him. Cody burst into terrified sobs and turned his face into Graham's ripped robes. Graham rocked him a little bit, saying something in a soothing tone, but Cody couldn't hear him. For what seemed to be a long time, he could only crouch there.

As the immediate shock began to subside, and the memory of the curse was not quite so vivid, Cody found that he could begin to control the sobbing and slow his breathing. He slowly sat up, shaking, and wiping at his eyes. He looked up the stairs to where the Death Eater lay, then back at Graham in astonishment. Graham looked as terrified as Cody felt.

"Are you okay?" asked Graham, his voice tinny and faint.

Cody looked at him for a moment, unable to speak, then leaned forward and threw his arms around Graham in sheer gratitude. Graham hugged him back and they stayed that way for a moment, until a red flash went by, startling them both. They ducked down, descending a few more stairs. Graham looked up, then back at Cody, seemingly highly indecisive.

"Do...do you want to hide somewhere?" Graham asked, his face white and his hands shaking.

Cody wasn't sure of the answer. "D-do you?"

"I don't know. I dunno, Cody, when I saw that guy and saw you, and what he was doing, I... I don't think I've ever been that scared, I thought he was gonna kill you."

Cody very nearly said "I wish he had", though it was not strictly true. It had been true, when the curse was on him, he'd have welcomed even death just to stop it, but he certainly did not wish to be dead now. "Yeah me too," he finally said. "But...we both knew we could die, right?"

"Yes..." said Graham slowly. "But somehow...."

"It didn't seem so possible."

"Yeah."

The boys were silent for a moment, crouching halfway down the stairs, not visible at the moment to those who fought on the floor above them. Cody listened to cries of pain, alarm, and anger, and knew then he didn't want to quit. _Couldn't_ quit. He looked at Graham, who looked back, and knew he felt the same way, there wasn't any need to answer the question aloud. They both stood up, and Cody took a moment to work a bit of soreness from his arms, and to hunt down his wand. He still hurt, in every part of his body. He picked up his wand, trying not to let the fear overcome him again, else he was never going to be able to go back into battle, knowing it was possible that it could happen again!

Feeling suddenly vengeful, Cody ran over to the man Graham had Stunned and kicked him as hard as he could in the side. The sadistic creep was unconscious, and so didn't feel it, but it made Cody feel better.

The fight had escalated. He heard Ginny's voice in another corridor, and thought she'd said Harry's name, but he wasn't certain. There seemed to be people everywhere in the way, fighting, yelling, falling. He stepped, barefoot, into a puddle of blood and slipped, soaking one knee of his pajamas. He stood quickly with a cry of revulsion, backing away from the body. It was a Death Eater, he was sure, but that didn't make the blood any less horrifying. Nauseated, he turned in time to see the hairy, beast-like man going after a running figure; Harry! It was chasing Harry!

Greyback, it had to be Fenrir Greyback, no one else could look like that, act like a beast - With a surge of fury, Cody made as if to charge at the man, to curse him, not caring whether Harry got to the wretch first or not, but as he passed the staircase, he was knocked violently aside by someone running past him. "Move, DeDannan!" snarled a voice he recognized.

Cody let out a yell of protest and stepped backwards to catch his balance, but there was nothing there. He let another yell, this of alarm, as he fell, his foot hitting a stair and turning over. His body fell on the next stair down, bruising his ribs, and he half tumbled, half slid several steps to the landing below, stunned. He looked up to see who had knocked him aside and saw Severus Snape fly past, looking at Cody long enough to glare at him, then sprinting down the next flight of stairs.

Cody gaped after him, trying to comprehend that his Head of House had just deliberately knocked him down a flight of stairs, and was being followed by Death Eaters who didn't seem to be chasing him. No, that couldn't be right... Snape was all kinds of gits, but he wasn't...he couldn't have!

One of the men following Snape turned his wand on Cody as he went by, and Cody managed to deflect the casual Stunning Spell, and he got to his feet, dashing up the stairs. Graham met him on the way down, his own face looking astonished. "That's Snape!"

"I know!"

"Are those, are those Death Eaters with him?"

"I-I dunno, I..."

At that moment, Harry ran by, fury etched on his face, and a horrible feeling washed over Cody; something terrible had happened. "Could use some help!" Harry bellowed to them as he flew by.

Without another word, Cody and Graham sprinted after them, though Cody was falling behind. Graham was nearly as tall and quick as Harry; Cody was not. "Go!" he called. "I'll catch up!"

Graham nodded and increased his speed, trying to catch up with Harry and the group in front of him. Cody coaxed as much speed as he could from his legs, but they were a little trembly from exhaustion. And after five flights of stairs.... Well, four, he supposed, not counting the one Snape had knocked him down.

He passed several students on the way out, who gaped at him as he ran by. There were Ravenclaws and Gryffindors in the upper hallways, wakened, he supposed, by the noise, and then Hufflepuffs and Slytherins on the ground floor, looking at Cody and the others who had passed in equal astonishment. They were all in their pajamas and dressing gowns. Cody ignored them all, only ran out into the cool night air.

He stood for a moment, looking around and getting his bearings, and realized that a sickly green glow spread across the grounds, casting a toxic glow on everything that lay within sight. Cody looked up, horrified, to see the Dark Mark, right over Hogwarts, right over the Astronomy Tower. It was sickening, seeing the foul mark above his beloved school, seeming to taint everything it touched. And it meant...it meant that someone was dead. Or would be.


	78. Y6 Chapter 22: The Beginning of the End

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 6**  
by Hyena Cub

**Chapter 22: The Beginning of the End**

Cody looked around; Graham had caught up with Harry, and was trying to help him slow down Snape and the others. Hagrid's hut was on fire, and Hagrid had just run inside it. Cody gave a yell of alarm and sprinted over as Hagrid ran back out of the hut, Fang in his arms, and the half-grown lethifold draped over his back. Cody ran over, asking frantically if the two animals were all right, and Hagrid said that they were. Cody took the lethifold and let the frightened creature wrap around his waist. Breathing hard, Cody looked at Hagrid's hut, shaking - all of Hagrid's things, his home, burning! Hagrid himself looked a little hurt, but for him it was nothing. Certainly not as bad as the injuries Grawp had dealt him last year.

The boy felt a sudden shock of fear; had there been other creatures? "Hagrid! The Quintaped! Is it--" He did not have to finish the sentence; Hagrid bowed his head, and Cody could see tears leaking from his eyes. Cody felt his own eyes burn, and he could not help crying; how horrible did it have to be to be burned to death? "Coupla bowtruckles, too," he sniffed. "Poor little things...blimey, Cody, yeh've got a nasty slash there."

"I know." He put his hand to his face, wincing. "I got a graze."

Harry ran over then, out of breath, and fell to his knees, shaking even worse than Cody was. He went over, put a hand on Harry's shoulder, which was damp with either sweat or blood. Hagrid, sounding alarmed, asked if he was okay. Graham ran up after him and went over to hug Cody.

"I'm all right," said Harry, panting for breath. "Are you two okay?"

Cody could only nod, but Hagrid said of course he was all right. "Take more'n that ter finish me." The half-giant pulled Harry to his feet, and Cody felt real worry for the older boy, he looked like he might faint. Harry reminded them all of the charm that was used to create water, and Harry, Cody, and Hagrid used it on his hut. Graham had not learned it yet, and only watched.

"It's not too bad," said Hagrid, looking at the half-burned wood. "Nothin' Dumbledore can't put right."

Hagrid went on to tell Harry about the bowtruckles and the Quintaped, but Cody noticed the look on Harry's face, and felt a little faint himself. When Hagrid asked what happened, and why Snape had run off....

Harry finally made himself answer. "He--Hagrid, he killed--"

"Killed?" Hagrid interrupted. "Snape killed? What are yeh on abou', Harry?"

"Dumbledore," stammered Harry. "Snape killed Dumbledore."

Cody stared, and heard Graham's gasp behind him. No...no, that just couldn't be! How could _Snape_ kill someone like Dumbledore? Dumbledore would have kicked his butt all over Hogwarts! How could Dumbledore die? He was too powerful!

Hagrid apparently felt the same way. "Dumbledore _wha_t?" Cody felt no sorrow just then, because he couldn't believe it.

Harry seemed beyond emotion. "He's dead, Snape killed him."

"Don't say that!" said Hagrid, scowling alarmingly at Harry, looking angry. "Snape kill Dumbledore - don't be stupid, Harry, what's made yeh say that?"

Harry looked blank, as if he could not react to anything more than night...like he had seen too much. It was this more than anything that made Cody think that maybe...maybe.... "I saw it happen."

Hagrid could not believe it, he _wouldn't_ believe it, he denied that it happened. Dumbledore just told Snape to get after the Death Eaters, that's all, to go with them, keep his cover. That's what must have happened. He began to steer Harry up to the school, but Cody saw how much the older boy was trembling, and had never seen him shake like that, not even after the last of the Triwizard tasks, when he had returned with Cedric's dead body. Cody exchanged a glance with Graham, who looked horrified, and they both ran after the pair. Without really thinking about it, Cody slipped his hand into Harry's, wanting to offer some kind of comfort, anything to stop Harry from looking like that - to get that horrible, haunted expression off of his face. Harry started, but smiled a little. It was better...but the haunted look did not leave.

People were beginning to come out of the school, then, mostly the students who had been wakened from sleep and had come out in their night clothes. Cody was in his night clothes too, though his were bloodstained, dirty, and torn. They had gravitated towards the Astronomy tower, where the Dark Mark still shone...and then Hagrid pointed it out. He pointed, right at a huddled body. "Blimey, yeh don't think somebody got thrown...."

They hurried over, Hagrid making a gap in the gathered students, and Cody gasped as if someone had hit him, and his legs would suddenly not support him. He weakly fell onto his knees, beginning to shake once more as he saw what Hagrid had seen - Harry was right. It was Dumbledore, lying on the ground, his body strangely angled as if it had been snapped in several places.

He vaguely saw Harry kneel, straighten Dumbledore's spectacles, and wipe some blood from the old man's face. Cody suddenly remembered vividly when Dumbledore had taken then Imperius Curse off of him only months before, given him some mead, calmed him from his fear.... The next day he had said he was glad to have met Cody. He felt a hitch in his chest and could not stop it, he began to sob. Someone knelt and held him, but he didn't know who it was. Somehow it was awful, looking at Dumbledore lying there, as if he were sleeping. He heard Hagrid sob, too, and Fang howl....

He didn't know how long he knelt there, crying and staring at a person that should not, _could_ not be dead, but it was long enough for his knees to ache. Graham knelt and murmured softly that Cody needed to get up, that everyone that was in the battle was going to the hospital wing. He looked up and saw McGonagall there also, urging both Cody and Hagrid to go into the school. Several people were crying, and many more looked like they were in shock.

He was startled then by a strange, somehow beautiful burst of...song? He looked up, his eyes wide, trying to find the source of it. It wasn't until Hagrid murmured, "Fawkes," that he realized that it was phoenix song. And even Cody could understand what it was; a lament. Who knew how long Fawkes had been Dumbledore's pet? More than a pet, a soul mate, a companion. Cody felt his own sorrow and knew that Fawkes's must be tenfold. It only made him cry again as Graham tugged him towards the school. He vaguely felt Hagrid removing the lethifold from his middle, to take him somewhere safe, Cody assumed.

When they got upstairs, it seemed that everyone was already there. He saw Lupin sitting in a chair; he looked up, and Cody made a sort of cry in the back of his throat, not even meaning to, and ran to him. Lupin pulled the boy into his lap and held him. Graham wandered over and stood close, and to Cody's surprise, Lupin pulled Graham close to him with his other arm. Graham looked surprised, but grateful.

Cody looked around; everyone had at least one injury, though most seemed to have been tended by Madam Pomfrey already. He saw someone on the bed whose face looked like it had been clawed or bitten by a wild animal. He caught a glimpse of long, red hair, and realized who it was. A cold chill went down his back and he slid off of Lupin's knee, startling both Lupin and Graham. "Bill!" he exclaimed. "That's Bill, what _happened_ to him?"

"Easy, Cody," said Lupin pulling him gently back. "He's going to be all right, Cody. Greyback attacked him...but he's going to be all right. He'll be scarred, but he's going to be okay."

"B-but what bit him?" He turned to look at Lupin, who frowned, and Cody felt a surge of nausea go through him as h thought he understood. He remembered the filthy, feral-looking man he had seen during the fight, and imagined him tearing into Bill's skin with his _teeth_.

"Here," said Madam Pomfrey, hurrying over. "Oh, you've not been tended you two...come here, sit on a bed...let me patch you up, all right?"

Cody numbly let her led him to a bed, and he and Graham climbed up to sit side by side. The matron cleaned their open wounds (Cody hissed and jerked back when she did the one on his face) and she sealed them up with her wand. She put salve on the bruises, and told Cody she was healing three cracked ribs. He was too upset to feel alarmed at the idea of cracked ribs, only vaguely thought he must have done it when Snape knocked him downstairs.

Madame Pomfrey finished fixing them up and sent them back over to Lupin, who picked Cody back up onto his lap, and put an arm around Graham, who had pulled over a chair to sit next to him.

Professor McGonagall came in then and announced that Molly and Arthur Weasley were on their way, because of Bill, Cody assumed. McGonagall was as disheveled as Cody had ever seen her; her robes were torn and she, too, was injured.

She asked what happened, and Harry told her. "Snape killed Dumbledore."

Cody rubbed his eyes, which felt swollen and gritty. She dang near did what Cody did, and fell, but Madame Pomfrey was quick enough to get a chair under McGonagall so that she sat in it, looking very white. "Snape. We...we all wondered...but he trusted, always...."

"Snape was a highly accomplished Occlumens," growled Lupin from behind Cody. Cody turned to look at him. "We always knew that."

"But Dumbledore swore he was on our side!" came a voice Cody realized belonged to Tonks. He'd not even seen her in the room; her hair was brown, not pink, which was why he had overlooked her. "I always thought that Dumbledore must know something about him that we didn't!"

McGonagall was crying, and Cody felt pretty horrible himself. He was finished weeping for now, as he leaned exhaustedly against Lupin. It had been an awful, terrifying night. If all that had happened was Cody got hit with a Cruciatus Curse...he could have coped. That wasn't forever, and it wasn't something you couldn't fix. Death...death was something you couldn't fix. He couldn't believe it was Snape; he knew the man was rotten, but to kill Dumbledore? He saw the look on the man's face when he glared at Cody that night. Snape had been Cody's head of house, the one he went to with the things that he needed dealt with. He looked around at everyone gathered, realizing that as usual he and Graham were the only Slytherins. He wondered if Luna felt weird being the only Ravenclaw...or maybe Cody was too obsessed with House.

But then, he thought angrily, that was because how the stupid school was designed! He sighed and wiped his eyes.

McGonagall dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief, saying how she thought Dumbledore had an ironclad reason for trusting Snape, how he had always hinted that he did. Cody felt angry for a moment, angry at Dumbledore. 'You trusted him, you wouldn't listen to anyone else...and look what happened!' he thought. Sometimes bad people _were_ bad. Sometimes it did happen that the one who looked like a bad guy really was one and sometimes you _could_ judge a book by its cover.

"...wouldn't hear a word against him!" McGonagall was saying.

"I'd love to know what Snape told him to convince him," said Tonks.

"I know," said Harry. "Snape passed Voldemort the information that made Voldemort hunt down my mum and dad." Cody gasped and sat straight upright, nearly knocking his head into Lupin's face. "Then Snape told Dumbledore he hadn't realized what he was doing, that he was really sorry he'd done it, sorry they were dead."

Cody, like everyone else in the room, stared at Harry in disbelief. "And he _believed_ him?" Cody sputtered.

He glanced at Lupin, who looked just as incredulous. "He believed that Snape was sorry for James's death? Snape _hated_ James."

"See? Snape IS bad...Snape IS bad, and it's _not_ just some stupid old...fight that makes Harry hate him!" Cody exclaimed, clenching his fists. "He-he...he's--" He trailed off in frustration, not able to articulate what he wanted to say. How _could_ he be so horrible?

"And he didn't think my mother was worth a damn, either," said Harry spitefully. "'Mudblood,' he called her."

McGonagall suddenly spoke, sounding horrified. "This is all my fault. I sent Filius to fetch Snape tonight, I actually sent for him to come and help us!" Cody wondered who Filius was, and could not help a vindictive thought that if the adults had just LISTENED to the kids, just once, that this would not have happened! "If I hadn't alerted Snape to what was going on, he might never have joined forces with the Death Eaters I don't think he knew they were there before Filius told him, I don't think he knew they were coming."

"It's not your fault, Minerva," said Lupin quietly. "We all wanted more help, and we were glad that Snape was coming to aid us."

"So when he arrived at the fight, he joined in on the Death Eaters' side?" Harry asked, fury distorting his features into something that actually intimidated Cody. Harry did not look like Cody's friend right then.

McGonagall could not tell them exactly what happened, only the details that she knew. Dumbledore had told them he was leaving the school, and that they were to patrol the corridors in case of trouble. 'Kinda like Harry did with us,' Cody thought with a sort of pride. The students had had their own version of the Order of the Phoenix, hadn't they? Remus, Bill, and Tonks had come to help, and they'd covered the hallways, the secret passageways.... The school was saturated with protective magic.... "I don't know how they got through," McGonagall finished helplessly.

"I do," said Harry. "Malfoy. The Vanishing Cabinet, that's what he was buying in Knockturn Alley last summer, I heard him. Remember the one we had here at Hogwarts, how...someone...put Montague into it and they couldn't find him for weeks?" Cody snorted, remembering full well it was the Weasley twins who had done that, and thought he remembered Peeves being the one who broke it to begin with. "Well, Montague told Draco he could hear what was going on from wherever he was, both at the school and at the shop."

These were several soft gasps of realization at this, as people realized what this meant. Cody, however, had no idea until Harry finished.

"They made a pathway, the two cabinets. They made a pathway, and once Draco was able to repair the one that was here...." He made a sort hand gesture that said 'You get the idea.'

"I messed up, Harry," said Ron. "We checked the Marauder's Map like you said, and didn't see him, Malfoy... We thought he was in the Room of Requirement, so me and Ginny went up to keep an eye on it. Malfoy got past us."

"He came out about an hour after we got there," said Ginny. "He was alone, carrying that awful shriveled arm."

"His Hand of Glory," said Ron. "Gives light only to the holder, remember?"

"He must have been checking if the coast was clear for the Death Eaters. When he saw us, he threw some kind of something in the air, and it went pitch black."

"Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder," spat Ron. "Fred and George's. I'm going to be having a word with them about who they let buy their products."

Cody leaned back against Lupin as he listened to the rest of the story. Ron and Ginny had tried everything to light the way, but nothing worked, and they'd had to grope their way out of the corridor. They felt people going past them, but couldn't risk curses or jinxes in case they hit each other.

Lupin took up the story then, since Ron and Ginny had run into him and told them what happened. The Death Eaters were on their way to the Astronomy Tower, where Cody had seen the Dark Mark outside. Fighting broke out, one of them ran up to send up the Dark Mark, then headed back down. He was killed by a wild Killing Curse that narrowly missed hitting Lupin. Cody looked at him, horrified, realizing how close Remus had come to being killed.

"So if Ron and Ginny were near the Room of Requirement," said Harry to Hermione. "You were...."

"Outside Snape's office," said Hermione. Luna and I waited around for ages outside it and nothing happened, we didn't know what was going on upstairs."

"But I thought we were all going upstairs," Cody interrupted, frowning. "Me, Graham, and Neville were on the fifth floor, er, fourth floor...."

"Third," said Hermione.

"No...no, I counted, the first with the Great Hall, then second..."

She smiled a little bit and explained: "Here in England, you have the ground floor, and above that, the first floor."

"Oh...okay well the third I guess--" He almost let slip that the secret passage to Honeydukes was there, but stopped himself in time.

"We were going to go upstairs," said Hermione. "But we looked at the map and realized that we should probably be keeping an eye on Snape, since Harry suspected him so strongly." She swallowed hard, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. "Flitwick came down about midnight, shouting about Death Eaters. He didn't even notice Luna and me, just ran into Snape's office and told him about it... We heard a thump, and Snape came out, and...."

"What?" said Harry, his eyes large.

"I was so stupid, Harry! Snape said Professor Flitwick had collapsed and we should go take care of him while he went to fight the Death Eaters. We went inside and found Flitwick unconscious on the floor, oh it's so obvious now, Snape must have Stupefied him, but we didn't realize, Harry! We just...let Snape go!"

"It's not your fault," said Lupin. "Had you not obeyed Snape and gotten out of the way, he probably would have killed you both."

"Then he came upstairs," said Harry, "and found where you were all fighting."

"We were losing," said Tonks. "One of them was down, but the others seemed ready to fight to the death. Neville had gotten hurt, Bill savaged by Greyback, it was dark, there were curses flying everywhere...the Malfoy boy vanished - he must have slipped upstairs while we were all busy with the Death Eaters. More of them followed that one, and one blocked the stairs with some kind of curse. Neville ran at it and got thrown in the air."

"None of us could break through," said Ron. Cody figured this must have been what was happening when he lost track of Neville, and afterwards had seen him hurt. He and Graham had been fighting their own battles. "That massive Death Eater was firing jinxes all over the place, they were bouncing off the walls and barely missing us."

"One of those gits got Cody with the Cruciatus Curse," said Graham, sounding unnerved.

Cody was a little startled when Lupin suddenly shifted, moving so that he could look at Cody, his face worried. "Cody, he didn't!"

Cody nodded, not really wanting to think about it. "Yeah," he said, biting his lip. "Graham attacked him though, Stunned him. I dunno who it was."

"You should have told me that!" said Madam Pomfrey angrily. She got up and rummaged in a nearby cabinet, coming up with a vial of sea green potion. "You must be very sore...here, take this, it'll take the soreness."

Cody smiled meekly at her, and took the potion without question. He hadn't realized how very sore he was until the potion relieved it, taking all of the residual pain. He sighed and leaned back against Lupin who hugged him.

After a moment, Tonks took up the story. "And then Snape was there...and then he wasn't."

Ginny saw Snape running towards her, but the Cro-Magnon Death Eater nearly hit her with one of his wild jinxes, and she'd lost track of him. Lupin said Snape was able to get through the barrier, but he himself was thrown back as Neville had been.

"He must have known a spell we didn't," said McGonagall. "He was the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, after all. I just assumed he was in a hurry to chase the Death Eaters who'd gotten up into the tower."

"He was," snarled Harry. "But to help them, not stop them. And I bet you have to have a Dark Mark to get through that barrier! So what happened when he came back down?"

"He knocked me down a set of stairs, that's what," said Cody with a dark scowl. "Jerk."

"The big Death Eater had fired a curse that collapsed part of the ceiling," said Lupin. "But it also broke the curse blocking the stairs."

"Idiot," Graham said, shaking his head.

"We all ran forward," Lupin continued, "those of us still standing, and then Snape and Draco ran out of the dust, well of course we didn't attack them."

"We just let them pass," Tonks whispered. "We thought they were being chased by the Death Eaters. And next thing, the other Death Eaters were back, and the fighting started again. Snape shouted."

"He shouted 'it's over'," said Harry. "He'd done what he meant to do."

It was silent, then, as there seemed to be no more left to say. Fawkes's soul-deep lament still carried in through the window, making Cody cry once more. There was so much grief and sorrow in the creature's voice, so much...emotion. Like he was human, not beast.

A few moments later, nearly everyone jumped about a mile in the air as the doors to the hospital wing burst open, and Arthur and Molly Weasley came through them. Fleur, looking terrified, strode in behind them. McGonagall greeted them with sympathy and warmth. Cody bit his lip as Molly caught sight of Bill's face, scarred probably for life. "Oh, Bill!" she exclaimed, running to his bed and looking at him, horrified. She bent down to kiss his forehead, and Lupin moved Cody and Graham away from the bed so that the Weasleys could get to Bill.

Cody bit his lip again, feeling horrible. Bill was his friend, he had spent a whole summer wrestling with him and Charlie at the Burrow...and look what Greyback had done to him. He killed kids, he'd made Lupin into a werewolf.... Greyback needed to die.

"You said Greyback attacked him?" said Arthur to McGonagall. He looked stunned. "But he hadn't transformed? So what does that mean? What will happen to Bill?"

"We don't know," said McGonagall.

"There will probably be some contamination, Arthur," said Lupin. He was standing now, with Cody leaning against him, and Graham with his arm around Cody. "It's an odd case, possibly unique. We don't know what he'll act like when he wakes."

Mrs. Weasley had gotten the potion Madame Pomfrey was using on Bill, and began dabbing it tearfully onto Bill's wounds. "And Dumbledore," she whispered. "Minerva, is it really true? Is he really...."

McGonagall nodded, obviously not trusting herself to speak.

Molly began to cry again, though she was making every effort not to. "Of course it doesn't matter how he looks, it's not really important. But he was a very handsome little boy, always very handsome...a-and he was going to be married--"

Fleur, who had been looking at Bill with an unreadable expression on her face, suddenly looked up. "And what do you mean by zat?" she asked, her French accent very strong in her anger. "What do you mean, 'e was 'going' to be married?"

Caught wrongfooted, Molly looked at her, looking almost like a child in that moment for the expression of tearful nakedness on her face. "Well--only that--"

"You theenk Bill will not wish to marry me, now? You theenk because of these bites, he will not love me?"

Cody watched this display, open-mouthed, as Mrs. Weasley and Fleur seemed to have forgotten anyone else were there.

"N-no," Molly stammered. "That's not what I--"

"Because 'e will!" proclaimed Fleur, throwing back her hair and looking determinedly at Mrs. Weasley. "It will take more zan a werewolf for Bill to stop loving me!"

"Well yes I'm sure," said Mrs. Weasley. It was not often she was so flustered when she was trying to speak. "But I thought perhaps, given...given how he--"

Fleur was angry, now, Cody could see that. He glanced briefly around, and everyone was looking at them as if they were gladiators or something. Some of the others looked as surprised as Cody - there was something strange, something surreal and _un_real about this happening here, now, with Fawkes's lament sounding outside, and the battered group huddled in the hospital wing.

"You thought I would weesh not to marry him, or perhaps 'oped?" Fleur said. "What do I care how he looks? I am good looking enough for both of us, I theenk!" Cody goggled at her and then felt the sudden, almost hysterical urge to start laughing, and had to muffle it against the tattered sleeve of his pajamas. And that there, that was the strangest thing that had been said all night. And Fleur wasn't done! "All these scars show is zat my husband is brave!" She stalked forward and took the potion from the hands of a very shocked Mrs. Weasley. "And I shall do zat!" She began mopping up Bill's wounds, as Mrs. Weasley backed off, a curious expression on her face.

Arthur steadied Mrs. Weasley before she could stumble and fall, and for a moment there was only silence. Finally, Mrs. Weasley spoke quietly, almost dazedly. "Our Great Aunt Muriel has a very beautiful tiara - goblin made - which I am sure I could persuade her to lend you for the wedding. She is very fond of Bill, you know, and it would look lovely with your hair."

"Thank you," said Fleur, her voice very formal. "I am sure zat will be lovely." And as everyone watched, both she and Mrs. Weasley had burst into tears and hugged each other as if they were best friends. Cody, who had just mastered his urge to laugh, found that the laughter was threatening again.

A voice right besides him, however, startled him out of it. "You see!" It was Tonks, and she was glaring inexplicably at Lupin! "She still wants to marry him, even though he's been bitten! She doesn't care!"

"It's different," said Lupin quietly, and Cody gaped at him. Every time he thought nothing more could shock or surprise him that night.... "Bill will not be a full werewolf. The cases are completely--"

"But I don't care, either! Tonks grabbed Lupin's robe (apparently not even seeing Cody) and shook Lupin. Cody stumbled backwards and was caught by Graham as both boys gawped. "I've told you a million times!

Lupin looked once to Cody to make sure he was all right, then turned his eyes to the floor, looking like he wished this conversation was happening about a light-year away. "And I've told _ you_ a million times, that I am too old for you, too poor...too dangerous...."

"I've said all along that you're taking a ridiculous line on this, Remus" said Mrs. Weasley earnestly to Lupin, still hugging Fleur. "After all, you're caring for Cody and his sister...you're no threat to them."

Cody could not get through his head what was going on. It sounded suspiciously like Lupin and Tonks were.... He looked up at Graham, who shrugged his shoulders.

"I am not being ridiculous," said Lupin. "She deserves someone young and whole."

"But she wants you," said Mr. Weasley softly. "And after all, Remus, young and whole men do not necessarily remain so." He gestured sadly to Bill, lying still bleeding on the bed, his face slashed almost beyond recognition.

"This...this is not the time to discuss it," said Lupin, not looking at anyone. "Dumbledore is dead."

McGonagall sniffed. "Dumbledore would have been happier than anybody to think that there was a little more love in the world."

Cody felt strange at these words. He had been about to quietly express his disgust at Lupin having gone "all mushy", but at McGonagall's words, Cody stayed his tongue. Cody loved, didn't he? He loved his sister and his mother, and Merlin and Hagrid and Lupin and Dumbledore who were his family, and all of his other friends, didn't he? He felt then that for Dumbledore and Lupin he could forgive the mushy kind.

The door opened once more and Hagrid himself came in, shaking with what Cody knew was weeping. He reported in a trembling, hitching voice that he had moved Dumbledore, and that the Ministry was informed, and how Professor Flitwick (Filius, Cody made the sudden connection) was lying down and would be fine.

McGonagall thanked him, her voice becoming a little more brisk and businesslike, a little more normal. "I shall have to meet the Ministry when they come...Hagrid, please tell the Heads of houses - Slughorn can represent Slytherin - that I wish to see them in my office forthwith. I would like you to join us, too." Hagrid nodded and headed out, and Cody was strongly reminded of the end of fourth year, when they were all in this very ward, and Dumbledore knew that Voldemort was really back. Snape had been here, then, and Fudge...and Sirius. They had been a part of the beginning of something big, something that Cody was now in the middle of. Like McGonagall, Dumbledore had issued instructions... Cody shivered, for a moment not knowing where he was or _when_ he was. He felt Lupin's strong arm around him again and closed his eyes.

He realized that Harry had left the ward, and that everyone else was looking ragged, haggard, and exhausted. Cody thought he should probably feel the same way too, but he didn't; he felt wide awake, and like he had drunk three or four big bottles of Mountain Dew. He supposed this was either a strange reaction to the happenings of the night, or the effects of the pain potion Madame Pomfrey had given him.

Cody sat back down with Lupin, as Madame Pomfrey began checking everyone over one last time. "You said you don't know who attacked you, Cody?" Lupin said softly, looking at last at Cody again and smoothing back his sweaty hair. His face was worried, and, Cody saw, angry. It was the same kind of expression his mother would have gotten on her face on knowing that someone had attacked her son. It was good for Cody to see.

"No," he said as Graham and Tonks sat down nearby. "I could recognize him again though. But Graham got chased downstairs, and I went after him, and there was this jerk in my way and he hit me and I fell. Then he pointed h-his w-wand--" He broke off, shaking, and Lupin pulled him in close.

"Easy, Cody," he said quietly. "You're all right."

"I-I'm okay," said Cody, though that wasn't entirely true. "It was...I mean...I can't even find how to _say_ how it was. I couldn't think of anything else. He stopped and asked me if I was having fun--" Graham made a noise of anger, "--then he did it _again._ And then it stopped and I heard Graham and the guy. When I could look up I did, and saw Graham kicking his butt. He knocked the guy out!" He turned to Graham and smiled a little, realizing he had forgotten to say something to him for that. "Thanks," he said, sincerity in every letter. "Thanks...I mean I owe you one. That was so cool, I never saw you do such a good Stunning Spell!"

Graham looked embarrassed but pleased. "Well when you see your best friend being tortured it kinda makes you do whatever you're doing to save them really well."

Cody understood that. He'd have never been able to hold off three grown Death Eaters as long as he had last summer had his mother and sister not been in danger. He looked back to Lupin. "Remus? What happens when, you know, I mean--what does the Cruc--that--that curse do to you?" The thought occurred to him that there was some kind of damage to the inside of his body, and the thought scared him. Would Madame Pomfrey be able to tell?

"It doesn't do anything to your body," said Lupin. "No damage, anyway. It affects your nerves, all of them at once, and in a way that prevents you from growing accustomed to it. Normally, no matter how much something hurts, if it's done enough, the body will adapt eventually. But not with this Curse. It's an abomination of magic."

He couldn't argue that, not one bit.

"I don't understand, though," said Hermione, looking at Cody. "Why was he able to surprise you at all? Didn't you feel the Felix Felicis? Didn't it warn you it was there, or, or do something that made him miss you, or...." She trailed off, frowning at Cody. "What's wrong?"

Cody was staring at her in utter disbelief - the Felix Felicis. When he, Neville, and Graham had heard the yells from the fight below, not a one of them had remembered the little vial in Cody's pocket. _How_ could Cody have been so stupid? He reached into his breast pocket for the vial, but hissed when his finger encountered something sharp. He withdrew it and looked at the drop of blood at the tip, and the small shard of glass sticking out of it. He pulled it out and looked into his pocket, sighing. The vial was smashed, wasted. "I'm a complete idiot."

"The heat of the moment, Cody," said Lupin's quiet, reassuring voice. "You heard the fight, was afraid for your friends. Plenty of others would not have remembered it."

"Yeah...I guess so."

There was silence for a few moments, before Arthur Weasley spoke. "What do you think this will mean for Hogwarts?" He stood still next to Bill's bed, where Fleur and Mrs. Weasley had gone back to tending the unconscious Bill.

Lupin sighed. "It is possible...it is possible they may close it down."

There was a barrage of angry protests from every student there, even Luna, who said that all they needed was a half-dozen heliopaths to guard the school - everyone managed to keep a straight face.

"They _can't_ close Hogwarts!" Cody exclaimed. "I won't let it close, I'm coming back, no matter what!"

"Yeah," said Ron. "They can't just close Hogwarts... I don't care what happened tonight, it's still the safest place in England, can't those prats see that?"

"I agree with you, Ron," said Lupin. "Unfortunately those at the Ministry--"

"Are stupid," Ginny cut in bluntly. No one argued. "I thought that once Fudge was kicked out, they'd get someone with brains in there."

"Instead we got Scrimgeour," finished Ron.

"Well, yes," said Lupin. "Yes...instead, we got Scrimgeour. I only hope that it won't prove to be as grave a mistake as appointing Fudge was."

"Well," said Madame Pomfrey briskly after a few moments. "I think it's time that you all headed back to your dormitories and got some rest.

Leaving Lupin was the last thing that Cody wanted to do, and resting was the second-to-last. He frowned, looking up at Lupin.

"Go on, Cody," he said quietly, giving the boy a hug. Cody was feeling highly stubborn about leaving the warm, united little group, and his scowl conveyed this. Lupin, recognizing the Stubborn Look quite well, knelt. "Cody...go on," he repeated gently. "I will be back soon, I promise. And the summer holiday is nearly here." He smoothed back Cody's filthy, tangled hair. "Okay? Tonks and I, er...we have some things to talk about...and I don't think you want to listen to our, er...well."

Cody didn't want to go, and considered sitting his rear end down and refusing to move it, but figured that Madame Pomfrey (or even Lupin) would simply use magic to budge him. That would annoy him a great deal more than simply leaving on his own. "Okay," he finally said, sighing quietly.

"Good boy," said Lupin, hugging him once more time before letting go. "Your friend may want to join you in the Gryffindor common room. Somehow I don't think anyone will notice."

Cody and Graham exchanged a look and a smile, and Cody knew that Graham would be more than pleased spending the night in Gryffindor Tower. He said good bye to the Weasleys and Fleur, and the other adults; he stepped up on a chair and gently hugged Bill, before leaving the room.

The Gryffindors, Cody, and Graham said their good-byes to Luna, who declined an awkward offer from Ron to join them, and said she would stay with the other Ravenclaws. "I'll see you at the funeral, after all," said Luna, and wandered off towards the Ravenclaw room, wherever that was. Cody blinked; a funeral? He hadn't even thought of that.

The rest of the students headed up to Gryffindor Tower, all clearly quite weary from their battles. Cody never really realized just how many stairs there were between the hospital wing and Gryffindor Tower. He grouched about it the whole way up, until they got to the portrait hole.

"Tapeworm," said Cody and Hermione in unison, and the Fat Lady let them in.

Cody supposed he should not have been surprised at the level of noise and commotion they came in to, in the common room, but he was all the same. No one was sleeping that night, even though it was well past midnight. Several people turned to look, and even more tried to talk to them, but the exhausted group only made their way to their dormitories. Cody waved at the girls and followed the boys up to their room.

Cody, Neville, Ron, and Graham all collapsed on their beds once they reached the dorms, and no one said a word. Really, what was there to say? They all simply waited by unspoken word for Harry to come back and tell them what had happened on his journey.

It wasn't long before he walked in and sat on the bed; Ron sat up and looked at him expectedly. "They're talking about closing the school," said Harry.

"Lupin said that they might," said Ron. "We disagreed rather strongly." There was silence for a moment, and Cody sat up eagerly. He glanced over at Neville, who seemed to have fallen into an exhausted sleep, and Graham was watching through half-closed eyes as he lay on Cody's bunk. "Did you find one?" asked Ron. "Did you get a horcrux?"

Harry shook his head.

"You didn't get it?" asked Ron, his face seeming to fall an inch with disappointment. "There wasn't one there?"

"No," said Harry. "Someone had already taken it and left a fake in its place."

"Someone already _took_ it?" Cody whispered incredulously.

Harry took something out of his pocket and handed it to them; it was a locket of some kind, and Ron opened it, taking out a small bit of paper. Cody read it over his shoulder, his eyes growing wider with each word. Someone, someone with the initials of R. A. B., had taken the locket, and left a note for Voldemort saying in essence, "Ha ha, I took it, and I hope that when someone comes along to kick your butt, you'll be mortal again." Of course the letter said it in quite a different way, and with more words...but that was the general idea. Cody sat back, stunned.

"R. A. B.," said Ron in a whisper. "But who is he?"

"Dunno." Cody watched Harry lay back in his bunk, not saying another word. There was nothing for a good, long while, until Harry said one more think, glancing to the window. "He's stopped singing." Cody blinked, startled to realize that Fawkes had indeed ended his long lament, and a cold chill washed down his back. "He's left," said Harry, almost as if he were talking to himself, and then was silent.

Cody looked at Ron, feeling tears threaten once more, and Ron looked like he might cry too. Ron frowned and lay down also, drawing the curtains of his four-poster, and Cody settled back in his own bed, but did not draw the curtains. Dumbledore gone, and now Fawkes... Fawkes, another that Cody had cared about. Wasn't it enough that Dumbledore would never be back, but Fawkes had to leave too, never to return to the warmth and safety of the castle? With a hitch in his chest, Cody lay down next to Graham and lay awake for a very long time.

---

The next morning, Cody got himself cleaned up, repaired his pajamas as best he could, and got into clean clothes. (His pajamas would not be wearable anymore...they were finally at the end of their life.) He felt numb, and his eyes felt like someone had punched them. He saw that half of Gryffindor House felt the same way.

Several students were taken from the castle by their parents, including Zacharias Smith (good riddance to him) and the Patil twins. Lessons were canceled, and exams postponed. The whole school commiserated in Dumbledore's death; there was little else on the lips of the students.

Slughorn was taking over temporarily as Head of Slytherin, which was an improvement, but Cody would much rather have Snape back if it meant that Dumbledore would never have died. Madam Maxime arrived in her huge carriage from France, and several Ministry employees came to Hogwarts. Seamus told the other Gryffindors (and Cody) that the inns at Hogsmeade were filling up quickly with people who would pay their respects to Dumbledore. (He knew because his mother had difficulty getting a room.) "She was going to take me home," said Seamus with a scowl. "But I refused. I won't leave without paying my respects; she finally said that we could stay until...." He trailed off, but Cody knew what he meant.

Everyone that had been injured in the fight had been healed, except Bill, who stayed in the hospital wing. Cody had nearly jumped on his bed when Bill was well enough to be hugged - Bill's face was badly scarred, and Cody felt a furious burning in his mind every time he saw it; saw what Greyback had done to him. Harry had told Cody that Greyback hungered for the flesh of humans, even while not transformed. That was two people that Cody loved that the wretched werewolf had hurt.

Snape remained unfound by the Ministry, a fact that did not surprise Cody in the slightest; the coward must have gone directly into hiding. Him and Draco both. He hoped that they got caught and thrown into Azkaban.

Harry told Cody that the "Half-Blood Prince" ended up being Snape himself, and that his Potions book was Snape's. Cody was shocked when Harry told him that he had invented the Slash-Curse, the one that had killed Cody's mother, and hurt him and Hermione. How could Cody have ever respected Snape? How could he have ever thought he was on Dumbledore's side? It just seemed like one more thing that Cody could not deal with.

Cody spent the next several days either with Graham and Neville (who was still recovering); Harry, Hermione, and Ginny, or Hagrid. When Lupin came to the school, Cody would stay by his side...he still felt numb over what had happened to Dumbledore. He tried not to think of it, and found all kinds of ways to distract himself.

He borrowed Colin Creevey's camera so that he could take pictures of the school and all of the places and people that meant anything to him. Colin helped Cody develop them the right way so that they would move. He put these photographs in his trunk, and wrote on the back what everything was, his writing shaky and only barely legible. Hermione helped him straighten the letters with a charm she'd learned the previous year.

On the day of the funeral, everyone wore their dress robes. (Cody had to enlarge his, as he had grown a good deal since fourth year.) The Minister for Magic was there, along with all of the others who had come to say goodbye to Dumbledore. The students would be taken home by the train after that...possibly never to return.

Cody ate nothing at the meal, only sat next to Neville at the Gryffindor table until Professor McGonagall rose and said, "It is nearly time. Please follow your Heads of houses out onto the grounds. Gryffindors, follow me." Cody hesitated, not sure where to go, before Neville tugged on Cody's sleeve, and he followed the older boy (who was being helped by Luna Lovegood). No one was wearing house colors today, anyway...it didn't really matter.

He was scared. He had never been to a funeral before, and was not sure if he could handle it; would the body be there to see? Would it just be a coffin? Cody wondered which would be worse to see.

They were all heading for the lake. Chairs had been set up all over the place, and Cody looked out onto them, recognizing several people. It gave him a strange, unhappy sensation of deja-vu to see Ernie from the Knight bus there, and the Weasleys (except for Charlie) all sitting in the rows. The Order of the Phoenix members, and so many other people that he had met, and come to love or hate during his years at Hogwarts, all come together. He growled in disgust to see that both Rita Skeeter and Professor Umbridge were there, and he looked away from them quickly, not wanting to see them. How dare they? Neither one of them liked Dumbledore, and Skeeter had even printed horrible stories about him! McGonagall should have thrown them both out.

Everyone sat down. Cody sought out Remus and sat next to him, not caring if the teachers got upset or not. Remus put an arm around him, which made him feel a little bit better. Cody knew he was about to cry.

He was startled a moment later by a haunting, chilling noise coming from the lake, and he looked quickly over to see several merpeople just below the lake's surface, singing...and as they sang, Cody caught sight of Hagrid, carrying something in his arms. After a moment, Cody realized that it must be Dumbledore. He began to cry, then, like Hagrid was. Hagrid laid the body onto a table that was set up ion front of them all and retreated shakily to the back, where even the sight of what must be Hagrid's giant brother Grawp was not enough to distract Cody from his sorrow.

There was a man who was doing what Lupin called "eulogizing", that is saying the things about Dumbledore that were good. Cody thought so many of them were right. But he also thought that there was so much that he left out. Yes, Dumbledore was noble and brave, kind and powerful. But he was also fun, and silly, and young at heart. He was understanding, and he didn't care what people said, he did things that were right in his heart, not right on the lawbooks. The boy gazed across the dozens of people that had come, seeing the love and the sorrow and the respect on their faces, and he had to clench his teeth against a sob. He even saw the merpeople and the centaurs at the edges of their domains, listening. In that moment, with a few rare exceptions, he thought that he loved them all.

Cody was trying to be quiet in his weeping, but it was difficult. He saw that there was hardly a person in there whose eyes were dry. Cody kept having to wipe his eyes and nose on the sleeve of his dress robes.

When the man was done talking, Dumbledore's body suddenly erupted into white-hot flames, making Cody scream with alarm. Several others made some kind of outcry as well as the flames consumed the body. The centaurs let loose a volley of arrows in salute before retreating back into the forest. Cody saw Ron and Ginny hugging and tears were sliding down Ron's face. Lupin, Cody saw, wept also; he held Cody to him, and they both sat there for a long time, looking at Dumbledore's tomb.

Ten minutes later, most of the people had gotten up from their seats, and Cody had found Graham, whose face was as wet as Cody's. Neither were crying anymore, but Graham looked miserable, just as miserable as Cody felt. While Lupin went over to talk to the other adults, Cody and Graham sought out Harry and the others, just in time to hear Harry say he was not coming back to Hogwarts next year. Cody stopped and looked at him in shock. Then he realized, as Harry began to explain, that it only made sense. There was nothing more that Harry could learn from Hogwarts, and he had a job that he needed to do. And Ron and Hermione, well, they would go with him of course.

Cody didn't know if he wanted to go or not. It seemed only...only right that it should be them three. It had been them three since the beginning, it only made sense that they went alone on their quest. But then he thought that Harry might need all the help he could get. He supposed it would all depend on how Harry took to the idea of Cody going along. He did want to see the Dursleys' house, and Godric's Hollow, and he did so badly want to help in taking Voldemort down....

When Ron said that they would have to stop off at the Burrow for Fleur and Ron's wedding before they did anything else, Cody spoke up. "I'll be there for that."

The trio seemed not to have noticed the two younger boys standing there, for Ron jumped, and the other two spun around quickly. Then Ron sort of grinned. "Yeah," he said. "Bill'd hunt you down if you missed that."

Cody blinked, and then laughed, surprising himself. It was good to know he still _could_ laugh. "Yeah I guess he would, huh?"

"Definitely. "

"Lupin's gonna be there, right?" Cody asked.

"I hope so. Bill would be sorry he missed it otherwise...you'll be staying with him, right?"

"Yeah. Okay, well, I'll see you guys on the Hogwarts Express, all right?" said Cody.

"Er, why doesn't Lupin just bring you home?" asked Harry.

Cody shrugged. "Well, he could Apparate us. But I wanted to ride the train." He felt a hitch in his chest that he swallowed with some difficulty. "I wanted to ride it one more time, you know...in case I won't ever ride it again. Remus's coming with me. I...this might be the last we ever go here." It was a miserably wretched thought.

The others nodded as if they understood, and Ron sort of looked melancholy at the idea. Cody smiled a little bit, and he and Graham left, heading back up to the school. They were going to look around it a bit more before they departed for the coaches that would take them all to Hogsmeade Station. When he got home, Cody intended to hug his sister and spend several days trying not to think about all that had happened that year...or what might happen later. He would go to Bill's wedding, and after that...well...he would see what happened. That was all he felt he could do then: take things as they came.


	79. Y7, C1: Family Reunion

DISCLAIMER

---

This adventure is loosely based on a plotline that was run in a roleplaying game that I play; White Wolf Changeling. My character in that genre is a seven-year old boy named Cody  
DeDannan, who had an adventure in a realm that is based on what people dream. In this realm, he found Hogwarts Castle, and was able to go through the first four years of it, along with  
the students from the Harry Potter stories. (We haven't gotten to the other years, yet!) And so, that inspired me to write this.

This story contains the HP stories seen through Cody's eyes. Please realize that as this takes place in the same time frame as Harry's years at Hogwarts, this fanfic involves a great deal of  
direct quoting in order to show things through the main character's eyes. Any descriptions, I have put into my own words, but a great deal of the dialogue is quoted.

Furthermore, that which I have directly quoted, I lay no claim to whatsoever, and the same goes for any characters that are taken from the books. My original creations (that is, my  
character concepts, which I use in other capacities), however, I do claim. No one may use them without my permission.

**And so I come to my plea: Ms. Rowling (and those associated with her), please don't sue me! I claim nothing that came from you, whether it be a scene, a character, a place, or a story. I  
have written this fanfiction because, frankly, it's what I always wished would happen. (Yes, I am a 28 year old adult.) I have written this fanfiction because I love your world and want to be  
a part of it, and so I made my character in order to enjoy it. : ) I certainly make no money with this, only the enjoyment of sharing my imagination with others.**

Oh, and to all you who might live in the U.K.: In trying to keep the whole setting accurate, I have done a lot of research online, as well as asking my dad (who is from England) and my  
friend (who lived in England for a year) about things like slang, terms, weather, and the like. So if I screw something up, please don't lynch me:grin: Though if anyone does spot that  
kind of mistake, feel free to let me know!

Note: The first two years are not my best...but come third year I started getting a little more comfortable with my main character; I get to know him a little better and things start to flow a  
bit more. The first two years are still good; I just think the later ones are better! And don't worry, I don't make any ridiculous changes in the storyline!

Obviously anything directly quoted from the books are also the property of J.K. Rowling (and anyone else who shares the ownership...I never did and never will  
understand all that copyright and ownership and legal stuff.) Just know that I'm not trying to claim it as my own, nor am I making money from it. It is just for my  
enjoyment and the enjoyment of those who may read it.

I (and I think most fanfiction artists) write fanfiction because they love the genre about which they write, and want to create their own stories with the characters that  
have become old friends to them. They like to visit the world more often and go to more places than they can reading the books or watching the show or movie.

Any characters that were not originally part of the books are my property, and permission must be gained from me to use them as your own.

Anyone who wants to link to or post my stories on their pages are quite welcome, so long as they credit me and link to my story or main page.

And so, with that, I invite you to enjoy this story!

.  
**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

---

Well, here is the seventh and final year of Hidden Heritage. It is not the last I will write for Cody, but it is the last that follows the book (obviously). No idea what will come after this, but I know that Cody has not yet finished telling me his story. So please enjoy!

**1: Family Reunion**

Dumbledore's death wasn't an easy one to forget, much like the man himself. Cody had not managed to take a photograph of Dumbledore before he had died, but he had the Chocolate Frog card with Dumbledore's picture on it, and he had placed it carefully with his other photographs. He spent a good deal of time in those first days after his sixth-year term looking through them.

Wizard photographs were leagues better than Muggle ones, because they moved. When Cody looked at Dumbledore's Chocolate Frog card, he could imagine the old wizard was winking at Cody, and telling him not to worry, that death was only the next great adventure. Cody wished he had a wizard's photograph of Mom, and wondered if he could alter one of the normal ones...he'd have to ask Remus!

Samantha didn't quite understand what had happened that term, only that someone Cody was close to had died. That part she understood just fine, and even cried a little for Dumbledore herself, because Cody cared about him. Cody was touched at her remarkable compassion. He told her all about Dumbledore, and how cool he was, and she seemed to enjoy the stories as much as any others Cody brought home from Hogwarts.

Fortunately, he didn't have much time to dwell on things. Not a week after he returned to Grimmauld Place, Cody was in the attic, rummaging in one of the boxes of creepy Dark items Lupin had deemed safe enough to keep around, when a voice spoke his name. "Cody?"

Mildly startled, Cody jerked his head up to peer above the edge of the box. Remus, an amused smirk on his face at the sight of Cody teetering on the edge of a crate with his backside in the air, stood there. "I didn't even hear you come up," said Cody, brushing dust from his clothing. He was wearing an old robe he had found in one of those crates, a tan, light robe obviously meant for summertime.

"Too engrossed in your project, I imagine," said Lupin, smiling, as Cody wrestled with a pair of metal tongs that had leapt onto his arm. Cody frowned a little at the smile; it was as warm as ever, but not nearly so unencumbered as usual. Lupin had been under a lot of strain, and Cody knew that. He glared at the tongs, finally forcing them off his arm and back into their container, remembering that he'd encountered the stupid things before and considered bringing them to Hogwarts to sic on Draco. Putting the tongs box back into the crate, Cody brought his gaze back to his guardian.

Even though Lupin was no longer trying to liase with the werewolves, everyone who fought against Voldemort seemed to be strained to the breaking point. 'Just like the first war,' thought Cody. 'Don't know who to trust, outnumbered...' "Yeah," said Cody, feeling suddenly gloomy.

"I hate to uproot you and Samantha again," said Lupin, "but we've got to move from Grimmauld Place." When Cody only stared rather stupidly, Lupin explained. "When Dumbledore died...he was Secret Keeper, remember...his secret got transferred to anyone he told the address to. That's all of the Order, you, Samantha, Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys."

Cody blinked. All of them were Secret Keepers now? But that meant the place was still protected, didn't it? None of them would ever tell, would they? But then he imagined the Death Eaters going after any one of them, the weakest ones in the chain perhaps, and realized that rather put him and Samantha in more danger than he was happy with.

Lupin watched him, almost seeming to watch the gears clicking into place. "I see you've realized the problem. The security here's too shaky, and if we keep the place, that only paints a target on us."

"Where will we go?" asked Cody. He wasn't thrilled with the idea of moving again, but there was little he could do about it.

"Well, we've got a little while to figure it out – we've put some extra protections on the place and stopped using it as headquarters, so the danger's not as immediate as it can be, and we can move most of our things at a later date. I do want to be ready to go if need be, however." Lupin paused, and then added, "Well...and there's another bit of news. Tonks and I are...well, we're getting married."

Again, Cody blinked; this seemed to be the day for surprises! He finally laughed, shaking his head, caught somewhere between happiness for Lupin, and dismay for his mushiness. "That's great!' he said. "As long as you don't start acting like Bill and Fleur. Because that's just unforgivable."

It was Lupin' turn to laugh, though it was short and strained...which didn't seem right, somehow. Weren't people supposed to be happy about being married? Were Lupin's Order duties so dark he couldn't even feel joy about his upcoming wedding? Cody's smile faded as he looked Lupin over.

Lupin sighed. "Well I can't say I'm not nervous about it," said Lupin. "I care for her...more than you could imagine...but..." Lupin put a hand to one of his arms, seeming not to notice the gesture; Cody knew an old scar was there, the bite that had turned him into a werewolf. Greyback's bite.

"Aw, go on," said Cody, remembering Lupin's reservations about letting Tonks marry a werewolf. "Don't be silly. If me and Samantha can deal with you, Tonks'll have no problem."

This time Lupin's laugh was a little more genuine, and he nodded a little. "Thanks, I think. Well, I want you to go ahead and get your things packed. Pack lightly. If we can, we'll get the rest of your things later. For now bring only two trunks each."

Two trunks each...well that wouldn't be too bad. There were plenty of trunks in the place. Cody could fit all of his school things in his school trunk, and have room for his favorite books, his Simba toy (that he still slept with on occasion but would not admit it to anyone but Samantha and Lupin), and his picture albums. His favorite toys, his Nintendo, and most of his other belongings would fit in the other. "I'll do that now, then," said Cody.

"And see what you'll need for your next term at Hogwarts, too," said Lupin. "I know the lists aren't out yet, but aside from maybe a couple of spellbooks, there's nothing we can't guess at. I want to get a good amount of money from your vault and keep it with us...I've heard some disturbing rumors about Gringotts, and I want to be careful. We'll go there tomorrow."

And so Cody suddenly had things to concentrate on, things that could keep him distracted from dwelling on Dumbledore's death. As when his mother died, keeping busy was the best thing he could do.

Samantha did not go with them to Diagon Alley the next morning. As Voldemort became more and more powerful, Muggles and Muggle-borns were more and more vulnerable. The last thing Cody wanted was to bring Samantha to a wizard's area, especially with Knockturn Alley so close. And so as Lupin and Cody got ready to leave, Samantha was sent to visit with Kathy Skinner, to whom she'd taken a liking.

Diagon Alley was more dismal than ever. What with the chilly mist from the dementors and the grim posters and the deserted streets, Cody could scarcely believe it was the same place.

"Well," said Lupin, "let's get your gold."

The two of them said very little as they headed for the monstrous, white edifice that loomed over the whole, gloomy street. Even Gringotts's security had been beefed up, and no one was getting in without a security check.

The Probity Probes were no fun, but Cody was grateful it hadn't gotten jabbed anywhere that was too undignified, and he and Lupin were let through into Gringotts without further incident.

Cody was relieved to see that Gringotts was the same as ever inside, at least. Since goblins looked grouchy all the time anyway, and they seemed to care little for the affairs of wizards, it was business as usual in the bank. Cody went up to the counters and asked a free goblin to take him and Lupin to his vault. When Cody produced his vault key, the goblin nodded wordlessly and beckoned them into the chambers beyond the main room.

As dark as things were in the wizarding world, Cody still could not help thoroughly enjoying the breakneck ride through the maze of tunnels beneath Gringotts. He shrieked gleefully at each steep drop, each hairpin turn. He caught Lupin rolling his eyes in a long-suffering way once and laughed as they hurtled into the home stretch.

It did not take long for Cody to scoop up a large pile of gold into his money pouch, taking far more of it than normal on Lupin's suggestion. Ten minutes later, the two of them walked back out onto Diagon Alley, blinking in the dim light after the darkness of the caverns. "Well?" said Lupin, "where first?"

There was not much that Cody needed. He had gotten robes the year before and they still fit him fine. His potions ingredients needed replenishing, and he had to replace his dragonhide gloves because they were full of holes. As for books, since Flitwick and McGonagall used the same textbook series each year, Cody could buy the next installment with reasonable surety. Anything else he needed he could get once the letters had been sent out. He snagged a handsome set of bookmarks for Harry, for his upcoming birthday, too.

He did manage to convince Lupin to stop at Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes, which was not as crowded as had been on his last visit, but still obviously a popular stop no matter how scared people were. Cody got himself a new Extendable Ear, a couple more edible Dark marks, and a Death Eater Voo Doo doll that had him in hysterics at the sight of it. That one was for Ron for Christmas! He got Hermione a clever crossword puzzle book that zapped the person when they got something wrong, and a joke wand for Harry that turned into a pair of underwear when you waved it. For himself, he bought a set of trick inks. He couldn't wait to try some of them out at Hogwarts.

"Let's stop for a bite to eat," suggested Lupin as they came out of the joke shop.

Cody couldn't have agreed more; he was starving! So he and Lupin sat down outside a cozy-looking diner next to Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions for some lunch. As he sat down in a gaudy, yellow chair, the mist swirled around him, and he scowled. "I hate dementors," Cody grouched, pulling his winter cloak more tightly about him. Even in the middle of summer, when the weather should be at least warm, it was freezing! Florida had warmer _winters._

"I don't know many people who like them," said Lupin wryly as a smallish wizard with a bright yellow apron came over and asked what they wanted to eat. Cody ordered a hot sandwich, and Lupin ordered a bowl of stew, and they both got a glass of pumpkin juice, which was delivered straight away.

"_Are_ there any?" Cody asked suddenly, wondering if any of the Death Eaters even liked the vicious beasts.

But Lupin only shook his head, and Cody said no more about it. He sipped at his pumpkin juice as they sat, gazing morosely into the entrance to Knockturn Alley, which sat almost directly across from the cafe. He scowled into its depths, wondering what kind of Dark shops were in there, and how many Dark wizards were there right this very moment. Why was Knockturn Alley allowed to exist, anyway? Weren't the Dark arts illegal?

"Have you ever been in there?" asked Cody suddenly. Dark or not, he was curious.

Coming back from whatever daydream he'd been distracted by, Lupin followed Cody's pointing finger, and his expression darkened. "Once or twice," he said quietly, "doing work for..." He didn't finish, but gave Cody a meaningful look, and he realized Lupin probably meant the Order.

"It looks pretty creepy." Even as he watched, a somewhat short man with a dark green cloak stepped out of the entrance, looking around, and Cody felt a jolt of unease. There was something about him... His face was obscured by the hood of his cloak, and Cody wasn't even sure it _was _a man. But for some reason, he gave Cody the creeps.

"That's one word for it," said Lupin, not noticing Cody's sudden distraction. "It's got the worst shops you can imagine. Shops that sell poisons, shops that sell human body parts..." Cody blinked, turning his gaze to Lupin, who looked very grim. "Yes, afraid so," said Lupin, looking back towards the dark alley. "Not the sort of place any decent wizard would be lurking in."

Cody didn't need to be told that! He looked back to see where that creepy man had gone, but he was nowhere to be seen. "I wanna go there someday, just once."

The boy watched Lupin sideways to see his reaction, and was rewarded when the older wizard spat out half a mouthful of pumpkin juice and looked at Cody in astonishment. "They're right, you know," he said after a moment, drying the pumpkin juice off his face. "You're mad." Cody laughed, wondering what "they" Lupin meant; probably all of them. "Knockturn Alley is the last place you want to be right now. The Death Eaters shop there too, you know – and you're on their hit list, I'm sure."

Cody stared, unblinking. Their _hit _list? Could Cody really be someone they actively wanted dead? 'Yes,' he thought after a moment. He knew at least three that would love to see him dead, and a few more who wouldn't mind. He glanced back at Knockturn Alley, shivering a little bit; Lupin had a way of putting things in perspective...and he had a way of expressing how dire things had become. How creepy could you get?

The food arrived then, distracting Cody slightly from Knockturn Alley and hit lists, and he turned around in his seat to eat his sandwich. It was a hot sandwich, with deli meat and melted cheese, and it felt wonderful against the chill of the mist.

For a subject change, Cody and Lupin talked about what the seventh-year classes would be like, and speculated on whether Hagrid would really get in a chimera for Cody to learn about in Care of Magical Creatures. Cody wasn't sure if he hoped yes, or hoped no! He supposed a chimera wouldn't be any worse than the Quintaped was. Cody still had scars on his arm from _that_ miserable little beast.

"Excuse me."

The voice startled both Cody and Lupin, and Lupin stood quickly, clearly ready to draw his wand if need be. Cody looked up in alarm, also standing up, and was not fantastically thrilled to see the creepy wizard from Knocturne Alley standing there, looking mildly interested at their startlement.

"Can we help you?" asked Lupin politely, though his eyes remained ever alert, and Cody was pretty sure he did not like this intruder much either. Cody glanced around to see if anyone was watching, but there were not very many people in the street. There rarely were anymore. He turned back to the creepy wizard, and his unease deepened; he looked very familiar for some reason.

"Apologies," said the wizard with a sort of smile. "I didn't mean to sneak up on you." And to Cody's amazement, the man turned to speak to him, not Lupin! "But you are Cody Gregor, are you not?"

Cody blinked in astonishment. _Gregor? _That had been his father's last name! And, of course, his real mother's. But Cody had _never_ been known as Cody Gregor, at least not since he was an infant. "Who are you?" he asked bluntly, not answering the question.

The man chuckled, lowering the hood of his cloak, and Cody looked him over. He was shorter than Lupin, and had short-cropped, brown hair. His eyes, also brown, were clear and curious, and a spread of freckles was splashed across his face. "My name is Coatl," he said. "Coatl Carrow."

The name meant absolutely nothing to Cody, but from the corner of his eyes, he saw Lupin's own eyes widen in alarm, and saw him put his hand into the pocket in which he kept his wand. He didn't pull it out, but he was obviously ready, and that made Cody nervous. He wished he had his wand!

"I'm Cody," Cody finally said, though he didn't correct the man about his last name. "Do you...do you know me?"

The man smiled. "You might say that, though I doubt you remember me. The last time I saw you, you were an infant, a couple of months old, I think." Cody blinked, and the man finally laughed. "I'm your uncle, Cody."

-- 


	80. Y7, C2: The Wedding

.  
**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 2: The Wedding**

Cody gaped, unable to say a single word. His _uncle?_ Did this man mean he was Cody's _blood_ uncle? Never in a million years had he ever thought he might actually have blood family left, still! To him, everything that happened with his parents was ancient history, that to meet a member of his family... He should have known there would still be some around!

"I guess you haven't heard much from your family," Coatl said, smiling a bit. "I couldn't exactly come and collect you from America...in fact it was ages before I found out what happened to my sister." As Cody stared at the man, stunned, Coatl turned to Lupin, smiling in a polite sort of way. "You are Cody's guardian, then?" he asked, holding out a hand. "DeDannan?"

DeDannan? The man thought that Lupin was where Cody got the name DeDannan?

Lupin blinked, but then he nodded, shaking hands with the man. "I'm John." Cody knew that was his middle name. "I am Cody's guardian. You said you were...Coatl?"

Coatl nodded. "That's right."

Finally able to speak, Cody ran a hand through his hair and asked, "My...mother's brother?"

Coatl grinned. "Aye, I am your mum's brother. Carrow is our family name--your mother's maiden name," he clarified. "I've not been too in touch with the family or their...er...group, lately, though." He smiled at Cody and added, "I knew my sister had a son, and had visited you once or twice. But you disappeared after her death. It was tough tracking you down before you entered Hogwarts."

Still rather wide-eyed, Cody wondered, vaguely, if Coatl knew about his adopted mother or not...possible not, since he'd called Cody 'Gregor'. "You..." A sudden intuition came to him as he felt the outline of his vault key in his pocket, and his eyes widened even more. "You! You're the one!" At Coatl's faintly curious look, Cody went on. "You sent me my key!"

Coatl laughed delightedly. "I did, Master Gregor. You're clever, like your mother. I knew you'd do the family proud. You're Slytherin, of course?" Cody nodded numbly. "Well, I'm glad to have finally met you. I see you've done just fine for yourself." Coatl looked proudly at Cody for a moment before, then nodded once again. "Well. I've a few things to take care of today...but I'll keep in touch, Cody." He put his hand briefly on Cody's head, nodded to Lupin, then walked away, tugging the hood of his cloak back up onto his head.

Cody watched him go, and then dropped back into his seat, feeling as if someone had Stunned him. He turned his amazed face toward Lupin. "I can't believe it!"

Lupin also sat down, looking very grim. "Are you certain he's your uncle?"

Cody blinked, looking after the name's retreating figure, and shrugged. "Well, he looks almost exactly like my mom. My birth mom. Tony Barado showed me a picture. Why?"

"This could either be very lucky, or very inconvenient," said Lupin, frowning. Cody hadn't a clue what he meant. "I take it you didn't know you had living family left."

"No. I knew my parents were dead, and I didn't know what my mom's name was before she got married. I didn't even think about finding family here, even after Tony told me about my parents. My mom, the one _I_ knew, is my real mom to me. So I didn't care." But Lupin still looked worried. "Do you know him?"

Lupin sighed. "I know his name. Two of the Carrows are among Voldemort's followers. They are brother and sister...do you remember the fight at Hogwarts...last month? They were there." Lupin described a short, lumpy man, and a stocky little woman who looked a good deal alike.

Cody stared, trying to remember, and felt his eyes widen as he recalled one of them – the male – from when Snape had fled the school. "Him!" he cried indignantly. "That one tried to Stun me after Snape knocked me down a bunch of stairs!"

"Shh!" said Lupin sharply, looking nervously around.

"Perfect," Cody muttered, slumping down in his chair, wondering why he was so surprised. His mother had been a Death Eater, why wouldn't her brother be? "And he—my uncle--oh, no! Now he thinks that I'm all for Voldemort too!" Cody exclaimed suddenly, finally understanding the entire conversation. He winced when Lupin hissed, "Shh!" again, and lowered his voice. "And now he's gonna keep in contact...what am I supposed to do about that?"

"Well we don't know if he's an active Death Eater or not," said Lupin quietly. "He—listen, let's talk about this elsewhere." Cody looked around and saw a few curious people glancing their way, and nodded numbly. Of all the times, to find out now about his family!

Cody was silent as he and Lupin made their way to the Leaky Cauldron, finding a deserted place where they could Apparate from. (Lupin still had to use Side-Along Apparition with Cody, because he was too young.)

They arrived on the far end of Grimmauld Place, and looked around to make sure the coast was clear before heading for the house.

Lupin had taken to searching the house each time he and Cody came back to it, causing Cody to remark at one point that he was getting paranoid like Mad-Eye. Lupin had only laughed, and didn't deny it. He didn't stop doing the searches, either, and finally let Cody assist when he did, each taking a few floors and going through all of the rooms. Finally they sat on the living room couch.

"You said he might not be a Death Eater," said Cody, scowling, feeling suddenly very irritated with the entire encounter.

"Yes," said Lupin slowly. "He didn't seem to realize you are counted among Voldemort's enemies." Cody shuddered a bit. He knew he was an enemy of Voldemort's, as were all who opposed him, but it was still intimidating to hear it spoken aloud. "If he were within the fold, as it were, he'd know you by name, if not by face."

"But he thought my last name was Gregor."

Lupin blinked slowly. "That's true...but didn't Tiller...didn't he knew you'd been adopted, and that Mallory Gregor was likely your mother?"

It was Cody's turn to blink, and he sighed quietly. "Yeah," he said. "Yeah, he knows." His anger melded then into frustration as he looked at Lupin. "So what do I do?"

"For now, nothing. See if he does contact you again. He said he hadn't been in touch with people of late; that would explain why he didn't realize you were no friend to him. I know you're name was in the paper once, courtesy of Rita Skeeter, but your picture wasn't there, was it?" Cody shook his head, relieved. "And your last name was reported as 'DeDannan'. Good. Well. As long as he keeps thinking you're a friend, you should be all right. Perhaps you might even find out some information."

Cody considered that for a few moments before finally shaking his head. "Probably not. I am kinda curious, though. Kinda wanna know about my family...maybe they're not all bad."

"Entirely possible," said Lupin. "Like I said, we'll see how it goes, but for now, I think we will spend the day indoors."

---

But Cody did not hear from his uncle Coatl for quite a while, and Cody nearly forgot about him as he got himself and his sister ready to move out. There were things to pack, last minutes checks of the house to make, a few last annoy-the-mad-portrait sessions to have. Cody thought he'd rather miss irritating the living heck out of Mrs. Black's portrait every other day.

For the time being, the three of them were going to move into a flat in a little town Cody had never heard of, while Lupin looked for a more suitable place. "A place for a family," he said, smiling in a sad sort of way. Cody blinked...that was right! Tonks would be there from now on, too! Cody wasn't sure how he felt about that. He wasn't used to a two-parent household, and rather liked it when it was just him, Samantha, and Lupin. But he wouldn't say anything to that effect for the world. He knew how much it meant to Lupin to have someone that cared for him in that way.

"Never," he muttered to himself once Lupin was out of earshot. "I'm never getting married."

The wedding was nothing special; Cody had expected a ceremony, like he had seen a few times on movies and television, but there was none. In fact, the only people there were Tonks, Remus, Cody, Samantha, and a wizard that Cody vaguely recognized as the one who had said the nice things at Dumbledore's funeral. The ceremony was very short and rather matter-of-fact, what Lupin later called a "civil union". That meant that it was just a legal recording of the marriage, and not a big old ceremony. Lupin and Tonks exchanged rings, and as a witness, Cody signed the certificate that recorded the event. And then it was over.

This wedding was on a Friday, and it was a rather big weekend for both Cody and for Lupin. Lupin did not have a lot of money, but he and Tonks planned to spend at least a short honeymoon out of town...taking as many security precautions as they could. As for Cody, Lupin debated sending him and Samantha to the Weasleys', but for the first time, Cody did not want to go there. From letters Ron had sent him over the last few weeks, Cody knew Mrs. Weasley was being as overprotective as ever, and he knew the atmosphere over there would be unbearably tense. Not to mention Lupin had said the Burrow would be the new Order headquarters, and so they would be staying there a great deal over the next few days, anyway.

And so Lupin had said that Cody could stay alone in the apartment. Cody wanted to send Samantha over to the Burrow, and she was willing enough to go, and Lupin had reluctantly agreed that Cody could look after himself until Sunday afternoon.

Cody was elated, scared, and excited. He was twelve, a commonly accepted age in the United States for a child to be allowed to be home alone...and this would be the first time. Yes, he had gone to Diagon Alley alone once, but there had been loads of adults around to help him if needed. He had been alone in other dangerous situations, but it wasn't the same. This would be for an entire weekend.

Lupin did not intend to just leave him, however, of course. After the ceremony was over and the man conducting it had gone, Lupin had given Cody a gross-looking sock and told him it was a portkey to the Weasleys'. "It's set to go off at a password," said Lupin worriedly. "The password is "grindylow"."

"Grin--" Cody began, but Lupin clapped a hand over his mouth, his eyes widening a little.

"Not now, Cody! If you say it while holding the portkey, it'll go off!"

Cody giggled sheepishly. "I knew that," he said, muffled, through Lupin's hand. "But it coulda been a _clean_ sock, sheesh.

Lupin sighed and rolled his eyes. "Okay, leave that somewhere you can easily get to it. A pocket would be best. Now. The Weasleys know that you're here, as well...though you can imagine the fuss Molly made."

Cody nodded, putting the portsock into his jeans pocket, trying not to feel nervous, himself. Lupin's worry was contagious. He was suddenly glad to have an escape for emergencies.

"I have told the Weasleys that you will write to them once tonight before you go to bed, twice on Saturday, and once Sunday morning. If they don't get a letter, they'll be coming here, assuming you're in trouble. This is part of your responsibility in this matter – I am going to lend you my owl because Merlin sometimes takes too long, and my owl's a very reliable one."

Cody glanced around, hoping Merlin wasn't close enough to hear and take offense, and then nodded in answer. "And a bat sending messages looks kinda weird, even for wizards, right?"

Lupin actually smiled, pleased that Cody had though of it. "That's right." Cody was glad he'd mentioned it, too, realizing belatedly that it showed Lupin that he was thinking of security, too. He had learned a lot from people like Mad-Eye.

Lupin might have gone on all day, had Tonks not grasped his arm and gave him a pointed look. Finally Lupin nodded and stopped giving Cody instructions...the important ones were already said. He made Cody repeat everything he'd told him, and was satisfied when Cody successfully paraphrased the conversation. Most of it was common sense, of course – not to let anyone in who didn't prove their identity, not to go outside too much (walking to the corner store for food or to the play park was acceptable so long as he took precautions), and lastly, not to do magic.

"This is most important, Cody," said Lupin. "Underage wizards have a Trace on them by the Ministry. It allows them to track you if you do magic outside of school. And the last thing we want is to attract attention."

A "trace"? He had some kind of weirdo trace on him?

His indignation must have shown on his face, for Lupin laughed suddenly and scooped Cody into a hug. "I'll explain better later, kiddo. For now..." His expression sombered once more and he drew Cody away from him, looking him eye-to-eye. "Just be careful."

Cody smirked. "I know, I know...CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" he roared, trying his best to sound like Mad-Eye Moody.

Lupin blinked in startlement, and Tonks laughed, clapping her hands a couple of times. "That was perfect, Cody," she said. "You'll be just fine." When Lupin laughed also, Cody grinned at the both of them as the tension that had been building all throughout Lupin's instructions broke.

"Okay," said Lupin. "Tonks and I are going to head out, then. Be careful, remember to write to the Weasleys, and we'll see you on Sunday, okay?"

Cody nodded and gave Lupin a big hug, hesitating a moment before giving Tonks one, too. He was pink-cheeked when he let her go - it was weird hugging a girl that wasn't Hermione or Ginny - but he still glad he did it.

When at last the door was closed, Cody walked over and locked it, suppressing the sudden, wild urge to fling it open and call for Lupin to come back. Even with the adults only just gone, the flat seemed quiet, empty, and huge. It didn't make sense. If Lupin had just gone to the corner store for five minutes, home wouldn't feel threatening at all. But now...

"Weird," muttered Cody, wincing at how loud his voice suddenly sounded. It was as if he was on display for everyone to see and hear, and he felt very vulnerable. And it wasn't even dark, yet! It was going to be awfully creepy once the sun set.

At least the flat had a television, and Cody had his Nintendo!

He managed to distract himself for a few hours by playing the Zelda game he loved so much and had missed in recent months. He even figured out some of the tough puzzles in the game, which had him feeling rather proud of himself. (The video games were a bit easier now that he was older.)

When he was finished playing, he used the microwave to cook a frozen dinner Lupin had gotten him the night before and ate it, beginning to realize that he wasn't entirely certain he enjoyed all the silence. Even Merlin flying over to hang from his robes and steal bits of his meal when he thought Cody wasn't looking was not enough to distract him.

"Being alone's kinda boring," he said aloud. Merlin squeaked and stole Cody's last green bean. Cody laughed. "Guess I better write to the Weasleys before I forget."

Having little of real use to say in a letter, Cody wrote and said that Merlin had stolen half of his frozen dinner, and that he was having fruit bat stew for breakfast the next morning. (Merlin got quite indignant when Cody read that part aloud!) He added that he was fine, and going to bed, then sent Lupin's owl off with the letter.

When the owl was gone and the windows and doors were all locked and checked, Cody went into the bedroom he had been sharing for the time being with Samantha, and sat down on the bottom bunk with a Hardy Boys book. He looked down at it, at the dark curtains, at the lone lamp and decided that reading a book about criminals who go after teenage boys wasn't a good one to read at night right then. So instead he got out his Bunnicula books.

He found it very difficult to sleep that night. Even though his eyes were too heavy to read anymore, and he kept the lamp on, Cody heard every single, innocent noise outside and inside the apartment. Things he wouldn't so much as sneeze at became menacing and sinister, and several times he got up with his wand ready, only to find nothing whatsoever lurking in the flat.

It was after one before he fell asleep.

It was funny; after spending one night like that, the next day didn't seem nearly so unfriendly. Boring, yes, but not unfriendly. Cody wrote to the Weasleys, went to the store for some snacks, played at the park for a little while (though he was a little paranoid at first), then went back inside for more Zelda. After his second promised letter of the day, he even got to sleep before midnight.

When came Sunday and he'd written his last letter of the weekend, Cody was extremely proud of himself. He'd stayed a whole weekend alone, cooked his own supper (the ramen was a challenge, being the first time he'd used a stove unsupervised, but he'd gotten it done), and remembered to do everything he was supposed to. And when Lupin and Tonks unlocked the door and came in, Cody managed to resist the urge to run and hug Lupin, instead standing ready with his wand and asking for some proof that they were who they were supposed to be.

After Lupin (amusedly) recited as proof an incident from a few days ago of Cody tripping on his own feet and falling on his face (that only he and Cody would know of), Cody lowered his wand and instead smacked Lupin in the arm.

Of course then he had to tell the two of them of his weekend, and what all he had done. When Tonks asked if he'd been afraid, Cody blushed and admitted reluctantly that he'd been terrified the first night, but after that it wasn't so bad. "I might even wanna do it again someday!"

This seemed to tickle both Tonks and Remus, and Cody even grinned rather sheepishly.

Cody didn't get too much of a story about Remus and Tonks's honeymoon, because it was full of mushy stuff. When Tonks very tactfully told Cody what couples traditionally do on their honeymoons, both Lupin and Cody turned as red as a Quaffle, and even Tonks was a little pink in the cheeks.

After that, Cody wasn't too interested in what they did on their trip.


	81. Y7, C3: Answers and Close Calls

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 3: Answers and Close Calls**

Over the next couple of weeks, Cody and Samantha began to get used to Tonks's presence in the household. Tonks showed off her ability to change her appearance at will, and usually had Samantha shrieking in glee with all the different noses, eyes, and mouths she could produce on her face. (Cody usually cracked up, too, for that matter.)

Cody received an owl near the end of June from Coatl Carrow, asking if Cody would care to join him for the afternoon, to discuss his family. Cody was of two minds about the whole thing. He was insanely curious about it all, even if the whole lot of his family _was_ comprised of Death Eaters, but he was also nervous about it. What if he found out that Cody wasn't really on Voldemort's side? With everything that had been happening, it was a risk.

But it was a very tempting risk!

"It's up to you, Cody," said Lupin, when Cody mentioned the letter he had gotten. "I don't mind going as backup...without his knowledge of course...if you'd like to meet him. I know you badly want to know more about your family."

"Yeah," said Cody slowly. "I'd rather know more stuff about my dad, but...still." Lupin didn't say anything, and Cody thought good and hard for nearly an entire minute, before nodding. "Okay, I'll meet him," he said. Then he grinned. "Maybe he'll take me into Knockturn Alley."

Lupin groaned. "Well I won't stop you but I can't see that you'd enjoy the trip. Just be careful, Cody, okay? You _can't_ let him know you're allied with...well anyone that opposes Voldemort. Not Harry, not anyone in the Order, not the Weasleys."

"I know."

"I'll watch Samantha while you go, Cody," said Tonks with a grin. "I'll show her some of my Deluxe Faces." Cody laughed and nodded in appreciation.

"Tomorrow then," Cody said. "That's when he wants to meet." When Lupin agreed, Cody sent back a letter with Merlin, telling Coatl that he'd meet him outside of Gringotts. It was an easily recognizable landmark, and Cody knew where it was.

Cody went to bed that night feeling excited and nervous, the same as he'd felt when he was to be left alone on his own for the first time. He always felt that way when allowed to do something on his own, or something that entailed a little risk. He felt proud and jittery all at once. He wasn't sure if he liked the sensation much.

Noon the next day found Cody standing at the door of the Leaky Cauldron, inside which Lupin had Apparated the two of them. Merlin sat on his shoulder, squeaking in agitation about the Apparition, and Cody spent some time calming the bat. He hoped, rather grouchily, that Apparition didn't feel as awful when one learned to do it alone. Next time he vowed to take his broomstick or the Floo Network.

Knowing that Lupin was behind him somewhere, disguised, blending in with the sparse crowd that decorated the dismal street, Cody walked slowly towards the towering Gringotts. He was wearing one of the robes that he'd found in Grimmauld Place that surely had belonged to Sirius or perhaps his brother in his youth; it was thick and warm, and the kind of blue that he liked. The day was a little warmer than it had been of late, so he hadn't bothered with his winter cloak.

Coatl was standing a little ways from the door when Cody approached, and he grinned and strode to meet the boy. "Cody! So glad you could make it."

He extended a hand, and Cody shook it, feeling a strange sense of unreality as he looked at the man. He looked astonishingly like Cody's blood mother, and like Cody himself, so that shaking hands with the man was just weird.

"Well, L—John—well he didn't want me to at first since things are so dangerous. But I convinced him. Said I'd be with you, so I should be okay." Not quite the truth, but it was close enough. He winced mentally, hoping that Coatl hadn't caught his near slip with Lupin's name.

"Ah, you've nothing to worry about," said Coatl. "You're a pure blood, lad. If you got picked up by anyone, once it was clear you're a true wizard, you'd be fine."

Cody blinked, a rush of dislike crawling down his back. He wondered how anyone could talk like that, to be so arrogant, so...bigoted! "I guess I didn't think of that," he murmured.

"Well, let's go on then, shall we?" asked Coatl. Cody nodded, and walked alongside the man, glancing surreptitiously around once. He thought he spotted Lupin, but he wasn't sure. There were others in the street hiding their features beneath their hoods. "Nice bat. He magical?"

"I think so," Cody said, looking at Merlin, who was hanging off the front of Cody's robes as usual. He was getting big, and Cody was sure that he was close to fully grown, if not there already. "He aged really slow, and he does mail like the owls."

"Brilliant – he's a pretty beast." He scratched Merlin on the head, and Merlin made an odd sound, the sound Cody knew meant he wasn't quite sure whether or not he liked the current situation or not.

Sympathizing, Cody stroked the bat's fur; he wasn't sure he liked the situation, either. "How can a person tell if you're pureblood, anyway?" he asked quietly as they walked.

"You can't, really," said Coatl. "Not at a glance, anyway. You have to know a person's parentage, and I believe there might be a few spells that reveal a person's blood purity and strength."

That was an unwelcome bit of news! "What about Muggles?"

"Oh that's a whole lot easier," said Coatl, his lip curling at the mention of Muggles. "A simple test, that. Certain things work on Muggles and Squibs that don't work on wizards, and vice versa. Just use one of 'em and you'll know. Inferior, though, Muggles. Not much more than animals, really. Wizards are the highest evolution of man, boy. Don't you forget that. The stronger your wizard blood, the better."

Shaking, Cody managed a mostly convincing nod, but he didn't trust himself to say anything. The idea that anyone could convince themselves that another person was just an animal, someone to dismiss, lord over, control...someone that was nothing more than a rabid, stupid mongrel... He thought about his little sister, and what would happen if someone like Coatl got a hold of her.

"Don't worry so much, Cody," said Coatl with a chuckle. "Things'll soon be under control, and we purebloods will be back in our proper place: at the top."

Cody smiled at Coatl and nodded again, and his uncle clapped him chummily on the shoulder. Changing the subject, the boy asked, "So...er...my mum. She, er..." He glanced around, wondering if this was the sort of question someone of Coatl's pure-bred caliber would be impertinent enough to ask. "How plainly can I speak?"

Coatl laughed in a companionable sort of way, seeming to enjoy Cody's questions. "As plainly as you like, boy. Just keep down your voice."

"My mum was...you know what she was, right?" He still didn't feel comfortable asking right out about her Death Eater status.

Coatl looked down at Cody, his expression serious now. "I do. She served the Dark Lord until her death."

Cody nodded a little nervously. "Yeah, that's what I mean. A Death Eater. Are you one?"

Again the laugh, the laugh that told Cody his uncle did truly enjoy answering his nephew's questions, and maybe didn't even realize how awful the things were he was saying! "No, Cody. I did not have the pleasure of joining the Dark Lord's elite. I very much support his cause, and of course my aunt and uncle...your great aunt and uncle...did join. Aunt Alecto and Uncle Amycus, and of course your mother." He gave Cody a very curious look. "Thinking about joining?"

A shudder went through Cody that he couldn't quite hide at the idea. Join Voldemort? Have that foul Dark Mark burned into his arm? Simper at his feet, like Malfoy did? "Just wondered about it," Cody muttered, shivering a little still. Deciding to speak truthfully, he added, "The idea scares the heck out of me, though."

"It should," said Coatl quietly.

"Does--" Cody only just stopped himself using Voldemort's name, "—does the Dark Lord let kids in usually?"

"No," said Coatl. "The youngest age has been sixteen, I think. Regulus Black was sixteen, I believe, and there might be one or two others who are around that age. How old are you?"

"Twelve. But in seventh year."

His uncle looked down at Cody again, a sly smile spreading over his face. "It's true...you will be in seventh year this year. The knowledge and skill of an adult. Perhaps I might be able to arrange a meeting with the Dark Lord...he may be interested in you after all."

"No!" A surge of panic went through Cody's chest and he stopped dead, staring at Coatl in disbelief, but the man was laughing again.

"Calm down, kid," he said, still chortling, putting a hand on his shoulder as he began to walk again. "I'm only joking. I have never met the Dark Lord, and I believe that a person can be referred only by one already among his followers."

With a relieved, shaky laugh, Cody followed his uncle once more, feeling irritated at his teasing, but far too relieved to be too angry about it.

After a few moments' silence, Cody looked up, glancing around to look for Lupin, pretending he was simply looking at the stores. He finally spotted the cloaked figure near the cafe Cody and Lupin had dined in when Cody got his school supplies, and a slight nod from the figure confirmed it. Cody grinned, and looked back around, spying the sign that pointed to Knockturn Alley.

"Can we go there?" he asked, pointing.

Coalt looked up, and again the amused smile surfaced. "Knockturn Alley, is it?"

"Yeah. I've never been in."

"Curious lad, aren't you?" Coatl thought for a moment, then shrugged in an agreeable sort of way. "I don't see why not," he said finally. "Not exactly a place for children, but you're no ordinary child." He smiled proudly at Cody, who felt very strange, seeing the expression. He kept having to remind himself that this was his uncle, his real, blood uncle. He was the man who had sent Cody his vault key, giving him access to the wizarding money his mother and father left for him. A man who had kept an eye on Cody "here and there", fortunately not realizing Cody's own allegiance. It was a fortunate thing indeed that Coatl was out of touch with the rest of the family.

Further ruminations were cleared from Cody's mind as Coatl led him through the archway that led into Knockturn Alley, and he began looking around at the shops that crowded the tiny, dingy street. Even now, Diagon Alley was bright and open compared to this dismal walkway, shadowed by dark buildings on each side, and more crowded than Diagon Alley had been. People in dark cloaks milled about, people whose expressions were suspicious and guarded, brooding, even outright cruel in their appearance.

"It's creepy in here," Cody muttered as he took a step closer to Coatl. It was pure instinct, and the irony of seeking protection from a follower of Voldemort made Cody want to laugh. If he hadn't seen Lupin slip into the alleyway behind him, Cody would probably have asked to leave.

"It is, aye," he said, his freckled cheeks rising in a smile. "But fascinating. And very useful for certain things."

Certain things. Yeah, Cody could imagine what those "certain things" were! He looked to the left, seeing a tray full of flat-ish items that he thought might be whole fingernails, and wondered what in the blazes anyone would want with human fingernails. Then he wondered how one would _get_ human fingernails to begin with, and he shivered again.

It was just as Lupin had said. The shop with the fingernails had other items in its window, bigger items that Cody didn't stop to look at properly. There was a shop with shrunken heads, and one with all kinds of jewelry, each with a placard describing its properties. Most things were cursed, some were simply possessions of well-known pure-bloods, and some had capabilities. He did have to admit that some of it was cool in a very morbid sort of way.

After a few minutes of looking, Cody asked something that he had wondered about since the beginning, something that no one seemed to have an answer for. Not even Tony Barado, who'd told Cody about his birth family. He felt a sudden pang when he thought about Tony and Florida. Taking a big breath, he asked, "Coatl...when I went to Hogwarts I was only very young. I'm five years younger than all my classmates. Do you know..."

He tailed off, but Cody didn't seem to have to finish, judging by the sly, smug look that spread across Coatl's face once more. "Wondered when you'd ask," he said.

He knew! Excited that he was going to get an answer, Cody said, "Was it you, then?"

Looking extremely pleased with himself, Coatl said, "Do you know how Hogwarts knows about Mudbloods?" Cody shook his head. "There is an extremely powerful magical artifact at Hogwarts. A quill, that senses the birth of every witch or wizard in Great Britain. It inscribes the name of these wizarding children in a book."

Cody blinked in astonishment; he never knew _that! _So that's how they knew about new wizards! "So my name was in there? But I was born in America!"

"Yes, but you were still a British citizen. Well, a dual citizen, actually. I suppose that's why your name was there. At any rate, it's kept in a locked cupboard in the Headmaster's office, and using certain...sneaky methods, I managed to creep up there and use a Confundus Charm on it. It's one of my best spells, you know. Made it think you were older than you were."

Feeling rather like a hippogriff had just stampeded him, Cody just started at the man in astonished disbelief. "But...why?" It was not so much that Coatl was _able_ to do this feat...he had seen other mad stunts pulled off in his time at Hogwarts...but why would this man risk so much trouble to ensure that a nephew who didn't even know him got into Hogwarts so early?

"You're a Carrow, boy. You're special. I needed a way to show that. It's very rare to get into Hogwarts so young, and usually one has to be an extraordinarily powerful witch or wizard. But power levels aren't everything. Your youth sets you apart from the others."

That purity thing again...that "better than the commoners" mentality! Cody was only now beginning to realize just how deeply it ran. "I...see. Well...thanks." It was all he could think of to say. He _was_ rather grateful, rather liking being younger than everyone else, but the reason still had him feeling awkward about it.

He was spared the necessity of saying more when a largish man stepped in front of the two of them. Cody, alarmed, stepped back, looking around for Lupin and putting his hand in his robe pocket, where his wand was. (The robes had no belt loops to clip it on.) But Coatl seemed to know the man, for they greeted each other with a handshake.

"I've not seen you for...what, five years? Six?" said the big man.

"I've not been around much," said Coatl. "But I think I'm back for the interim."

"Good to hear, Carrow. Some of the family's been asking after you. Thought maybe you'd run into some trouble."

"Oh, no, no trouble. Just business." Cody drew cautiously closer, not taking his hand from his pocket, and peering at the man. He looked vaguely, disturbingly familiar, but he couldn't place him.

"I'm sure your cousin'll be happy enough. You were always one of his favorites."

"Oh, Dustin?" asked Coatl, and Cody looked at him so fast his neck cricked. "It's been quite a while, hasn't it? He was in school when last we spoke. He's a good one, Dustin is."

He couldn't be talking about Dustin _Tiller_...that was impossible. But Cody hadn't the opportunity to ask.

"And who's this?" asked the man, bending down to peer at Cody, who backed away a step nervously.

"Oh! This is Cody Gregor. He was Mallory Gregor's son, but I've only just met him this summer. Cody, this is Thorfinn Rowle." The name meant nothing to Cody, but he had a bad feeling. "He is one of your mother's compatriots."

Cody felt cold as the large man bent to extend a hand to Cody, smiling in a patronizing sort of way. This man was a Death Eater, and Cody suddenly felt very exposed. He wanted out of there, and soon. He thought he even remembered where he'd seen the man: at Hogwarts, during the battle. The blond-headed Death Eater who'd fired spells in every direction, hitting one of his own men, the one McGonagall had been dueling. Managing a smile, Cody shook the big man's hand.

"Nice to meet you, boy," said Rowle, narrowing his blue eyes as he peered at Cody and let go of his hand. "You look familiar, kid. Have we met?"

"N-no," said Cody, trying to grin, and failing miserably. "I don't think so." He caught movement from the corner of his eyes and saw Lupin's cloaked figure, getting close. It made Cody feel a lot better.

But Rowle did not avert his gaze, and a sudden gleam of recognition blazed in his eyes. "Coatl, don't you know who this kid is? He fought on Dumbledore's side!"

Things happened fast, then. Moving more quickly than Cody expected, Rowle drew his wand, aiming it at Cody. Cody ducked behind a display of shrunken heads, yanking his own wand from its pocket. Merlin flapped his wings and darted into Cody's robes. Coatl hollered something in a shocked tone, and struck Rowle's arm, so that the curse he hurled at Cody missed him.

"What the _hell_ are you doing, Rowle? That's my nephew, you idiot!"

But Cody didn't have the chance to say anything more. He yelled in alarm as someone grabbed him roughly from behind, and he felt the sudden suffocation of Apparition.


	82. Y7, C4: Airborn Ambush

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 4: Airborn Ambush**

Cody landed on the wood floor, falling to the ground and squirming violently out of the grasp of his captor. He raised his wand and very nearly Stunned the figure in front of him before realizing he wasn't being attacked. It was Lupin who stood there, white-faced and breathing just as hard as Cody was with alarm. Cody closed his eyes, relief making him shaky, and let himself flop down onto the floor.

Looking worried, Samantha, who was standing about five feet away, ran over and knelt down, asking if he was okay.

"Yeah," said Cody, panting. "I'm okay. I just think I left my heart in Knockturn Alley, on the ground, is all."

"What happened?"

Lupin answered for him. "An encounter with an old family friend, apparently. Cody, I think it might be wise to stay away from your uncle from now on."

Feeling that Lupin had simply stated the painfully obvious, Cody only nodded. Then he laughed, startling Remus, Samantha, and Tonks who had just come in from the kitchen. Cody couldn't complain that his summer was boring, that was for sure! "Thanks," he said to Remus. "I owe you."

As a very ruffled and annoyed Merlin crept out of Cody's robes and flew up to hang from the corner lamp, Cody sat up, letting Lupin explain what had happened. Cody just concentrated on calming down. Rowle...that was the big bloke's name. And he recognized Cody. Did that mean that they did have a look out for him, that Cody was a confirmed enemy? Would the have been so open had Cody not been so foolish to roam around Knockturn Alley?

"Probably not," Cody muttered, standing shakily up.

Leaving Samantha listening avidly to Lupin's story, Cody slipped into the bedroom he shared with her. He had rather a lot to think of as he calmed down from the altercation, the least of which being that his uncle had stopped Rowle from cursing Cody. A Stunning spell, as the color was red, not green, but still.

"My life is complicated," he said to his pillow. He took a big breath, letting it out slowly, and closing his eyes as he lay his cheek on the cool pillow cover.

---

He hadn't meant to fall asleep, but the next thing he knew, he was being shaken rather enthusiastically by Samantha. For some reason, she enjoyed the duty of being a human alarm clock, and Cody was entirely grumpy as he opened one eye to see her grinning face. "Go away."

Samantha giggled and jumped on top of Cody, her knee driving into his thigh, and began shaking him all the more vigorously, grabbing hold of his robes and nearly throwing him out of bed. Cody growled, irritation obscuring all other emotion, and Samantha screamed in gleeful alarm and leapt off the bed, running out of the room.

Thoroughly irritated, throwing off the covers, Cody chased her, catching her in the living room in front of a very startled Tonks, and tackling her to the floor. He pinned his sister down, sitting on her back, and holding her arms.

"HEY! Get off me you dork!" Samantha shrieked.

As Lupin came out of the kitchen to watch the spectacle, Cody scowled at the squirming creature beneath him, and felt a surge of amusement and a surge of irritation at the same time. "No way," he said. "Not 'til you say sorry for jumping on me and waking me up!"

"No way!" said Samantha.

"Say it!"

"No!"

Cody snorted. "Fine then. Guess I have a nice, soft chair to eat my dinner on."

When Samantha renewed her struggles, Cody did his very best to act as if holding her down was no effort at all (though it was), and finally Samantha managed to get face up, her hair a mess and in her face, which was red from exertion. "Okay, okay!" she hollered, obviously annoyed about losing the little tussle. "I'm sorry!"

But Cody did not let her up. "And say I'm the most awesome brother in the world."

"Ha! No way!" Cody began tickling her (still pinning her so she couldn't move much), and the tussle started all over again. Finally, Samantha capitulated, shouting that Cody was the most awesome brother in the world, though it was clear she thought otherwise at the moment.

Mollified, Cody let her up and watched her march with her nose in the air into the kitchen. Tonks giggled and Lupin sighed. "If the battle is over," he said mildly, "dinner's ready."

Cody was famished, and he found that as he ate, he felt ten times better. The atmosphere in the kitchen even cheerful, and Cody wondered how he could feel that way mere hours after being attacked in Knockturn Alley. 'Maybe I'm getting used to it,' he thought, and had to stifle a laugh.

After that, Cody heard nothing from Coatl, and wondered what the man must think. Was he disgusted, learning that Cody was an enemy? A Mudblood lover? Was he upset that Rowle had attacked Cody, his own nephew? He supposed he'd never find out.

But he still wondered.

---

Cody stayed in the apartment for the next few days, feeling a little safer if he didn't go outside in the open. But since his uncle had not contacted him, and Lupin couldn't find out any more information, Cody concluded that he wasn't in any more danger than he had been all along.

It wasn't until the near end of July that life got interesting again. Lupin said that they were going to be moving Harry from his place at the Dursley's, and that there was going to be a lot of danger involved. Cody wasn't sure why that should be a huge problem, until Lupin explained that Harry had protection at the Dursley's, powerful protection. But that protection ceased when Harry turned seventeen, and was legally considered an adult in the wizarding world. It would also be null and void if Harry no longer called the house of his family "home".

"They're getting his family out of there and under the protection of the Order," said Lupin, sitting next to Cody on the couch, and looking more tired than ever. "And the Ministry...the Ministry's been infiltrated by Voldemort." Cody gasped. "We're sure of it. How badly, we don't know. But they've made it a punishable crime to portkey, Floo, or Apparate to or from Harry's house, under the pretense of protecting him, but what it's really done is make it impossible for him to be moved safely."

Cody didn't get all of the details but he understood enough. Voldemort was controlling people at the Ministry, and that made things very difficult. "What's gonna happen, then?"

"Well, the original plan was to have Mad-Eye just go on in and Apparate him out. But since we can't Apparate, and it can be traced, we're sending in half the Order to help out. Hermione, Ron, the Weasley twins, Fleur...well we're using Polyjuice Potion to make several decoys of Harry, just in case Harry's neighborhood is being watched."

Cody frowned, confused, but he supposed that he'd get the idea when the time came. "Okay," he finally said. "You're going by broom?"

"Broom, thestral, and Hagrid's bringing his motorbike."

Cody looked at Lupin from the corner of his eyes. "So what do I have to do for you to let me go along?" he asked.

Lupin laughed. "Now how did I know you were gonna ask that question?"

"Because you know me really well."

"Yes...yes I do." Lupin looked at him a few more minutes, before finally nodding. "Yes...you can go. I've thought about whether or not to let you...but I've watched you do an awful lot of things I'm proud of. I think you can handle it."

He smiled rather proudly, and Cody felt an incredible, warm glow in his chest. Grinning, he got up and hugged Lupin, who returned the gesture. "Thanks, Remus," said Cody quietly.

"Now you're going to need to know the plan very well, Cody. You won't be able to bring your wand...underage magic can be detected, and even if something happens, we don't need to risk anyone being able to trace us."

"Okay, I'll bring my Beater's bat, then."

Lupin raised an eyebrow. "And just how did you get a Beater's bat?"

Cody turned pink, then grinned sheepishly. "I nicked it from the Slytherin locker room when Urquhart kicked me out."

Lupin sighed, shook his head, and seemed to decide it was better not to pursue the subject. "All right, that's a good idea, I know you can use that just fine. Now, I won't let you be a decoy. I'm not willing to put you in that much danger. So you'll be riding alongside me on your broom. Anyone who might be watching isn't going to go after you, he'll be going after me, so if trouble happens, you'll need to know where the safehouses are. I'm going to give you a map. You learn the location of at least two of them, and how to get there from Harry's place, and you can come."

Cody laughed. "It's a deal! Bring on the map!"

And so for the next two days, Cody did very little except for stare at a map of the area that Lupin had given him, which had an outlined route of how to get to any of some half a dozen safe houses, most of them the homes of the various Order members. Cody chose the closest ones and memorized the routes, and when the day came, he recited how to get there from Privet Drive, and Lupin smiled proudly. He still intended to take the map, but he hoped it wouldn't be necessary.

"A deal's a deal, Cody," he said. "Get ready, then, we're going tonight. Dress warmly; we're flying, and it's gonna be cold up there."

"Okay." Cody decided that he was going to wear a warm pair of pants beneath the thick robe he'd taken for his own from Grimmauld Place, and his winter cloak over that. Taking a deep, nervous breath, clutching the Nimbus 1700 that Marcus Flint had given him, Cody said that he was ready. Samantha was already at the Burrow, which was where they would be staying that night.

"All right," said Lupin. He and Tonks also had their broomsticks, and looked a lot calmer than Cody felt. "Let's head out, then." He used a Disilusioning Charm on the both of them and they were on their way.

The trip was not terribly long, but Remus had been right: it was bloody cold up in the air. He was very glad when at last they landed on a carpet of lush grass, in a backyard surrounded by a fence and filled with immaculate flowerbeds. Cody curled his lip in disgust. "Yuppyland," he muttered.

"Cody?" said Lupin's voice.

"Yeah, I'm here--"

An earsplitting sound like a jet engine erupted right next to Cody, making him shriek and dive into a bee-covered flower bush, his heart pounding furiously enough to hurt. The dark yard was suddenly full of voices and footsteps, and Cody laughed in nervous relief when he realized that this must be the rest of the people coming along for the ride! But what on earth was the roar?

When people began to Disillusion, Cody saw: it was a motorcycle, and Hagrid was sitting on it. "Wow," Cody whispered, creeping out from the flowers and waving away the agitated bees. That figured! Hagrid couldn't very well ride a tiny broom!

The back door of the house flew open, and Harry Potter burst outside, looking as alarmed as Cody had been, and there was a lot of confusion as everyone greeted him. Cody grinned and waved hello, and Hermione and Ron rushed over to hug Harry and clap him on the back, respectively.

"Hi, Professor!" called Cody, waving to the grizzled form of Moody. "Er, Mad-Eye, I mean."

Mad-Eye smirked (which only made him look scarier), and walked over to mess up Cody's hair. " Figured I'd see you here, DeDannan," he said. "Be prepared for Molly to tell you off for going on this "dangerous" mission."

Cody laughed...that was the truth, all right! "Okay." He ran over to hug Hagrid, who returned the gesture, and miraculously left Cody's ribs intact.

Harry looked extremely happy to see them all. "I didn't know so many of you were coming!"

"Change of plan," said Moody, nodding down to two large sacks that were sitting in the grass beside him. "We'll fill you in inside."

There was a great deal of good-natured talking and laughing as Harry led them all inside, to a kitchen that was so clean that even in the dark, it seemed to gleam. Someone turned on a light, and everyone took a seat somewhere or another. Cody climbed up onto a counter and sat near Hagrid and Moody, grinning at everyone.

It was quite a group! Hermione and Ron stood together, and the Weasley twins were smirking as usual. Bill and Arthur Weasley were there, as well as Fleur Delacour, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Hagrid, and Mundungus Fletcher. With Tonks, Lupin, Harry, and Cody figured in, the kitchen was quite crowded.

"Kingsley, I thought you were looking after the Muggle Prime minister," called Harry.

"He can get along without me for one night," said the tall black man. "You're more important."

'Wow,' Cody thought. That was like if someone told Cody he was more important than the president! Though he supposed it was true. Harry _was_ more important that some old government leader. Harry was going to kick Voldemort's butt! And the Prime Minister was not.

"Harry, guess what!' said Tonks, grinning from the dishwasher and waving her hand at Harry.

"You got married?" said Harry in delighted surprise.

"I'm sorry you couldn't be there, Harry, it was very quiet."

"Yeah," said Cody with a sly grin. "But then they went on a honeymoon, and...well _you_ know what people do when they go on those!"

Everyone laughed, and both Tonks and Lupin turned red. Cody was rather glad that he was sitting out of their reach, with Hagrid between him and them.

"All, right, all right!" Moody called loudly. "We'll have time for a cozy catch up later." Everyone fell quiet, and Cody listened as Moody explained to Harry why so many people had come. He explained about the Ministry isolating Harry, and how Harry still had the "Trace" on him.

Cody was still extremely indignant about this fact, and grumbled, "Which doesn't help any!"

Moody looked impatiently over at him, and nodded curtly. Cody didn't take offense at Moody's irritation; the man didn't like being interrupted, and if he wasn't always impatient, he wouldn't be Mad-Eye. As Moody went on to explain how the Ministry had been infiltrated, Cody scowled. So, not only could the Ministry track him and Harry, the bad guys probably could, too!

"The one thing we have on our side," said Moody, "is that You-know-Who doesn't know we're moving you tonight. We've leaked a fake trail to the Ministry: they think you're not being moved until the thirtieth."

Which explained, Cody thought, why Lupin was so easily persuaded into letting Cody come. There didn't seem to be much danger, at least not for someone who wasn't Harry. Moody explained the rest of the plan, how they had the different safe houses prepared as if for Harry's arrival, and that Harry was going to go to Tonks' parent's house.

But Harry didn't seem to like the whole idea. "Won't they realize where we're going when we all head off towards Tonks's parents' house?"

"I forgot to mention the key point," said Moody, smirking a little as he withdrew a flask from his pocket. "We're not all going to Tonks's parents' house. There will be seven Harry Potters moving through the skies tonight, each heading for a different destination. He shook the vial, which was full of what Cody realized was Polyjuice Potion.

"Yuck," said Cody.

Harry gaped. "No! No way!"

"I told them you'd take it like this," said Hermione smugly.

"If you think I'm going to let six people risk their lives--!"

"Because it's the first time for all of us," said Ron sarcastically.

"This is different!' said Harry angrily. "Pretending to be me!" Harry did not like people risking their lives for him, Cody knew, and he didn't blame him. Cody would never be able to live with himself if someone died to save him! Cody was too protective.

"Well none of us really fancy it, Harry," said Fred. "Imagine if something went wrong, and we were stuck as specky, scrawny gits forever."

Cody quickly stifled a snicker, but Harry was not amused. Still, Cody kept his hand firmly over his mouth through the rest of Harry's protests, just in case. When it got to the point where Moody said they'd take the needed hair from Harry by force if they needed to, Harry finally agreed...but he was not too happy about it.

"You're so charming," said Cody dryly to Moody as he took the hair.

"This isn't the time for charming," said Moody mildly as he dropped the hair into his vat of Polyjuice Potion. The mud-like substance bubbled and foamed, and finally turned bright gold.

"Ooh," said Hermione, "you look much tastier than Crabbe and Goyle." Cody sputtered laughter again as Hermione's face turned red. "Oh, you know what I mean! Goyle's potion looked like bogies." But Cody could not stop giggling as everyone was given a small portion of the potion.

Mundungus Fletcher was volunteered to be a decoy, though the cowardly wretch had to be nearly forced to do it by Moody. Moody also said rather chillingly that it was the protectors, not the decoys, that would be most at risk; Voldemort wanted Harry alive, but would kill the members of the Order. Cody looked quickly at Lupin, only then realizing just how dangerous this could be for _him. _Cody swallowed hard and prayed to whatever powers there were that Lupin wouldn't die.

It was extremely interesting, but very disturbing to watch the Polyjuice work its effects. Everyone who took it began to bubble on the surface, their skin crawling, and melting. It was a little like when Remus transformed into a wolf, but a lot more disgusting. "I have _got_ to try that stuff sometime," said Cody, feeling his lip curl on its own, as finally seven Harrys stood in the kitchen. It was like some bizarre magician's illusion.

The Harrys that had stood where Fred and George were, looked at each other in amazement. "Wow, we're identical!" they said together.

"I dunno, though, I think I'm still better-looking," said one of them.

"Bah," said a Harry with a French accent. He...she...was examining her new reflection in the microwave door. "Bill, don't look at me, I'm 'ideous!" Cody laughed at the look on Harry's face.

Moody produced clothes that would fit the new Harrys, who all began stripping to their underwear so that they could put on the new clothes. "I knew Ginny was lying about that tattoo," said Ron as everyone began dressing in new clothes.

"Harry, your eyesight is really awful," said Hermione.

Cody could not stop giggling, and Harry was glaring daggers at him, but that only made it all a lot funnier.

Once everyone was settled, Moody began assigning partners...which Harry would be going with which protector. Cody began twirling the Beater's bat he'd brought, swinging his legs against the cupboard door beneath his feet.

"Yer with me Harry, that all righ'?" asked Hagrid. "We'll be on the bike, brooms and thestrals can't take me weight, see." Thestrals? There were thestrals here? Cody knew they would still be invisible to him, so it was weird knowing they were right outside. He had never seen someone die, after all. The two times he had seen someone die, he'd not actually witnessed the death itself.

And he hoped that he never did.

"All right, then," Moody said finally, heading out towards the back yard. "I make it three minutes until we're supposed to leave. No point locking the back door, it won't keep the Death Eaters out when they come looking. Come on."

Everyone grabbed their belongings, Moody grabbed the sacks he'd put everyone's clothing in, and Cody jumped down off the counter. Everyone began mounting brooms, bikes, and so far as Cody was concerned, thin air. "Weird," Cody muttered.

Moody looked down at him and grinned. "That's rich, coming from you."

Cody snorted. "You too."

Moody shook his head. "You're a good kid, DeDannan. Be careful up there. I don't expect much trouble, but just in case..."

Cody knew it was coming. "...constant vigilance!" he exclaimed in unison with Moody.

Several people laughed, and Moody sighed. "Mount up, kid." Grinning, Cody ran over to where Lupin and one of the twins sat on Lupin's broom, and mounted the Nimbus 1700.

"All right, then," said Moody. "Everyone ready, please. I want us all to leave at exactly the same time, or the whole point of the diversion's lost. Good luck, everyone! See you all in about an hour at the Burrow. On the count of three. One...two...three!"

Cody kicked off of the ground, into the sky; Hagrid's motorbike roared to life and took off like a jet airplane, and everyone else rose from the ground in unison. As they zoomed up, Cody laughed, feeling for a moment as if he were in a Quidditch game, holding his bat and watching everyone else flying around him.

But that illusion didn't last long. It happened all at once; there were suddenly three times as many people in the air as there had been a moment ago; a vast circle of hooded figures surrounded the whole lot of them, wands drawn.


	83. Y7, C5: Privet Drive

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 5: Privet Drive**

Cody yelled in alarm, someone else screamed, and suddenly the air above Privet Drive was a confusion of smoke, cries, and flashes of light.

The boy dove, as a flash of purple light nearly hit him in the chest, and he remembered the Sectumsempra Curse quite well! He looked up to see Lupin and the Weasley twin flying away from two dark figures who were pursuing them, shooting off hexes of all colors. Those heading for Lupin were green, those for the twin, any other color. 'Because they think it could be Harry,' Cody thought dazedly.

A flash of black cloth from beside him and the bright flash of a Stunner brought Cody back to his senses. He screamed, throwing himself sideways on his broom so he rolled over in midair, as the figure shot past him. Cody yanked up on the broom handle, zooming back up into the melee, hoping to take cover in the confusion of bodies and spells.

How could this happen? They said only a few Death Eaters might be watching, how'd they all get here so fast? Were they already here? Did they know, somehow?

A scream of pain caught Cody's attention; he looked over at Lupin, who was fleeing a man whose hood had slipped, and Cody felt a surge of fury at the sight: Snape! Snape was chasing them, and the twin had been hurt; he was clutching the side of his head, gripping Lupin's robes with one hand.

"HEY!" shrieked Cody, flying after them. "Leave him alone!"

"Cody, no!" cried Lupin, shooting a Stunner at Snape, but Snape dodged both Cody's furious swing with the bat, and Lupin's attack.

A sudden hand on Cody's arm made him spin around on his broom, his heart leaping in fear. "LEGGO!" he cried, as the man jerked him backwards, nearly unseating him from his broom. He caught a confused glimpse of Lupin's dead-white face, grabbing the twin as he nearly slid off the broom, looking helplessly at Cody's fight.

Realizing with a cold chill Lupin couldn't help him without letting the twin drop, Cody fought as viciously as he could; he grabbed the Beater's bat in the other hand, swinging it with all his might at the man's side. He snarled in pain, but did not let go. A hard blow to the side of Cody's face from the man's fist nearly stunned him, and Cody lunged forward, latching onto the man's hand with his teeth and biting as hard as he could.

"Arrrgh!" A strangled sort of sound came from the man and he yanked his hand away, and Cody jerked away from the man, breaking his grip. Cody fumbled to grab his broom, dropping the bat, and lurched away from him and from Snape, who had lost Lupin and the twin and was coming over to help.

"It's not him!" snarled Snape. "Potter doesn't bite like a rabid dog!"

Cody was way too terrified to be insulted, only speeding away as quickly as he could, trying to ignore the taste of blood in his mouth. To his horror, the man he'd bitten cried, "Avada Kedavra!"

Cody screamed and threw himself sideways again, rolling over and hanging upside down from his broom, it was a move he used quite often in Quidditch.

After that, he was lost among the fighters, but he'd lost sight of Lupin, and everyone was beginning to disperse. He caught a glimpse of Mad-Eye speeding off into the darkness, and Hagrid had already gone, with Harry in the motorcycle's sidecar. But people were being chased, they were outnumbered, and with two on each broom, that only made it worse!

Cody veered off away from the fighters; he hated it, but he had no wand, and now had lost his bat, and he couldn't possibly help anyone. He pulled up on the broom handle, heading into a large cloudbank, a little startled to find it looked just like fog...dark, wet, freezing fog. The sounds of the battle below were muffled, and everyone was lost from view.

Cody was shaking so much he could barely hold onto his broom, and as he began to calm down a little, his worry about what had happened to the others was able to crowd back into his mind. Had anyone died? Was Lupin okay? Mad-Eye? Harry?

Someone flew past him mere feet from his side, but through the cloud, Cody couldn't tell if it was friend or foe, and he did not dare call out. Swallowing hard, he flew through the fog, hoping there were no airplanes up here, or helicopters.

He flew for what seemed like hours, until the sounds of the battle were no longer audible. Had he been a coward to flee? No, he decided. Everyone was fleeing, and in all directions. They were in no shape to fight so many people. Still, Cody was alone, which he didn't much like.

He debated whether or not to dip down below the clouds to see what was going on, and found that when he did, all traces of the battle were gone. Everyone must have scattered, and there was nothing but darkness. Cody felt very scared; the layout below looked alien in the dark, all lights and dark lines. With the sun already down, Cody couldn't make out any of the features below, how could he tell one street from the other?

Shivering, Cody took his hands off his broom and took out the map he's stowed in his jeans pocket. His hands numb, he fumbled to open it, gazing down at the routes he'd traced with pens. He looked down, and it was an unintelligible mass of lights and lines. Zooming toward the ground so that he could read the street signs, he just hoped that in the dark, no one would see him.

Fortunately, Cody had not flown too far; he must have flown in circles a few times, because he was finally able to discern that he was only a few blocks away from Privet Drive, and he knew how to get to the closest safe house. He wasn't sure if it was the one Remus was going to go to, but he didn't much care. He just wanted to get there safely.

The place he was headed for was Ron's Auntie Muriel's. He flew mere yards above the streets, squinting up his eyes to read the street signs, heading out of the main part of the town to a huge house on the edge, with a yard big enough to be a park, it seemed. Not a mansion, or anything, but this Muriel certainly didn't want for money.

Cody wasn't sure what to do once he got close enough to land. He didn't think it was a good idea to just land in the yard, and so he touched down just outside what seemed to be the yard's boundaries. He was still shaking from the attack, and cold as well, his feet and hands numb, his cheeks nerveless except a sharp tingling. His head vaguely ached, but he ignored it.

Clutching his broomstick, Cody walked slowly onto the lawn, cringing as he expected some vicious security measure to crash down on him, but when nothing of the sort happened, he stepped forward again.

"Hello?" he called, but no one answered. He thought he saw a couple of lights on in the house, but around the side, so that he couldn't be sure.

It was incredibly creepy, and though Cody was enjoying it in some part of his spirit, he was also greatly unnerved. It was pitch dark, the people who'd attacked them could be anywhere, and he was approaching this big, creepy house, with only a broomstick to protect himself with. He imagined himself trying to fend off a Death Eater by beating him with the broomstick, and let out a nervous giggle.

He called out once more. "Hello!"

Sudden, blazing wandlight made him stop dead in his tracks. The wands were back by the house, not too awfully close, but Cody had no cover whatsoever if they decided to curse him! He squinted, trying to identify the wielders, but the wandlight was directed right at his face.

"Identify yourself!' demanded a familiar, female voice.

Cody nearly fainted with relief. It was Tonks! "I-it's me!" he called as he took a step forward. "Cody DeDannan!"

"Stay where you are!" called another voice sharply. Ron. He didn't sound like Harry anymore, so it must have been at least an hour since they'd all left. "What was it you told us about Tonks and Remus that made us all laugh back at Privet Drive?"

"Ron!" said Tonks in exasperation, sighing.

Cody blinked, nonplussed at first at the question, before realizing that Ron was determining if he really was Cody. He didn't blame them! Having gotten separated, coming in alone...he could be anyone! "That they went on their honeymoon, and--" He broke off, blushing suddenly. "That they did...you know, what...what people _do_ on honeymoons!" Ron didn't expect him to _say_ it, did he?

He obviously expected no such thing. "That's him," said Ron, sounding relieved and amused. "No one else can blush like that. Come on, Cody, let's get inside...quickly."

Letting out a breath he hadn't known he was holding, his face still burning red against the cold of the night, Cody grasped his broom and ran towards the house. On seeing Ron, he ran forward and hugged him, realizing for the first time how scared he'd been.

"It's all right, mate. I...I think we all got away. Come on, we'll pour you a cup of tea, then we have to get out of here. We missed our portkey, and Auntie Muriel's been fussing. Well, she'll probably fuss over you, too. Come on."

Letting Ron-Harry guide him into the house, he squinted his eyes against the sudden blaze of light from the lamps on the wall. It was a nice house, he supposed. It looked like an old lady lived there, though. It didn't look like Umbridge's office, or anything (thank goodness) but there was an old-fashioned look about the decor that spoke of a woman, not a man, that had seen a few decades of life.

When Ron led Cody into the kitchen, he caught his first glimpse of Auntie Muriel; she was tall, scrawny, and had a nose to rival Snape's. (Though hers wasn't crooked.) "Oh!" she exclaimed in surprise. "Why you, you can't be more than ten! What were they _thinking_, letting you go on this dangerous—sit down, lad, sit!" With a lot more force than her thin, frail-looking frame implied, the woman pushed Cody down into a chair, and grabbed up the teapot that sat on the table.

"Er, I'm twelve," said Cody, a little taken aback by the woman.

Ron rolled his eyes, but Tonks only winked, then looked to Muriel. "We can't stay long. Just one cup of tea, then we've got to get back." Pouring Cody's drink, Auntie Muriel seemed about to protest, when Tonks added, "Lupin...that's his guardian...he'll be out of his mind with worry. We can't keep him here long."

Muriel looked like she wanted to protest further, but she obviously saw the reasoning, because she only pursed her lips and set the cup down. "Well, drink up, boy. It'll warm you."

"Thanks, ma'am," said Cody timidly, and took the cup.

The tea was good, he had to admit. He thought she had put quite a lot of sugar in it, because it was quite sweet. "What happened?" he asked after a few sips. The tea was warm, not hot, and driving back the cold nicely.

"Let's save that until we get back, eh, Cody?" said Tonks distractedly. "I hope Remus is all right."

"Me too," said Cody quietly. Having Tonks express her fear made Cody's own fear freeze his insides. He drank the rest of his tea as quickly as he could, setting down the cup and standing. Auntie Muriel frowned, obviously not wanting them to leave, but Tonks spoke before she could.

"We _have_ to get back," she said. "We'll send word, as soon as we know what's happened."

"Oh...all right," said Muriel, nodding curtly. "But be careful!"

"All right," said Tonks. "The protective enchantments around here and the Burrow should mask my magic. Let's go outside, we'll get on our brooms."

"What do you mean mask your magic?" asked Cody as he hurried back outside after Tonks and Ron.

"Well, you're underage, Cody. You've still got the Trace on you, so any magic _around_ you can be found, also. But as I say, the protective enchantments should hide it, it's how we were going to move Harry, after all. All right, you two. Hold on tightly."

Cody mounted his broom, holding on to it with one hand, and to Tonks's arm with the other. And as Tonks counted to three, Cody braced himself.

Tonks's Apparition was not nearly as smooth as Lupin's had been. The three of them appeared, still on broomstick, a few yards above the ground, speeding in a dive. Cody yelled in alarm, letting go of Tonks and grabbing the broom in both hands to avoid crashing. He only half succeeded, and landed on the ground, rolling almost at Lupin's feet.

"Cody!" exclaimed Lupin, dragging Cody roughly to his feet and hugging him. Cody got a brief glimpse of several people in the yard as he fiercely hugged Remus back. "You Apparated, but—who--"

"Remus!" called Tonks, running over, and Lupin looked up, his face dead white, as she came over as well, to hug him. As she did, a small voice cried Cody's own name, and Samantha came running at him, sobbing. Cody bent and hugged her, while Tonks told the others how Ron had Stunned one of the Death Eaters who'd been chasing them.

Cody tuned them out for a few minutes, drawing Samantha a little away from the others, still hugging her and trying to calm her down. "No, it's okay," he kept saying, over and over. "It's all right, I'm not hurt."

Sniffling, tears streaming from her eyes, Samantha looked up at Cody's face, as if wanting to confirm this was true. "Y-your eye's all puffy."

It was? Cody blinked, putting a hand to his face, and wincing. Oh yeah. That jerk who'd grabbed him had hit him in the face! "Oh, that's okay. Some git decked me, but that can be fixed. That's no problem. You okay?"

"Y-yeah. They're...they're still waiting for people."

Cody bit his lip. Not everyone had come back? People were even later than he and Tonks and Ron were? He didn't like the sound of it. "Come on, shrimp. Let's go back and see what's going on."

It was a mark of how serious the situation was that Samantha didn't protest being called a shrimp. The two of them got back in time to hear what had happened to the others who'd gotten away from the fight. Harry and Hagrid had been chased in the motorcycle, and Voldemort _himself_ had come after them! Flying, without any broom or anything! Kingsley and Hermione had been attacked by five of the Death Eaters, and they'd seen Voldemort, also. George was all right, Lupin said, though he'd been injured (and as always, was joking about it), and Arthur and Fred had made it back fine as well.

"Mad-Eye?" asked Cody, shaking inside. "Bill?"

"Not yet, Cody," said Lupin, putting a hand on his head. "They've not come back yet."

"I'm going to have to get back to Downing Street," said Kingsley, his deep voice as calm as ever. "I should have been there an hour ago. Let me know when they're back."

Lupin nodded, and Kingsley left.

"Downing Street?" asked Cody.

"It's where the Prime Minister is, Cody," said Lupin. "The Muggle Minister. Kingsley looks after him." As Mrs. Weasley and Ginny came out to greet Ron and talk with Tonks, Lupin looked down at Cody, frowning at the bruise on his cheek and the black eye. "Hold still, Cody, I'll fix that up a bit. What happened?"

As Lupin used his wand to get the swelling down, and take some of the soreness from the side of Cody's face, Cody told him what had happened. How he'd gotten grabbed, and how Snape had said that Cody wasn't "him", that Potter didn't bite when he fought. Samantha giggled a little, the sound shrill and unnatural sounding, but Cody was glad she was at least still able to laugh. He gave her a little squeeze about the shoulders.

Lupin frowned, looking down. "He thought _you_ were Harry?"

"I guess so."

Lupin swore. "Damn. He must have thought perhaps _none_ of the decoys were Harry, and that he'd been disguised as you instead."

"I guess so! When Snape—that jerk!—said I wasn't, the git that grabbed me tried to k--" He stopped short, not wanting to scare his little sister again, and settled for scowling and saying, "He shot green light at me."

Lupin's pale face went yet paler, and he hugged Cody again. "Thank goodness. You dodged? It didn't hit anyone else?"

"Yeah," said Cody. "I rolled over, like I did in Quidditch when Bludgers were going after me."

Lupin laughed. "Well done, Cody. I knew you'd be okay. But how did you hurt your mouth?"

At first Cody wasn't sure what he meant, before rediscovering the coppery, sick taste of blood in his mouth, and he grimaced. "I didn't. It's not my blood. It's from when I bit that guy."

Lupin also grimaced, but he didn't comment further, only kept an arm around Cody. He looked up at Mrs. Weasley, who was still fussing over Ron. "How's George?" he asked.

"What's wrong with him?" said Ron quickly.

"He's lost--" Mrs. Weasley began, but she never got to finish. A dark shape hurtled out of the sky, a shape that looked like two people riding on nothing whatsoever. Cody laughed on realizing who it was: Bill and Fleur!

"Oh, good!" he cried.

Samantha was gazing at the thestral in shock, her eyes wide. "What's that?" she whispered as Mrs. Weasley went over to hug her eldest son.

Cody looked, frowning. "What?"

"That...that horse thing!"

Cody gaped; Samantha could see the thestrals? But before he could say anything more, Bill looked over at Mr. Weasley, whom Cody hadn't even seen come out. But Cody forgot everything when Bill spoke. "Mad-Eye's dead."


	84. Y7, C6: Loss

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 6: Loss**

Cody stood up straight, cold chills racing through every part of his body, goosebumps erupting as he started to shake. _What _had he said?

"We saw it," Bill added. Cody saw that Fleur was weeping silently, and she nodded her head in agreement.

"No," Cody whispered, shaking his head in denial. "No..." Mad-Eye couldn't be dead! Tough old Mad-Eye? How? How could some lousy Death Eater kill Mad-Eye Moody? "He can't, it doesn't make sense!"

"It happened just after we broke out of the circle," said Bill, his voice low and calm. "Mad-Eye and Dung were close by us, they were heading north, too. Voldemort – he can fly – went straight for them. Dung panicked, I heard him cry out, Mad-Eye tried to stop him, but he Disapparated. Voldemort's curse hit Mad-Eye full in the face, he fell backward on his broom, and – there was nothing we could do, nothing, we had half a dozen of them on our own tail--"

Bill couldn't finish; he sounded choked, and he stopped talking. Cody felt his teeth chattering, had forgotten completely about Samantha, about George, even about Lupin. His throat felt tight, and he started to shake. Nothing since Dumbledore's death had shocked Cody so completely.

"Of course you couldn't have done anything," said Lupin quietly. No one said anything for several minutes, before Mr. And Mrs. Weasley headed slowly back into the Burrow. Cody only remembered Lupin was there when he put an arm around Cody and led him and Samantha into the house. Cody followed numbly.

Someone was laughing when they got inside, the twins, but it stopped as soon as the lot of them got inside. "What's wrong?" said Fred, frowning in alarm. "What's happened? Who--"

Mr. Weasley's voice was calm, too, but his face was white. "Mad-Eye. Dead."

The twins stared in disbelief. Tonks stood quietly crying, and Hagrid sat in the corner, also crying, his giant handkerchief in his hands. Bill walked quietly over to the cupboard and pulled out a bottle and fourteen glasses. "Here," he said. A wave of his wand filled the glasses, and zoomed them to the people in the room. Cody caught his, but he was shaking so hard he nearly dropped it.

Bill lifted his glass. "Mad-Eye," he said.

It was then, as everyone else echoed the name, that Cody burst into tears, turning to Lupin and burying his face in Lupin's patched robes. Lupin hugged him, and Cody cried, remembered how Mad-Eye would laugh when Cody told him his eyes was creepy, how he had come to Grimmauld Place the first time Lupin had to turn at the full moon, just to see if he and Samantha were all right.

It was hard to remember, sometimes, how awful things were. Cody liked fighting. He liked fighting when everyone came back safe. Even though he'd been scared out of his wits at the Ministry, he'd enjoyed the battle, he'd liked the excitement, he'd loved fighting for what he thought was right. It wasn't until he'd heard of Sirius Black's death that he'd cried. When they'd fought at Hogwarts, (though he could have done without the Cruciatus Curse), he'd enjoyed his battle, and was proud of how he'd fought. Until Dumbledore...

And now Mad-Eye. And all because Mundungus Fletcher was a cowardly, worthless—Cody couldn't think of a word bad enough, worthless enough to describe him! If he _ever_ met Mundungus again--!

Sniffling, Cody finally stood up, wiping his eyes and his nose on the sleeve of his winter cloak, his sobbing tapered to quiet weeping. He looked into the glass he'd been given, taking a big gulp of it, not knowing even what it was.

He knew a moment later, though. The liquid burned his throat, scorched his tongue. His eyes popped open and he staggered back. Lupin looked at him in alarm for just a moment before realizing what had happened, and Cody was able to take a deep breath. He managed not to cry out, wanting very badly not to destroy the sanctity of the toast to Mad-Eye, but it wasn't easy.

As the others discussed whether Mundungus could have been the one who'd tipped off the Death Eaters that they were leaving that night, or whether one of the Order had slipped up, Cody scowled down at his drink. Firewhiskey. He'd tried a little sip of it once, when he was nine, after the Quidditch World Cup. After the Dark Mark had been shot up into the sky. He hadn't liked it much then, either. He pushed his glass towards Hagrid, who took it willingly and downed the contents.

"C-Cody?"

Cody looked down to see Samantha, tears in her own eyes, looking scared. "Oh, I'm sorry, Samantha," said Cody, taking a deep breath and trying to stop his eyes leaking. "Come on, let's sit down." He led Samantha over to the couch and sat down, letting her cuddle next to him. Cody tried to wipe the firewhiskey off his mouth as he sat.

"Did...did someone die?" asked Samantha in a little voice.

Cody bit his lip hard. "Yes," he whispered. "Mad-Eye. He came to the house once. Wh-when Remus turned into a werewolf the first time. Do you remember him?"

Samantha looked up at her brother, trying hard to recall something that had happened at a time when her entire life had been turned upside down. "He...was he creepy? He had a big eye?"

Swallowing down a lump from his throat, Cody nodded. "Yeah," he said, his voice croaky. He cleared his throat, and nodded. "Yeah. I know he looked scary. But he was good. I liked him. He..." But he couldn't finish, and Samantha seemed to understand.

"I like him too," she said, nodding. Cody looked down at her, touched. He knew she was scared of him, and to say she liked him, based solely on Cody's word...

"Thanks," Cody whispered, and hugged the little girl. He took a big breath and looked around the room as the others spoke, trying to gauge how badly they'd been hurt. No one seemed too badly injured...that was until he gazed at George, and a sick flutter twisted his stomach. George was missing an ear. The _whole_ ear!

"...if someone made a mistake," Harry was saying loudly, and Cody blinked, letting the sound tune back in, "...and let something slip, I know they didn't mean to do it. It's not their fault! We've got to trust each other. I trust all of you, I don't think anyone in this room would ever sell me out to Voldemort."

There was silence for a few moments, before Fred said, "Well said, Harry."

"Yeah," said George, looking sideways at his brother. "'Ear 'ear."

Cody blinked, disbelieving what he'd just heard. George was making _ear_ jokes after he'd been so badly hurt? Cody began to laugh, muffling the sound with his sleeve, and felt an inexpressible love for the twins that they were able to make him laugh. Only the Weasley twins could make such a horrible joke, in the middle of all this, after suffering such a shocking injury. Only them.

Once Cody was able to stop his half-hysterical giggles, he watched Lupin stand, putting his glass on a table. "There's work to do," he said to Bill. "I can ask Kingsley whether--"

"No, I'll do it," said Bill, who seemed to know what Lupin was talking about.

When Tonks and Fleur asked where they were going, Lupin said that they were going after Mad-Eye Moody's body. Cody sat straight up, blinking. His body. How could he forget about something like that! Of course no one would have been able to recover it, not with eighty million Death Eaters chasing them!

"Can't it..." began Mrs. Weasley.

Bill shook his head. "Wait? Not unless you'd rather the Death Eaters took it." Cody's eyes widened at the idea of some scumbag like Bellatrix Lestrange or Peter Pettigrew having Mad-Eye's body!

Cody stood up. "Let me come," he said suddenly, looking intently at Lupin. He saw Mrs. Weasley and a couple of others frowning, as if to protest, but Lupin was his guardian...and it was his decision only. "Please?" Cody added quietly. He had finished crying, and though his face was still wet, he felt calm.

Perhaps this, more than anything, caused Lupin to finally nod. "All right, Cody. Grab your broom."

Cody nodded, looking down at Samantha, and hugging her. "I'll be back, squirt," he said, as she scowled uncertainly. "I'm gonna help look for Mad-Eye...okay? It's...kinda important to me. You can be brave until I get back, right?"

Samantha finally nodded, and Cody hugged her quickly and stood up. He crouched down, grabbing his broom, and followed Lupin out the door. He waved back at the others as he left, watched Samantha sidle over towards Mrs. Weasley, then closed the door behind him.

The cool night air outside seemed to clear Cody's head a bit, and for once he was glad of the chilliness.

"We'll Apparate to Auntie Muriel's," said Bill. "She won't be too surprised we've gone there, and the protections should hide our activity." He paused, then sighed. "I hope. From there I think I can find the place again."

"All right," said Lupin. "Cody, hold on to me, all right?"

Cody nodded mutely, grabbing both Lupin's hand and his broomstick, and bracing himself for the Apparition. He wondered vaguely, as he was sucked through the invisible Apparition straw, if doing this repeatedly could cause permanent damage.

They didn't stay long at the aunt's house. Only long enough for Bill to explain what they were doing, and then they were off, flying through the air, as Bill searched below for the place where he and Fleur had seen Mad-Eye fall. Cody tried very hard not to start crying again as they searched.

"I'm proud of you, Cody," said Lupin quietly as they flew, and Cody looked over at him, smiling tiredly.

"Thanks."

"You're a fine warrior. I know Mad-Eye would be proud of you, too."

Even though it gave him a glow of pleasure in his chest, Cody wished Lupin hadn't said it. His resolve not to cry broke, and silent tears poured down his face again. He sniffled, only managing to nod, and turned back to look at Bill, who was flying in front of them.

"Here," said Bill. "Here. That church was there below us, and Moody was headed south."

"All right," said Lupin. "Let's land, then. Watch out for Muggles, we're not Disillusioned." He looked over at Cody, who simply nodded again, ready to follow the two men below.

Cody had no idea how late it was, but as the three of them descended towards the suburban area, he saw only a few cars on the roads, and no one in the streets. He supposed that the yuppy bedtime was earlier than the weirdoes who wore cloaks and rode broomsticks. He felt that slightly insane urge to giggle again, but this time managed to force it down.

Lupin and Bill touched lightly down, but Cody wasn't as used to riding in the dark, and crashed down a little hard. He hissed as he sprawled on the ground, and was relieved that neither Bill nor Lupin asked if he was all right. They simply looked to make sure he wasn't injured, as Cody got to his feet. Grumbling darkly, Cody joined them.

"All right, let's split up," said Lupin quietly. "Cody and I will look in this direction, Bill, you look in that. Any sign of his broom, his wand, his...body."

Cody gulped, and nodded.

"But don't go too far from me, Remus," added Bill. "Those bastards might still be around."

"Definitely," said Cody in a low voice, feeling a little paranoid. He bit his lip, wondering what he'd do if they did find a body. Or worse...part of a body. Cody had seen dead people before. He had seen his mother, and Dumbledore. But it was a horrible thing to see.

He needn't have worried. Bill, Lupin, and Cody searched the entire area, checking for the smallest sign that Moody had been there, but there was nothing on the ground to find. Bill moved them on to another area, and then in another, in an ever-widening spiral from their starting place, but the only thing they found were some disturbing spots on the grass. Spots that looked a whole lot like blood. The night wore on, the moon climbed higher in the sky, and still they searched.

"We've been looking for five hours," said Bill finally. He looked as tired as Cody felt. "He's not here."

"Damn it," Lupin hissed. " They must have gotten to him first. Either the Death Eaters, or the Ministry. Though...anymore, I'm not sure if there's much difference."

Cody shivered. He was already shaking from the cold and from fatigue, but every time he thought about Voldemort getting his miserable claws into the Ministry of Magic itself, it made him cold inside. It was a terrifying thought.

"Why do _they_ want Mad-Eye?" asked Cody, scowling. "They didn't care about him!"

"No," said Lupin. "Well, the Ministry would want to cover up any evidence that this happened...that such a thing could happen outside their control. The Death Eaters, I imagine would want to take his body simply for spite. Or perhaps to see if he had anything on him of use."

Cody made a rather feral snarling sound at the idea, and he clenched his fists. "Gits. Slimy gits."

"It's tough to tell where he might have fallen, too," said Lupin. "That blood could have been from anything...anyone in the battle. Or something else entirely. We can try again in the daylight."

"Yeah. Well...we might as well head back," said Bill. "You gonna be okay flying, squirt?" He ruffled Cody's hair, and Cody yawned, rubbing his eyes vigorously. He looked up and was rather shocked to see that the east was turning pink. Dawn, then. Already!

"Yeah," he said. "I played Quidditch before tired-er than this!"

Bill chuckled distractedly, and mounted his broom. "All right, then. Let's get the hell out of here."

Cody was silent on the way back to Auntie Muriel's, exhausted and irritable, but still very glad that Lupin had let him come along. They hadn't found anything but some bloodstains, but searching for five hours for Mad-Eye's body had given Cody time to get over the shock. It let Cody do _something_ about it, make some attempt to honor Mad-Eye, to help him, even after he'd died. The tedious search was an effort he was glad to make for his friend. He just hoped that wherever Mad-Eye was now, that he wasn't in any pain, and that he wasn't scaring people too badly over there.

When they got back to the Burrow, Lupin asked Cody where he was going to sleep. Cody replied by curling up in Mr. Weasley's armchair and closing his eyes. He vaguely heard Lupin chuckle before surrendering to sleep.


	85. Y7, C7: Wedding Preparations

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 7: Wedding Preparations**

The next few days were hectic. Cody, Samantha, Lupin, and Tonks were at the Burrow nearly every day, as the Burrow was the new headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, and people came to visit all the time. Snape, of course, was no longer with them, which made things a whole lot more pleasant, but...Cody would have gladly had Snape back if it meant having Mad-Eye there, too.

The Ministry once more was hushing things up, not telling the public the truth, and generally acting like a bunch of morons. Cody had gone twice more with Bill and Lupin to look for signs of Mad-Eye's body, but had not been able to find it anywhere, and concluded that the Ministry had probably gotten to it first. The Ministry, who as Lupin and Bill had said, would want to cover the whole thing up.

Harry told Cody that Hedwig, his owl, had been killed by a stray curse, which made Cody cry all over again. He hadn't known the owl well, not like Merlin, but on top of the news about Moody it was too much to deal with.

Cody never did find out why Samantha could see the thestrals, because she couldn't remember ever having seen anyone die. Cody could only imagine that she had seen her father die when she was too little to remember it. He knew she'd lived with her single father when he died during her infancy of illness, but she had no memories of it.

---

As the days passed and the shock of the attack wore off, everyone at the Burrow (including Harry and Hermione, who were staying there), began making wedding preparations. Bill and Fleur's wedding was to be held there at the Burrow, and Mrs. Weasley had about a million things for them to do. It surprised Cody that so soon after Mad-Eye's death that everyone could plan something so happy as a wedding, but he was glad to be so busy.

Bill very much flattered Cody by asking him if he would like to be the ring-bearer in their wedding, and Cody had said that he would be glad to do it. He was a little old, Bill said, for ring-bearers tended to be children half Cody's age, but neither Fleur nor Bill had no close, male relatives of that age that were interested in the job. Bill said he'd see about getting Cody a wedding outfit.

Mrs. Weasley ambushed Cody one day, a day when he and Samantha were to sleep over, by asking him about Harry, Ron, and Hermione, asking him what they were up to, and if Cody intended on going with them. He was a little surprised, but he managed to bluff well enough to tell her he had no idea what they might be up to, as they were being very secretive. After promising to let her know if he found out anything new, he escaped her watchful eye to help with some cleaning chores outside.

Later that night, Harry joined Harry and the others up in Ron's room, relaying his conversation with Mrs. Weasley, to the exasperation of the others. Hermione was sorting the books and things she wanted to take with her, and Ron was trying not to be bitten by her Monster book of Monsters. They told him that Mrs. Weasley had already interrogated the rest of them, and had been doing her best the entire day to keep them separated.

"I guess she doesn't want anyone to go," said Cody, rolling his eyes.

"You could say that," Ron snorted, kicking at the Monster Book.

"Speaking of that, Cody," said Harry. Cody looked round, frowning at the reluctant look on Harry's face. "I know you wanted to come with us to search for the horcruxes. And you're actually the only one we've told, aside of ourselves." 'Uh oh,' Cody thought. "But you can't come."

"Why?" Cody asked, feeling his face get hot with indignation.

"It's not anything about your skill," said Hermione, chipping into the conversation as she wrestled her Monster Book off of Ron's leg. "Far from it. It's your age."

Cody clenched his fists, all the more irritated when all three of them winced, obviously having expected an outburst. "I'm twelve! That's older than Harry whe--"

"Shut up!" hissed Ron, looking around frantically. "If Mum hears--!"

"It's not that way," said Harry hastily. "But you'd need to do magic if you came with us. And you're an under-seventeen. You've still got the Trace."

Cody blinked, Harry's answer not being what he expected at all. It was clear that Harry wasn't making excuses, but he seemed to have a genuine, solid reason for Cody not to accompany them.

"Lupin told you, didn't he?" said Hermione. "It's how the Ministry tracks underage magic. The second you did anything magical...a spell, defense, anything...they could track us. And with the Death Eaters infiltrating..."

It felt like Cody was deflating, when he realized that the three of them were right. Damn the Ministry! He resented this Trace now, more than ever. What a hindrance, to be trackable the second he used his wand outside of the Hogwarts grounds!

"It's not like we don't want you, mate," said Ron quietly, looking irritated, himself. "Especially after all that arse you kicked in June, at Hogwarts."

"Yeah," said Harry with a sigh. "It's not like we couldn't use the help."

Cody bit his lip, trying very hard not to start crying. He'd always cried easily, especially when he was embarrassed, and he hated it. He shrugged, trying to seem casual. "It's okay," he said, standing up and smiling rather sickly at all of them. "Not your fault...it's the stupid Ministry. They ruin everything." He stared moodily at the carpet, scowling at it as if were the Ministry itself.

"We're really sorry, Cody," said Hermione, and even though she sounded sincere, Cody still found he was angry. But it wasn't her fault, and he tried really hard not to let his anger show.

"I know," said Cody.

Harry was looking at him with a searching, sizing-up sort of look. Cody frowned, wondering what was up, when Harry bent over and rummaged in the large backpack he had brought his belongings in. "C'mere a minute," he said, coming up with a piece of paper in his hand. Curious, Cody did, and Harry held the paper up. Parchment, really, and it looked old. "Know what this is?"

Cody frowned at the wrinkled paper, trying to think if he'd seen it before. It seemed that he should know what it was, but nothing came to him, and he shook his head.

"It's the Marauder's Map." Oh! That! "It only shows Hogwarts, and none of us are going to be there this year. So..."

Harry held the paper out, and Cody stared at him, wondering if Harry was saying what he thought he was saying. "Um?"

"A loan," said Harry with a grin. "I'm sure there's plenty of trouble you can get into with its help. You've been with us a time or two when we've used it too, after all!"

Cody laughed, pleasantly surprised by Harry's gesture. "Really?" he said, looking down at the old parchment, a parchment that held numerous secrets to Hogwarts on it. "You...you trust me with it?"

Harry's grin softened. "I do. You know it belonged to my father. Well...it belonged to Lupin and Sirius too." Cody noticed that he didn't bother to mention Wormtail. "I know you'll take care of it. You remember how to work it, right?"

Did he? He'd only seen Harry do it once or twice, and he screwed up his eyes, trying to remember how he was supposed to phrase it. "I swear...no..._solemnly_ swear..." He looked to Harry, not able to remember exactly how it went.

Harry and Ron spoke in unison. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!"

"And to wipe it clean," added Ron, "you say 'Mischief managed'."

Cody laughed, then leaned over and hugged Harry. "Thanks," he said. He was touched that Harry had shown his trust in Cody. And as the map _was_ important to Harry, Cody knew it wasn't just a token gesture so that he didn't feel bad for not coming along.

"You can still stick around and eavesdrop if you want," said Ron, but Cody shook his head.

"Nah. I'm gonna go see what Bill's doing. I think he said he had my outfit for the wedding ready." He smiled again, this a little more natural, then opened the door.

"Don't tell Mum, remember," said Ron quickly, his voice nearly a whisper. "Dad knows we're going, but you know how Mum is."

And boy, did he. "I won't," said Cody, and he gently closed the door.

Cody spent the rest of the day keeping busy. He and Samantha, who was excited at the upcoming wedding, helped with various tasks, from sorting wedding presents, to cleaning the house. Cody did as many jobs as possible outside, not liking the crowded Burrow, especially when he had a lot of things to think about.

Later, he put the map carefully in his favorite book in his school trunk, and left it there. He couldn't exactly practice summoning its information, since he was underage, but as soon as he got on the Hogwarts Express, he intended to check it out!

Fleur's family arrived the following day, and Cody was very embarrassed to realize that her little sister Gabrielle was there, for she was going to be a bridesmaid, and she seemed to take a liking to Cody right away. When she smiled at Cody, he felt the strangest thing: a warm glow that didn't seem to make any kind of sense. He was embarrassed, mortified, even, at the girl's batting eyelashes and her bright smile, so why on Earth did he feel like he wanted to impress her? That he _needed_ to impress her?

Unnerved, Cody made his escape from the Delacours as quickly as possible, hiding out in Ron's room, while the Weasleys gave the family the grand tour. The warm feeling faded quickly once he was away from Gabrielle Delacour, and Cody wondered if he could just stay in the room until the wedding was over.

Samantha, of course, noticed, the little brat. When Cody dared to poke his nose into the kitchen, where half the world, it seemed, was standing around and talking, Samantha caught sight of him and snickered. "Cody loves Gabrielle! Cody loves Gabrielle!" she sang, laughing, and horrified, Cody saw half the heads turn to look at him! Gabrielle giggled, and Ron started laughing, his eyes wide and gleeful.

"I DO NOT!" Cody hollered, and ran at Samantha. Shrieking, Samantha tore out of the kitchen.

It took him five minutes to catch the miserable pest, and he dumped her unceremoniously into a large trash bin outside the Burrow. His face burning red hot, Cody avoided everyone the rest of the day. Later that night, in private, Hermione tried to reassure Cody, telling him that Fleur's sister was also part veela, and that veelas affected all males that way.

"Not me!" he protested loudly. "Not me, they never did that to me, not at the World Cup or Hogwarts, or anywhere!"

Hermione did not laugh, for which Cody was intensely grateful, and she remained as patient as ever. "You were only eight, Cody. Eight and nine. Even last year, well, and you're used to Fleur by now, too. But Gabrielle is only a year younger than you, and you're twelve now, Cody. You're starting to grow up. It's only natural that the veela in her's going to have an effect."

Cody could only gape, the implication of what she'd said sinking horribly into his chest. Growing up? He was NOT growing up! Twelve was not grown up! His voice wasn't even changed!

Some of his upset must have shown on his face, because Hermione chuckled and ruffled his hair. "Don't worry about it, Cody," she said kindly. "Remember it _is_ a magical effect...you can't help it. It won't make you suddenly like girls, or...or kissing, or anything like that. So try not to worry too much, okay? And don't react. Girls like it when boys react like that, and they'll flirt all the more."

Cody scowled; that seemed an awfully antagonistic way to be! "I'll try," he said sulkily. "But it won't be easy! 'Specially with my little brat sister!" He was still furious with Samantha.

"I'll talk to Samantha for you," said Hermione with a smile. "And just act normally around Gabrielle. Once you get over her newness, you should be fine."

"Okay," mumbled Cody, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans. He looked up at Hermione, whose smile was understanding, and he was suddenly grateful she'd taken the time to talk to him. "Thanks."

"Anytime, anklebiter." She grinned at the indignant look Cody gave her, then left to brush her teeth.

Feeling a lot better, Cody waited his turn in the bathroom.

It was quite crowded that night in the Burrow! The Weasley parents had taken over the living room couch and chair, while the Delacour parents slept in their room. Fleur and her sister were sleeping in Percy's room, while Bill and Charlie were rooming together. The twins had their room, of course, and Ron and Harry were in Ron's bedroom.

Samantha had been invited to sleep with Ginny and Hermione in Ginny's room, which left Cody to decide where he wanted to kip. Anywhere he ended up, he was going to have to be on the floor, because they'd run out of camp beds and furniture, and he was among the youngest, so of course everyone else laid claim to the beds.

Cody didn't mind too much. As Percy's room was the least cluttered, he said that he'd sleep with Bill and Charlie...and besides, Charlie wasn't there yet, so at least Cody would have a bed for a night or two. After that, he said he'd sleep on the floor, or share Bill's bunk, if it was big enough.

At least he couldn't say he was bored!

The Delacours were nice, Cody supposed, but he still tried to stay out of their way as much as possible. Unfortunately that was a bit hard to do, as they were practicing for the wedding, and Gabrielle was in the wedding party. Samantha had stopped teasing Cody (at least in front of the others), but Gabrielle kept batting her eyelashes and giggling a lot whenever Cody was in the room. He spent a lot of time searching for things that he could stare at to avoid looking at the French girl.

Cody's position in the wedding was as ring bearer, which meant he would be carrying a pillow on which the two wedding rings would be lightly attached with a magical charm. His attire for the wedding was a strange mixture of Muggle and wizard clothing: short pants, knee socks, and a long-sleeved, fancy, short robe that only reached to the back of his knees. The robe only fastened to his waist, and sort of looked like a combination of a wizard's robe and a tailcoat, and even Cody had to admit it was a pretty sharp looking outfit.

The procession wasn't a huge deal. The groom, Bill, would already be at the front, where the man doing the ceremony would be also. The best man and maid of honor would be there also, and the ushers were the ones who would seat everyone...sorta like the groom's version of bridesmaids. Harry and Ron were ushers (though Harry would be in disguise.)

The bride, Fleur, would come down the aisle first, at her father's elbow, what Harry called "giving away" the bride. The bridesmaids would be after her, and then Cody and some little girl from the Weasley family, in pretty, lacy robes. The little girl was the flower girl, and she'd have a basket of flowers with her.

It was very simple, in Cody's opinion, but Mrs. Weasley insisted on several rehearsals, even though all the bridesmaids and flower girl weren't there yet, and they'd gotten it all right on their first try. Cody was glad when Mrs. Weasley was satisfied, and he could take off the wedding garb!

---

The day before the wedding was Harry's birthday, and Cody and the Lupins spent it in the flat, rather than the Burrow. That morning, Lupin said he intended to go for the birthday supper, but he seemed extraordinarily unhappy about the whole thing. When Cody asked him what was wrong, he sighed, and looked at Tonks, who looked thrilled by comparison.

"Well, Cody, " said Tonks. "I'm pregnant."

Cody blinked. "Pregnant?" But how could she be pregnant? He looked to Lupin, who avoided his gaze, back to Tonks, who beamed brightly back. Cody made a sudden connection of their honeymoon to this news, and turned very red. "Oh...it's from...er...I'm glad you're...you know!" His face burned yet hotter as Tonks laughed.

Samantha only looked a little confused. "But how'd she get _that_ way?"

Tonks laughed even harder, and Lupin actually chuckled a little bit, as Cody slapped his palm to his face and slumped on the couch.

"I think you should ask your big brother," said Tonks, and Cody looked at her in horror.

"I can't tell my _sister_ that!" he cried, sitting bolt upright, then scrambling to his feet. "I can't say..._that_ word...!"

"Calm down, Cody," said Remus with a strained looking smile. "Given how things have turned out, I imagine no one's explained about certain things to Samantha yet."

"It's okay, Cody," said Tonks, still chuckling. "I'll explain it to her later." Cody took a big, relieved breath, while Samantha only looked bewildered.

"Okay, thanks." He looked up at Remus again, who was biting his lip; Cody did not like seeing him like that. "It's a good thing, right? I mean having a baby?"

Tonks's smile faded a little, and she glanced over at Lupin, who to Cody's astonishment, looked like he was about to cry. "New life is always a good thing, Cody," said Tonks quietly.

Lupin stood up. "It is if you're not a werewolf," he growled. Cody blinked as the man hurried from the room, into the room he shared with Tonks, and closed the door hard. Tonks sighed quietly, and Cody scowled, not liking the dismissal, and liking even less the implications. Lupin actually looked scared.

Tonks explained. "He's afraid the child will be a werewolf, also, and have to suffer the same things he does."

"Aw, man..." Cody bit his own lip, feeling not for the first time extremely sorry for Lupin. And it wasn't even Lupin's fault. It was all the stupid people out there who thought werewolves were evil, like Greyback was! And people like Greyback didn't help.

"Give him a little time, kiddo," said Tonks. "Then maybe talk to him. I bet he could use a friendly ear."

Samantha giggled at the idea of an ear being friendly, but Cody only nodded. "Okay."

But Lupin did not want to talk about it the rest of the day, and Cody didn't push the issue. He only stayed in the living room, playing his video games, and letting Samantha take turns as well.

When it was time to attend Harry's birthday party, Lupin, Tonks, Cody, and Samantha arrived in the evening to give him their gifts. (Mrs. Weasley made a gigantic, Snitch-shaped cake.) Cody asked what Harry had gotten for presents.

While Mrs. Weasley was busy elsewhere, Harry showed Cody the book Ron had given him about how to act around girls. Cody peeked into out of morbid curiosity, and was rather disgusted about the whole thing.

The Weasleys gave Harry a pocketwatch, one that had once belonged to Molly's brother, Fabian, who'd been a part of the Order of the Phoenix. Harry was quite touched by the gift, and Cody understood why. Mrs. Weasley had been apologetic that it wasn't a new gift, but it was evident that Harry understood the honor of being given a family keepsake as a gift.

Bill and Fleur had given Harry an enchanted razor, Hermione gave him a new Sneakoscope, the twins gave him joke merchandise, and the Delacours even gave him some chocolates, and they had never even met him before. Cody thought that was very nice of them. And from what he heard later, Ginny had given Harry a kiss, which, as far as Cody was concerned, was the most useless gift Harry got all day. (Harry didn't agree.)

Cody gave Harry the bookmarks he'd bought, and Harry laughed, hugging Cody and thanking him for the gift. "I'll use one in my new book," he whispered, winking, and Cody rolled his eyes.

Hagrid was there in his hairy, brown suit, which always made Cody snicker. It did no less now, and Samantha couldn't stop laughing. (Hagrid retaliated by grabbing Samantha and holding her up high by one leg, making her laugh even more. Cody was glad she was no longer nervous of Hagrid!) He gave Harry a pouch that only the owner could get things out of, which Cody thought was very cool.

Hagrid also mentioned he had some newborn unicorns to show the Care of Magical Creatures Classes, and reminisced with Harry about the first time they'd met, and of how Hagrid had given Harry's cousin a pig's tail. Cody thought he'd choke laughing.

Charlie Weasley showed up, his hair cropped short to his head, and Cody laughed delightedly, running over to hug him. "Hi, Charlie!"

"Hey, runt! Good to see you again."

"I'm glad to see me, too!"

Charlie snorted and took a swipe at the back of Cody's head. "Smartmouth," he muttered. "Hanging around Fred and George too much."

"Hey!" called Hagrid from the table. "Charlie!

"Hi, Hagrid, how's it going?" asked Charlie, as he and Cody went back to the crowded table.

"Bin meanin' ter write for ages. How's Norbert doin'?"

"Norbert? The Norweigian Ridgeback? We call her Norberta, now."

Cody laughed in delight, but Hagrid seemed astonished. "Wha—Norbert's a girl?"

"Oh, yeah." Charlie grinned, and when Hermione asked how he could tell, he said that the females are far more vicious. Figured that Hagrid liked them so much!

The only thing they were waiting on then was Mr. Weasley, who was still at work. They all milled around and talked with each other, catching up on news, or discussing the upcoming wedding. Samantha was in a very curious mood, and she was asking anyone who'd talk to her about various magical things. She was eight, now, older than Cody when he first set foot in Hogwarts, and not nearly as shy as she used to be. She wasn't scared of magic anymore, either, for which Cody was very grateful.

It was later than expected when silvery form showed up at the party, a weasel, which Ron said belonged to his father. To Cody's surprise, it talked in Mr. Weasley's voice! "Minister of Magic coming with me."


	86. Y7, C8: The Fall of the Ministry

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 8: The Fall of the Ministry**

Lupin's face went pale, and he grabbed Tonks's hands. "We shouldn't be here. Harry, I'm sorry. I'll explain another time. Cody, we'll be back, okay? Watch over Samantha."

Cody was mildly alarmed, and extremely taken aback as Lupin and Tonks ran for the fence around the garden, and climbed over it, disappearing from view. "What the?"

"Is Remus all right?" asked Samantha, also looking puzzled.

"I-I dunno! I sure hope so!"

A second later, Mr. Weasley himself appeared at the front gate, and he had with him the Minister of Magic himself. Cody remembered seeing his picture for the first time a year previous and thinking he looked related to Lion-O, a feline character in his favorite cartoon show. He looked even more leonine in person.

"Sorry to intrude," said the Minister grimly as he approached the group. "Especially as I can see I am gate-crashing a party." He peered at the giant Snitch cake, and said blandly, "Many happy returns."

"Thanks," said Harry, looking no more thrilled about the Minister's appearance than anyone else.

Scrimgeour said that he needed to talk to the three of them: Harry, Ron, and Hermione. He asked for a private place to talk, and very rudely told Mr. Weasley that he did not need to follow them. Cody watched them leave, his hands on his hips, feeling highly indignant on Mr. Weasley's behalf.

"What a rude creep!" he exclaimed once they were out of earshot.

"Arthur, what could the minister possibly want with them?" asked Molly

"I...I don't know." But Arthur looked down at Cody, his expression worried. Cody remembered that Mr. Weasley knew the others were planning on leaving after the wedding, and not going back to Hogwarts. Surely Scrimgeour couldn't have found out about that!

"Maybe he wants Harry's autograph," said Cody, and everyone there turned to stare at him. He grinned, shrugging his shoulders. "You never know!"

Mrs. Weasley raised her eyes to the heavens, Gabrielle Delacour giggled, and George stood up to put an arm around Cody. "Mad," he informed the Delacours. "He's barking mad. But we all love him."

Cody snorted, looking up at George, and the horrible injury he had sustained during the fight over Privet Drive. And as the twins had been making horrible ear jokes for days, he dared to make one of his own. "You should talk. You're the one who's got a hole in your head!"

Mrs. Weasley made a shocked sounding noise, but the twins both roared with laughter.

"Brilliant!" exclaimed Fred from the table. "We've taught him well." Cody looked up at George, who beamed back. After that, more casual talk broke out, but people kept glancing uneasily at the house, and Cody knew they were just as curious as Cody as to why the minister had come to visit.

A sudden outburst of yelling from inside the house wiped the smiles from everyone's face. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley both ran for the house, leaving everyone else to look after them, wondering what was going on.

They didn't have long to wait. After a few minutes, Scrimgeour stalked angrily from the Burrow, marched across the yard without a word to anyone, and slammed the gate on the way out. A moment later, he had Apparated, and Mrs. Weasley called from the back door, "He's gone!"

"He's a grouchy ol' creep, isn't he?" said Samantha indignantly, and a few people laughed.

"He sure is," said Cody. He looked as up Harry, Hermione, and the three Weasleys came back out of the Burrow, none of them looking very happy. It seemed that the Minister had come by to give the trio things that Dumbledore left them...his Put-Outer for Ron (which was really called a Deluminator), a book of wizarding fairy tales all in runes for Hermione, and the first Golden Snitch that Harry ever caught for Harry.

"But he wouldn't give me Gryffindor's sword," said Harry with a scowl. "Said it wasn't Dumbledore's to give me." He gave Cody a significant look, and he wondered if the sword had something to do with Horcruxes.

The items Scrimgeour did allow to be given over were passed around the table for everyone to examine, and Cody held the tiny Golden Snitch in his hand, looking at it in fascination. "I remember that!" he said in amazement. "I remember being at that game! I wasn't even a reserve that year!" And to hold the item in his hand, now, was like going back in time six years. He let Samantha hold it for a moment before giving it back to Harry. "You caught it right in your mouth!"

"Yeah, I did," said Harry ruefully. "Nearly swallowed the damned thing, too."

"Watch your mouth, dear," said Mrs. Weasley sternly, as Cody took hold of the next item, a weird, cigarette-lighter-looking thing. He was told it was a Deluminator, and it stole light.

The Deluminator was fun to play with, and Cody managed to annoy everyone by dousing all the lights in the garden before Ron wrestled it from him and let them back out.

Hermione's book was the most fascinating! As everyone started eating their dinner, singing Happy Birthday, and eating cake, Cody thumbed through the book. It was very, very old, and written entirely in runes. Even though he'd taken Study of Ancient Runes, he couldn't translate all of the book. He only got about half, not nearly enough to make sense of the stories.

"It's really neat," he said to Hermione, handing the book back and grabbing himself a large slice of cake. "You're better at Runes, you gotta translate them for me!"

She laughed softly. "It's a deal."

The party was over, then, and everyone there dispersed; the wedding was the next day, and everyone had last-minute things to take care of.

Cody and Samantha got an owl that night from Lupin and Tonks, asking them if they would not mind staying at the Weasleys', that the Weasleys had agreed, and that he would explain later why they wanted to keep their distance. Cody, who suspected it had to have something to do with Lupin being a werewolf, sent back a quick note saying that he didn't mind. He shared a bed with Bill, who was skinny enough not to take up the whole bed, and Samantha bunked once more with Ginny and Hermione.

It had been a long, strange day, and Cody spent a while tossing and turning before Bill mumbled sleepily that if he didn't lie still, he'd have to go and sleep in the chicken coop. Cody lay still after that, but it was still a while before he fell asleep.

---

The next day, Cody was surprised to wake up and see out the window a huge tent, what they called a marquee, out on the huge yard. That was where the wedding would be, then. Cody went downstairs, rubbing his eyes, and was immediately attacked by Mrs. Weasley, who exclaimed that Cody wasn't even ready yet, that he had to get washed up, and eat breakfast, and get dressed!

Cody was still in his pajamas (new ones, bright green, because his ThunderCat ones were ripped and torn and way too small.) Cody didn't protest much as he was fussed at; he only let Mrs. Weasley bustle him along, giving him a stack of toast and some eggs and bacon, washing his face and hands for him as if he were four, not twelve years old, and urging him to brush his teeth. Cody wasn't really awake enough to care, and it was easier than doing it all under his own power.

When finally he was dressed in his wedding attire, had some food in him, and was clean and groomed, Cody felt far more awake...albeit he didn't like how his hair felt, all smoothed down over his head. Still, he knew arguing that would have been futile!

He went outside, where most of the guests seemed to be arriving, and grinned at Harry, who now had bright red hair and was a bit taller and chubbier than normal. He had used Polyjuice Potion to imitate a redheaded village boy, and was pretending to be one of the numerous Weasley cousins.

Lupin and Tonks arrived fairly early, along with the first of the wedding guests, and Lupin explained quietly to Cody that he and Tonks had left so suddenly last night because the Ministry was more anti-werewolf than ever, and they didn't want to make any more trouble for Harry. The two of them listened to a very angry rant from Cody about the Ministry before Harry came over to lead them to their seats.

"See you in a few, Cody," said Lupin, smiling down at him. He was either amused at Cody's minute-long rant, or touched that Cody so fervently defended him. Maybe both.

"Harry," said Mrs. Weasley, running up to Cody with a small girl in tow. She looked to be about five years old, and was wearing an outfit very similar to Cody's, except hers didn't have short pants, but some kind of girlish kilt. "This is Gracie, she'll be the flower girl. She'll be walking right next to you in the ceremony."

The little girl grinned brightly and waved. Cody laughed and waved back. "I'm Cody."

"Well, don't stray too far, Cody," said Mrs. Weasley. "You'll be joining the wedding ceremony soon. Samantha's already inside the tent, with Tonks and Lupin. Look after Gracie, will you? Make sure she stays with you until after the ceremony?"

"Sure, Mrs. Weasley." Mrs. Weasley smiled distractedly and hurried off to do something else. Cody looked down at the child he'd been given temporary responsibility over. "So let's go see who else is coming, okay?"

"Okay!" Gracie took Cody's hand (which surprised him a little) and he led her over to the tent, where the guests were queuing up to be let inside. The twins, Harry, and Ron were escorting people in.

When a skinny, beak-nosed woman approached the line, Gracie tugged on Cody's hand, looking alarmed. "That's Auntie Muriel!' she said in a dire whisper. "Can we hide?"

Cody almost laughed; he had met the woman, and had heard horror stories from Ron about her obnoxious ways. She reminded him a bit of Harry's description of his own Aunt Marge. Even as they spoke, the old woman told George loudly that his ears were lopsided. "Sounds good," said Cody, and he and Gracie made a hasty retreat.

He was glad to get away, in any case. Gabrielle had come out of the house, and Fleur had about a dozen other part-veela relatives, and Cody had no wish to be around any veelas. It was way too embarrassing.

"Cody!" Speaking of Fleur, she had just run up to Cody and Gracie, who were lurking towards the back of the tent. Cody looked up to see all the wedding party headed their way. "Eet is time, cherie. Come to ze back of ze line." Mrs. Weasley ran over with a gold-colored pillow, on which two rings sat. She thrust that into Cody's hands, and a basket of flower into Gracie's, and ran off again. Cody stifled a laugh.

Feeling a little shaky, hoping suddenly he didn't trip and fall on his face when the time came, Cody took Gracie's hand again and led the little girl to their place. Ginny and Gabrielle, looking very pretty in golden dresses (that matched the gold color in Cody and Gracie's clothing), were in front of them. Gabrielle winked at Cody, making him blush bright red, and he muttered darkly as he took his place. And in the very front were Fleur and her father. Fleur had on a white dress, and her father had on a handsome set of dress robes.

Music came from inside the tent, and Fleur took a big breath, smiled, and entered through the open flap of the marquee.

The crowd gasped in appreciation as the bride walked down the aisle. Even Cody had to admit to himself that Fleur looked really pretty, though he wouldn't have said it aloud to save his life. Cody and Gracie trailed along behind the bridesmaids, Cody concentrating on not tripping, and Gracie smiling brightly at anyone who looked at her. Cody caught sight of Samantha, who smiled at him and gave him the thumbs-up. He grinned back.

Bill was standing at the front already, along with the man who had officiated Tonks and Lupin's wedding. Fleur joined him, taking his arm, and Cody never saw either of them look so happy. Ginny, Gracie, and Gabrielle stepped off to one side, while Cody stepped off to the other to join Charlie, who was standing next to the groom. Cody grinned up at him, and Charlie winked back.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," said the officiator. "We are gathered here today to celebrate the union of two faithful souls."

The obnoxious whisper of Auntie Muriel came from the assembled guests. "Yes, my tiara sets off the whole thing nicely. But I must say, Ginerva's dress is far too low-cut."

Cody blinked, wondering who Ginerva was, when he saw Ginny grin, then wink at Harry. Ginerva? Was that what Ginny was short for? What a weird name!

Ignoring her, the officiator went on. "Do you, William Arthur, take Fleur Isabelle to be your lawfully wedded wife? In sickness and in health? For richer or poorer? Through trials and tribulation?" Cody found himself trying not to fidget as the officiator went on, a whole, traditional, prepared speech. It was kinda neat, Cody thought...but boring!

Once Bill said "I do", and the officiator had moved on to Fleur, Cody brought his attention back to the two of them.

"I do," said Fleur, her voice low, and her eyes gleaming.

"The rings, please," said the officiator.

Cody stepped forward hastily, holding up the cushion with the rings on it. The officiator used his wand to unstick them from the velvet and hand one each to Bill and Fleur. Cody watched as Bill put Fleur's ring on her finger, and Fleur did the same for Bill. Both of them looked all misty-eyed.

The officiator was smiling. "Then I declare you bonded for life." He raised his wand, waving it over the pair, raining silver stars on the two of them as they drew forward and kissed.

Taken by surprise, Cody gave a cry of disgust and turned away. Several people laughed, and everyone else was clapping for the newly married couple. Cody retreated behind Charlie. Half the females and some of the males (like Hagrid) in the audience were weeping, the rest were cheering or grinning, and even Cody had to clap for Bill and Fleur. (But he didn't look at them until he was sure they were done snogging.)

"Ladies and gentlemen!" cried the officiator. "If you would please stand up!"

What followed next reminded Cody a little of the Yule Ball at Hogwarts the year of the Triwizard Tournament. Tables were set up and the golden chairs everyone had been sitting in were grouped around them. The walls of the tent disappeared, leaving them with a gazebo, and a golden dance floor appeared.

Cody found he was enjoying himself much more now that the atmosphere was more relaxed. Waiters roamed the area, serving food and drinks, and a band played music to dance by.

He caught sight of Viktor Krum and grinned, running over to say hello. At first Krum didn't recognize him, and Cody wasn't surprised. Cody was nine the last time Krum saw him, and much shorter. But once he remembered Cody, he greeted him warmly.

"How haff you been, Cody?" the Quidditch player asked.

"Well...okay sometimes. But not okay other times. I'm okay right now, though...I got kicked off the Quidditch team though, because the new captain's a git." Krum frowned a little, and Cody nodded. "Yeah. I'm a good Beater, but I...well I didn't get along with my house very great last year. But that's okay, I'm commentator now!"

"Ah! Vell then, congratulations. I am sure you do vell."

Cody grinned, shaking the man's hand. "Thanks."

Luna was there as well, and her father, whose name Cody could barely pronounce. From what he could tell, it started with a Z, and sounded Greek.

"Xenophilius Lovegood!" he exclaimed, shaking Cody's hand.

"Er, hi, I'm Cody."

"He knows," said Luna with a grin. Cody noticed her finger was bloody, and Cody wondered how it had happened. "I've told him about you and Harry and Ron and everyone." It wasn't clear if that was a good thing or not.

Xenophilius was just as weird as his daughter, maybe even more. In fact, as Cody talked more with the man, the "even more" part became more and more certain. He was kind of cool, but really weird. And people called Cody weird! He definitely saw where Luna got her strangeness. He finally escaped the strange pair when Xenophilius went to talk to some wizards Cody didn't know, and Luna went in to dance on the dance floor alone, waving her arms in the air.

For a while, Cody only wandered round the guests, talking to those who would talk to him, and hugging people he felt like hugging. He joined Charlie, Hagrid, and someone he didn't know in singing a song about a wizard hero...it was kind of a sad song, but a good one.

He danced with his sister, who giggled the whole time, and Cody even managed to swing her up in the air a few times. After that, Samantha joined Gracie and a group of other Weasley children outside in playing some kind of game involving pebbles and a drawn circle in the dirt. To Cody's horror, before he could escape the dance floor, Gabrielle Delacour grabbed his hand.

"Hey!" Cody protested as the band struck up a song that Cody knew was called a waltz.

"Oh, come on," the girl said, her French accent far stronger than her sister's. Fleur had spend a long time in England, after all. "Eet weel be fun! I weel teach you to dance!"

Cody could not possibly escape the girl without being exceedingly rude, and he glanced around frantically for a rescue. But only a couple of people noticed, Ron and someone he didn't recognize, and they both looked highly amused and not at all inclined to assist him. He vowed vengeance on them both!

His face was red, and that warm something Cody felt in his chest the first time Gabrielle arrived was back, and Cody clenched his teeth as she put her hand up on his shoulder and took his other hand and put it on her waist. He felt something like panic as Gabrielle began to dance, and Cody only very reluctantly moved his feet in time to the music.

Once the fear subsided, Cody supposed it wasn't _too_ bad. A little boring, but once he got used to Gabrielle being so close, it wasn't as evil as it could have been. He even thought he might enjoy it.

Someday.

Before the song even ended, however, something happened that stopped everything short. A silvery lynx, a Patronus, bounded gracefully onto the middle of the dance floor, speaking in what Cody recognized as Kingsley Shacklebolt's voice:

"_The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming._"

There was silence for a few shocked seconds. Cold chills ran up and down Cody's arms, watching in horror as the silvery lynx disappeared. And then someone screamed, and everything was thrown into panic.

Several people Disapparated, and Cody at once understood its significance: if people could Disapparate, the protective spells around the Burrow had been shattered.

Cody swore. "Samantha!" he screamed, darting in among the remaining, panicking people. He ran among the guests, trying to find where she'd been playing! He caught sight of Gracie being Side-Along Apparated out, but he didn't see his sister!

Dark-cloaked figures were Apparating among the crowd, and Cody's heart pounded in fear as he saw they were all hooded and masked. Death Eaters. At the Burrow.


	87. Y7, C9: The New Wizarding Order

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 9: The New Wizarding Order**

Cody heard a shriek that sounded horribly familiar, and he sprinted around the tent to see one of the black-cloaked figures holding his sister by the arm! "HEY!" Cody cried, running at them as fast as he could. He panicked on remembering he didn't have his wand, and vowed to carry it everywhere from then on, no matter what, underage or not! "LET HER GO!"

The figure turned its head and Cody scooped up a large rock, hurling it furiously at the Death Eater's head. The man ducked, letting go of Samantha, who lurched away from him. Cody caught a glimpse of Tonks's purple hair as she swooped down on Samantha and Disapparated out.

The man snarled and aimed his wand at Cody, who didn't have time to duck the searing Stunner the man shot at him. He yelled in pain as the jet hit him, and collapsed on the ground.

When he was wakened, very little time had passed, because Cody was still on the ground, and people were still all around the yard, being rounded up by the dark figures. Cody was startled to see a wand right in his face.

"Get up, brat," the man growled, and shaking, Cody did so. "Inside!"

Cody looked around as he was ushered none too gently into the Burrow, and saw that most of the people had managed to get out before the Anti-Disapparition Jinxes had been cast. He was relieved to see no one had been killed, but he was still very scared.

It was easier to see what was going on once he was inside. Lupin was there, and as Cody was unceremoniously flung onto the floor next to the couch, where Remus was sitting, Remus looked worriedly down at Cody to see if he was all right. Cody tried to stand up to join him, but was shoved back down by the man who'd brought him in. "Sit down."

Cody glared, but did not stand again. "I'm okay," he whispered to Remus. "So's Samantha."

There were at least half a dozen cloaked figures in the living room with wands drawn, and those who didn't manage to escape the wedding were held prisoner. Lupin and Cody were there, as well as Mrs. and Mrs. Weasley, Charlie, Bill, Fleur, some redheaded man Cody assumed was a relative of the Weasleys', and a couple of others Cody didn't recognize. Everyone had been relieved of their wands.

"What's going on?" Cody whispered to Lupin, but recoiled at a shock from one of the attacker's wands.

"Keep your mouth shut, DeDannan."

Cody's eyes widened, not liking that the man knew his name, and shut his mouth. Who was under that mask? Not Dustin Tiller, he would recognize that voice anywhere. Was it Avery? As if in answer, the man pulled off his hood, and Cody could see that it was, indeed, Avery. Cody clenched his fists, shaking now with anger as well as fear. Avery had not put the wand to Cody's mother's throat, but he'd been there...he'd been there, holding Cody against the wall.

No one said anything for several long minutes. Mr. Weasley looked worried and angry both, Mrs. Weasley looked on the verge of tears, afraid Cody knew not for herself but for the people she loved. Lupin's lined face was worried and tense, and Bill and Fleur both looked utterly furious. And Cody didn't blame them, it was their wedding the Death Eaters had crashed! Charlie and the other Weasley only watched the proceedings, looking alert and ready.

Cody could hear crashing, thumping, and voices in the rest of the house, and realized that the other intruders were searching it. Though Cody wasn't sure, he could make a pretty good guess as to what they wanted to find.

"Where is he?" asked Avery.

"Who?" said Mr. Weasley, his voice admirably calm.

Cody yelled in shock as one of the men belted Mr. Weasley across the face. "Hey!"

"Don't play games, Weasley!" the Death Eater snarled. "You know damned well who we're looking for!"

"It doesn't matter who you're looking for," said Lupin just as calmly as Mr. Weasley, and Avery turned to face him instead. "If they, or he, as you've said, is not here, none of us could possibly know where they ended up."

"Everyone Disapparated," said Mrs. Weasley, her voice shaking a little bit. "There was no time to plan, to tell anyone where they were going."

"Really," said one of the other attackers, chuckling amusedly. "And you'll tell me, then, that you had no back-up plan? That the lot of you have no idea what safe house, what refuge Harry Potter might have fled to? He was not spotted on the grounds, but that doesn't mean he wasn't here!"

"Zere were protective charms around ze place!" snarled Fleur, looking quite frightening. "We deed not expect you to overthrow ze Ministry during our own wedding!"

"Harry wasn't here," added Bill. "We thought it would be too dangerous. Looks like we were right."

Cody realized that the thumping and the scraping he'd been heard had stopped, and five more robed figured came down from the staircase, also unmasked, and looking furious. "He's not here," said one of them. "But there's someone upstairs that's got spattergroit...bad case of it. I wasn't gonna get too close."

"My son," whispered Mr. Weasley, looking very convincingly mournful. "Ron. He...he's very ill...he couldn't be among the guests."

Cody blinked and tried to act as though this fact was not news to him. It was, though, very much. Ron had obviously been among the guests, and this was obviously some kind of strange decoy that no one had told Cody about.

"You, boy," Avery growled suddenly, pointing his wand at Cody. Cody flinched, but Avery sent no spell at him yet. "When was the last time you saw Potter?"

Not having expected to be questioned, Cody stammered for a few seconds before Lupin spoke, sounding tense.

"Leave the boy alone, he's only a child. He can't be expected to know anything."

"This kid knows Potter as well as anyone else; he was in the Department of Mysteries two years ago, he fights like an adult. Hell, if anyone here knows where Potter is, I'd bet it would be him. Answer me, brat!"

Cody glanced frantically at Lupin, who nodded the slightest bit, and Cody stammered, "L-last night." He sure as hell wasn't going to tell him he was at the wedding!

One of the others narrowed his eyes. "Last night? Not today?"

Cody shook his head. He wished they'd let him stand up; sitting down so near the enemy was incredibly intimidating. He had a sudden flashback of when Draco had caught him eavesdropping and put him under the Imperius Curse. "Th-the Weasleys didn't want him here for the wedding. Said there'd be too many people to keep track of and--"

"Yeah, yeah," said Avery. "We heard it already. So where is he?"

"I don't know! He went someone else to hide, I think...they—didn't tell me where. Didn't want too many people to know." It was horribly difficult, making things up like that when he was scared out of his wits, but luckily for him, his stammerings and hesitations did not seem suspicious. They'd expect a twelve-year-old kid to act terrified. And Cody definitely was.

"But he was here last night?" asked one of the attackers.

Cody nodded nervously. "It was his birthday party."

From Lupin's slight wince, Cody wondered if he should have said that at all, and Avery frowned, nodding slowly. "That's right, he's of age. The Trace will have worn off...that's gonna make it near impossible to track him."

"That's all right, there are other ways," said another. "We'll get all the information we can. Every bit helps."

Avery seemed to have forgotten about Cody, which was just fine with him. He sighed shakily and slumped back against the wall. He caught Lupin's worried look, and managed a rather weak smile in his direction.

The day dragged on. The group that remained at the Burrow was comprised of Death Eaters and Ministry employees both, and that, more than anything, told Cody the Ministry truly had been infiltrated. He wondered how long Voldemort had been slowly, slyly, getting his people into the organization.

The interrogation went on for hours. Cody was terrified that at any point they'd start using the Cruciatus Curse, but they didn't. They got mean, and everyone there was roughed up at least a little, but they never used an Unforgivable Curse that day. There was no need, really...it was obvious that even if they did know where Harry might have gone, that Harry wouldn't have stayed there long if he was smart.

Still, they wanted to know everything about Harry: where he might be going, where he used to live, where his family had gone, what he might be up to. They wanted to know what instructions Dumbledore might have given him, any meeting points or safe places the order might have planned on using if Harry was separated from them. They even asked about what spells Harry could do, what he was capable of.

Cody was extremely nervous, knowing that he had information even the Order didn't have about what Harry's mission was, but no one suspected it of him. Avery knew that he had fought on Harry's side, but even he didn't think a kid would know things that the Order of the Phoenix did not.

As for his part, Cody kept his mouth shut (except for a protest or two if someone got punched or otherwise hurt that usually earned him the same treatment), unless he was directly addressed. He thought he did a pretty good job of telling them some stuff that he didn't think would do any harm, and keeping the rest quiet.

The invaders searched the Burrow several times, tearing apart furniture, looking for anything that might give them a clue as to Harry's whereabouts. Harry had somehow managed to take his backpack with him, so there wasn't even that to give away his presence.

It was dark out, before they left, and Cody was astonished that they weren't bringing their prisoners in to the Ministry or to Azkaban, or worse. "We're letting you live tonight," Avery said as they prepared to leave the Burrow. "But if any of you are caught harboring Harry Potter, we won't be so kind next time."

And they were gone.

Cody stood up, shaking so badly he could barely move (not to mention having been forced to sit on a wooden floor for nearly seven hours), and collapsed on the couch. Lupin hugged him for a few moments before standing up. "Okay. We're gonna need to move fast. They'll be watching us, you can be sure of that. They want Harry, that's probably the main reason they didn't kill anyone."

Mrs. Weasley was pale, but her voice was steady. "We need to find out if everyone else got away all right," said Mrs. Weasley. "We'll have to be careful about sending messages. We'll use the Patronuses, they just disappear once they give their message, and can't be magically tracked."

"Th-they move too fast to follow on broomstick, too, don't they?" Cody asked. "Patronuses?"

"They do," said Mr. Weasley, smiling distractedly at Cody. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. Tonks got my sister out...so I'm glad."

"All right," said Lupin. "I'm going to see what news I can find...and we'll have to figure out where Harry's gone. Wait a while," he said to Arthur, "before telling them that we're all okay. Cody, you must stay here – you've still got the--"

"Trace," Cody finished with a sigh. "I know. Be careful...okay, Remus?"

"Absolutely." Lupin kissed the top of Cody's head, then left. The rest of the Weasley relatives, those who didn't live at the Burrow, also said their good-byes and headed out, no doubt to check if friends and neighbors were all right.

Cody, on the other hand, was fairly certain Samantha was okay, though as she was the only Muggle in the whole area, he hoped they weren't trying to track her down. Had the one who'd grabbed her realized?

"Come on, Cody, dear," said Mrs. Weasley, " let's get you out of those wedding robes...you'll want to rest, I'm sure."

But Cody only shook his head. "No...I mean yeah, I wanna get some normal clothes on, but...I can't sleep." He yawned, rubbing his eyes. It wasn't that he wasn't tired; in fact he was exhausted. But he didn't think he'd be able to sleep.

"I'll sit with you a little while, dear, if you like."

That sounded like a good idea. Cody felt it would make Mrs. Weasley view him as more of a child to let her sit with him, but he didn't care. He was worried, and felt less than safe. They knew where the Burrow was, what was stopping them from coming back if they wanted?

Cody nodded and let Mrs. Weasley lead him upstairs, where he ditched his clothing (still with his usual lack of modesty for being seen in his underwear), and got on his pajamas. Mrs. Weasley surprised him by telling him stories from memory, stories she'd told her own children through the years, and even more surprisingly, he found it was relaxing him. It was relaxing Mrs. Weasley, too.

He hadn't meant to fall asleep, but he was tired, and it had not been the most relaxing of days. He was next woken, disoriented, by someone coming into the room and lighting the lamp so that it glowed only dimly. "Who?" Cody demanded, too sleepy to articulate anything more.

One of the two figures who'd come in said softly, "It's just us, Cody. Bill and Charlie."

The lamp glowed more brightly, and Cody saw that it was true. Both brothers were a little bruised and roughed up looking from earlier, but otherwise they seemed okay. "Is everyone safe?" he asked, vigorously rubbing sleep from his eyes.

Bill sighed, and Charlie sat down on the other bunk. Bill ran a hand through his hair, which was no longer in its ponytail. "No one else's dead," he said finally. "Only Scrimgeour for now. But those bastards are really after Harry, now. Been interrogating everyone that possibly has a connection with him. They burned down Diggle's house--"

Cody gasped, his eyes flying open, and he sat straight up in the bed. "Was he in it?"

"No," said Bill. "Thank God. They..." He paused, looking down at Cody, before sighing. "They used the Cruciatus Curse on Tonks's parents, trying to find out where Harry went after he went to their house. They're okay. But those blokes were brutal."

"They've got people all over the place," said Charlie vehemently, "and they know every place in the country that has any connection with the Order. The only place we think they haven't been able to gain access to is...you and Lupin's old house." Grimmauld Place, thought Cody. "But they know where it is, and have been staking it out. Fortunately, they've not realized...who the new Secret Keeper is."

Cody almost asked who, but remembered what Lupin had said. Anyone who Dumbledore had told was now a Secret Keeper, including him and his sister. "And I hope they never do," said Cody with a shudder.

"We've got to be careful what we do and say, now," said Bill quietly. "They've got people watching our house, and tailing everyone in the Order." That was an unpleasant bit of news!

"Samantha?" asked Cody.

"She's okay. She's with Tonks. I won't say where, but they're both fine."

Cody let out a shaky breath. "Oh, good. Oh, good. One of them grabbed her at the wedding – I threw a rock at him. He's the guy that Stunned me. Jerk."

"With the Ministry on their side," said Charlie quietly, "they can do just about anything they want."

Cody stared, appalled. The scope of the problem, of how dire the fact that they'd infiltrated the Ministry was, was only beginning to dawn on him. As pathetic as the Ministry was, even with all the wrongs they'd committed, they had still worked against Voldemort. And it was the Ministry that made it so that Voldemort and his Death Eaters had to move quietly and carefully. But now...

"Magical Law Enforcement," whispered Cody.

"You got it, kiddo," said Charlie grimly. "With the law on their side... Dad says he's sure they're not going to start hauling people in who have been known to fight You-Know-Who. Not yet. We're going to be watched...we're gonna have to be really careful about who we talk to."

"If they think we might be hiding Harry or even having contact with him...and besides, they don't want to kill and imprison everyone. They want to take over England. They can't rule over people if they're dead."

"Perfect," muttered Cody, slumping back down into bed. Such a pleasant thought to try and sleep with.

"Come on, Charlie," said Bill wearily. "Let's get some rest. You know we're gonna need it."

"I'm helping," said Cody suddenly, stubbornly. "However I can. I know I can't do magic, but that doesn't mean I'm useless."

To his surprise, both brothers laughed. "Wouldn't have it any other way, kiddo," said Bill, ruffling Cody's hair. "Stick with us. It'll get you out of Mum's direct supervision."

That sounded like a wonderful idea. "But I'm keeping my wand with me from now on," said Cody, lying down against the wall so Bill didn't shove him out of bed, like he'd done the night before. "If they attack us, they already know where we are, so using magic doesn't matter."

"Yeah," said Bill quietly. "That's true."

The next day, neither Lupin nor Tonks came back. Arthur went to work at the Ministry, over his wife's protests, to see as much as possible what was happening there. As he pointed out to Molly, the family still needed to eat, and if they wanted to attack him, they'd have done it already.

Cody hung out with Bill and Charlie, who spent most of the day sending messages to family and friends, always out of sight of the Death Eaters watching the house (Cody had spotted them in a copse of trees several yards from the property, and hadn't been thrilled). There actually wasn't much to do just then except for wait.

Ginny and the twins returned in the afternoon, having spent the time at Auntie Muriel's house, and were full of rants about what had happened at the wedding and of having to endure Auntie Muriel. (Actually, Ginny was full of rants. The twins were full of scathing jokes.)

When Arthur returned that night, the news wasn't good. Cody sat with the rest of the Weasley family, chewing on a piece of beef jerky, listening to Arthur recount his day at the Ministry.

"My pure blood status, I think, is keeping me fairly safe," said Arthur tiredly. "They're not firing people unless they can be proven as non pure-bloods, or have been proven to have contact with those who are wanted by the Ministry."

"Like Harry," Cody grumbled.

"Yes. 'Undesirables,' they call them. Things aren't looking good. They've already got Umbridge pulling together a group...not sure why, but it can't be any good."

"Umbridge!" exclaimed Fred furiously. "That old hag is still with the Ministry!"

"She was at Dumbledore's funeral," said Cody disgustedly. "Like she cared about Dumbledore!"

"Yes, I know," said Mr. Weasley wearily. "I think that the storm has only barely begun."

Arthur's prediction was chillingly accurate. The very next morning, as Cody came down to the kitchen, to see the rest of the Weasleys already at the table, looking grim to a man. "What happened?" asked Cody, immediately alarmed.

Curling his lip in disgust, George held out a copy of the Daily Prophet. Molly looked as if she was going to say something, but seemed to change her mind as Cody took the newspaper gingerly, as if it might bite him.

His dread turned to furious indignation at the sight of the headline, and the picture that was above it: the headline read, "Wanted for Questioning About the Death of Albus Dumbledore". The picture was Harry's.


	88. Y7, C10: Muggle RoundUp

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 10: Muggle Round- Up**

Cody gaped at the headline in disbelief. "_Whaaaaat?_" he exclaimed, unable to believe what he was seeing. "They can't _possibly_ believe Harry had anything to do with that!"

"Of course they don't," said Fred bitterly. "It's just their excuse for hounding him..."

"...and torturing people to get information on him," finished George.

"That's not all," said Bill quietly, spreading butter on his toast. His tone was very calm, but his expression was almost scary. "Turn the page."

Cody did, dread again stealing over him, and scanned the page until he found what Bill was talking about. The indignation returned, but fear crept into him as well, turning his body cold from the chest out. "Muggle-Born Register?" he murmured, reading the article as quickly as he could.

The article explained that Muggle-Born wizards were to present themselves to the Ministry to be interrogated about their wizarding ancestry, to determine whether or not they were truly wizards and witches. If they did not have one close relative that was a mage, it would be determined that the person must have stolen their magical ability, and be appropriately punished.

The article made Cody feel physically ill, and looked back up, his hands shaking. "It...does it mean what I think?"

Charlie snorted. "If what you think involves the start of You-Know-Who's getting all the Muggle-borns out of his way, then yes."

Bill added, "They began rounding up known Muggle-borns this morning."

"And," said Charlie, "you must have blood status, that is you must be proven to be what they define as a true witch or wizard, to attend Hogwarts. So they're pulling this on kids, too."

Cody sat down hard in a chair next to Fred Weasley, staring at the page. He found the article about Hogwarts, and was mildly disturbed to realize that attendance to the school was now mandatory for everyone under seventeen. Not that Cody didn't intend to return, but it gave him a very bad feeling.

"We can't do anything about it," he said, which was the most awful realization yet.

"No," said Mr. Weasley. "For now we all have to go along as best we can and do anything at all within our power to fight."

The last thing Cody wanted to do after that was eat, but Mrs. Weasley convinced him to have some toast, at least.

After breakfast, Arthur went off to work, and the twins went to Diagon Alley to keep their joke shop open. Mrs. Weasley predicted dire results if they insisted on flaunting themselves and their controversial products now, but Fred and George were...well...Fred and George. It'd take a lot to stop them selling their jokes.

Cody spent a little time after breakfast outside, flying his broom and chasing Merlin, who liked playing air tag. But the sight of the Death Eaters watching the house was too unnerving for Cody to stay there long. He didn't think that they were there every day, all day, but it was enough. Cody spent the next five minutes muttering rude words about Voldemort's followers.

During supper that day, Cody got a message from Lupin in the form of his Patronus, a shining, silver lion. "Samantha is safe, Cody. Considering what's going on, we're going to move her in with a friend...best not to say who. But I assure you they can be trusted."

That was all there was, but it was enough for Cody to know his little sister was being taken care of.

He didn't have much to do at the Burrow. Anything that could possibly be done at that point to fight Voldemort was being done at the Ministry, which was a place Cody couldn't go. Anything else required doing magic, which Cody couldn't do. He was finding being an underage wizard the most horribly annoying thing in the entirety of the world.

As the days passed, he began wondering if something had happened to Lupin after all. Cody was worried about him, and missed him and Samantha a great deal. In fact he didn't see Lupin for almost a week, before he showed up at Grimmauld Place, looking tired, haggard, and more stressed out than Cody had ever seen him. When Cody ran to him, Lupin hugged him, but it didn't seem as if his heart was in it.

"What happened?" asked Cody.

But Lupin didn't reply right away. Instead, he gave Cody and the Weasleys news about Harry, whom he had finally tracked down. In very low tones, using vague references and inferences, he told them that Harry, Ron, and Hermione were holed up at Grimmauld Place (Cody was momentarily jealous), and that they'd only nearly escaped a pair of Death Eaters in some street in London.

"I don't know how they were tracked so quickly," said Lupin. "But we're going to have to be extremely careful from now on."

"Remus," said Cody quietly. "I...I don't think I can go to Hogwarts this year." It was something he'd been thinking about a great deal, having nothing else to do.

Remus frowned, looking taken aback. "Why?"

"Because – er – you've been reading the Daily Prophet, right?" Feeling he wasn't getting enough attention on Cody's lap, Merlin crawled up onto Cody's T-shirt, and Cody absent scratched his head. When Lupin answered that yes, he'd read the Prophet, Cody reminded him of the blood-status rule they were instigating for the school.

"But you're a full-blooded wizard, Cody," said Lupin. "They've got no reason to call you in for questioning. Not to mention you're underage."

But Cody was shaking his head. "Are you kidding? My parents, my blood parents, the ones that're magic, are both dead. And one's a Death Eater. I can't prove it, and I don't want to! _Plus_ my name's DeDannan, that's what it's down as at Hogwarts, and my...my mum was a Muggle."

Understanding crossed slowly over Lupin's face, and he frowned, sitting back in his chair.

"Besides," said Cody, taking a big breath. "I don't want to meet with the Ministry, not with all the Death Eaters there, and...especially after I met that Rowle guy in Knockturn Alley that one day."

"Knockturn Alley!" Mrs. Weasley's voice startled Cody and Lupin both, as she gaped at Cody in disbelief. "Are you telling me that you went into Knockturn Alley, Cody? Have you gone mad, Remus, letting him?"

Cody blinked, and held back a sudden, insane urge to giggle. Now that had been a stupid thing, mentioning Knockturn Alley in front of Mrs. Weasley, hadn't it? The Weasleys didn't know about his uncle Coatl.

"I'll explain later, Molly," said Lupin. "We'll see what we come up with, Cody, okay? They've also made it mandatory that anyone under seventeen attend...a way of weeding out Muggle-born children as well, instigating the blood status rule. For now try not to worry about it. They may not even bother with you, since technically you aren't Muggle-born."

Cody nodded, but it still worried him. "Okay. Are we going back to the flat today?"

Lupin nodded. "Yes."

Lupin remained rather closed-mouthed all day, speaking only here and there with the Weasleys, as they discussed the current situation, and how utterly helpless they were to do anything about it. For the time being, they seemed only to be waiting.

---

Lupin and Cody went back to the flat that night, but Cody was surprised to see that Tonks wasn't there. At first, Lupin didn't seem like he wanted to say anything about it, but with a little bit of questioning from Cody, the dam seemed to break. Cody had heard a little of it before, when Tonks told him that she was pregnant, but he had no idea how deeply Lupin's upset...and fear...ran until that night.

"Harry has a mission," said Lupin quietly as the two of them sat in the living room on the couch. "You know that much."

Cody knew a great deal more than that, but he only nodded his head.

"And he will be a very long time doing it. When I went there...showed the, the newspaper and gave them news...I asked if he would let me join them, help them." Lupin looked down as Cody blinked at him, trying to grasp the significance of this confession.

Finally, he understood. "And...and what about Tonks?" he finally asked.

Lupin took a big breath, raising his head and looking up at the ceiling. He looked on the verge of tears again, and it frightened Cody. It was always scary to see adults cry, especially parents...or people like parents. "I'm afraid, Cody," he finally said. "I love Tonks. You know that. More than anything. But I'm afraid...have been since we wed. Her parents...her parents are horrified that we've been wed, and Tonks was afraid of that, which is why it was only us at the wedding. I think I've made a horrible mistake."

It was a little bit frightening, hearing Remus talk about being afraid, of these serious, adult matters, but did not say so. He wanted Remus to trust him with this...and he wanted to help him. That, more than anything. "Because you're a werewolf?" asked Cody quietly.

Lupin made a furious noise and stood up abruptly, nearly toppling Cody off the couch as his weight left it. "Don't you see what I've done, Cody? What I've done to both of them? I've lived my whole life as an outcast, and now I've made Tonks one, too! See what I've done? Because I wanted someone, because of my selfishness? And my child will be immensely fortunate if he doesn't carry my curse, and even if he does, there's still me! Who the hell wants a werewolf for a father?"

Cody wanted to cry, and it was only with great effort that he managed not to. "That's a dumb question," he finally said, a little shakily. Lupin looked at him, hurt, and Cody rushed on, not wanting him to think that Cody meant anything except for unconditional love in his comment. "You already know the answer."

"I-the answer?" said Lupin. It was obvious that Cody's remark was anything but what he expected it to be. For the first time, Cody thought he truly saw what an ordeal, what a curse it was for Lupin to be what he was, what Fenrir Greyback had sentenced the child Lupin to when he bit him so long ago. "I-it was a rhetorical question, Cody," he finally said.

"I know," said Cody, getting up off the couch. "But it still has an answer." Lupin looked at Cody for several seconds before he continued. "Yeah...me and Samantha. Tony coulda taken us when our mum died. The Weasleys were willing, too. But you're the one I wanted to have as my guardian. And I sure as hell don't care that you're a werewolf! It doesn't make you any less you!"

He had not meant to cuss. It wasn't the first time, but it was the first time he had done it in front of Lupin, but there was no taking it back. Lupin did not get angry, he only stumbled back to the couch and sat on it, slumping down and putting his head in his hands. "Cody, I—I don't know what to do."

Cody sat down beside Lupin and put an arm around his shoulders (having to kneel up a little to do so). "Aw, Remus..." he said, and took a deep breath. "Just be normal! I mean, normal for you." He had 't meant it as a joke, but Lupin chuckled wearily all the same. "Really. Just...care about your kid, and Tonks, how you cared—care—for me. You know Tonks doesn't care that you're a werewolf. Neither will your kid. He'll just be lucky to have a father as good as you."

He had said the right thing. Lupin closed his eyes, turned, and drew Cody into a grateful hug. Feeling a little shaky, Cody hugged him back, relieved, more than anything else. When Lupin finally pulled away and let go, his eyes were wet, but he was smiling. "You're a good kid, Cody. I'm lucky you did decide to let me care for you and your sister." Cody smiled. "I've been stupid, I suppose. Harry...Harry called me a coward when I went there."

Indignation replaced Cody's upset. "No way! You are not a coward!"

"Maybe," said Lupin, sighing. "I feel like one, though."

Cody scowled angrily, getting to his feet and putting his hands on his hips. "Grown-ups are allowed to be afraid!" he exclaimed. "And they're allowed to make mistakes! And people like Harry should understand that!"

At this, Lupin smiled a little, and nodded. "Yes, that's true. Harry has his own ghosts to fight, too. And those ghosts might have spurred his comment a little."

"Maybe." Cody personally thought that Harry was being a jerk, but he didn't press the issue. To Cody, being mean was being mean, no matter why you did it. "So where's Tonks?"

"At her parents'. We've redone the charms there...I hope it's enough. They've no reason to go after her, though, being a pureblood. And while she's pregnant, she's decided not to risk the baby by fighting."

Cody was relieved. He didn't know how he'd feel if their unborn son got killed because of some Death Eater. "And Samantha?"

"At Kathy's," said Lupin quietly. "And just in case...some of Fleur's relatives have agreed to take her out of the country if need be. Because she's a Muggle, and she has ties, however indirectly, with the Order of the Phoenix."

It reminded Cody about stories he had read in his old history classes about Muggle children who got sent away from the cities in England, when they were being bombed. It sounded good to him. "Are we staying here for now, then?"

Lupin nodded. "We are." For the time being, Lupin said, he'd managed to shake off the Death Eaters who had been tailing him, but he thought that it was only a matter of time before they were found. He didn't think that they were in any danger, but it made doing anything against Voldemort and his new regime very difficult. Cody was glad they were staying put for a while; he was not used to moving around so much.

---

A week into August, Cody got a pleasant surprise; he walked home from the corner store to see Graham Pritchard sitting on the couch, chatting causally with Remus over cups of tea. Cody blinked and dropped the bags he was holding (and fortunately none of it was breakable), and the two of them looked up. Graham grinned and set his tea aside, running over to wrap Cody in a bone-crushing hug worthy of Hagrid.

Cody laughed and hugged Graham back, still astonished to see him, and broke away to look his friend over.

Graham seemed to have grown taller in just a month...either that, or Cody wasn't used to seeing him. He was dressed in some obnoxious orange robes, and his curly hair was growing out towards his shoulders. "Nice hair," said Cody with a grin. "Changing your name to Geraldine, are you?"

Graham sputtered indignation and took a swipe at Cody, who dodged, laughing. "Prat," Graham muttered darkly.

"Yeah, takes one to know one," said Cody, gathering the bags he had dropped. "What're you doing here, anyway?"

"Graham has come to stay here until school stars," said Lupin amusedly. "I know that you don't care for being alone much when I am away on...business. Tends to get very boring and pretty lonely, I imagine. So Graham's parents have agreed to let him stay here. After all, he's pure blood too, and in little danger."

"Awesome!" The two boys grinned at one another, shaking hands, and Graham helped Cody get the groceries into the little kitchen. "What's been happening, anyway?" Cody asked.

Graham laughed. "In the what, month since I saw you last?" The two boys exchanged a look, and as if on a signal, both became somber. "Since Dumbledore," said Graham with a sigh."

"Yeah, well. There's been plenty here for sure. The Death Eaters busted up Bill and Fleur's wedding."

The sound that came out of Graham was shocked, but comical enough that Cody had to laugh. "They did what?" Graham sputtered.

And so Cody told him the whole story, from beginning to end, only omitting those things that he wasn't allowed to tell. Everything else, however, he related in all its detail, and that included the things that happened away from the Burrow as well.

About those things, Graham was not too surprised. "My dad works at the Ministry, too," he said. "He's been keeping quiet, but he doesn't much like what's been going on there, either. The Muggle-borns, and...well..." Graham swallowed hard as he and Cody finished putting the groceries away. "And I've heard of the things they're doing."

"It's scary," complained Cody with a scowl as they went back out into the living room.

"Thanks, by the way, for going to the store, Cody," said Lupin.

"No problem." Cody actually preferring doing chores that took him outside the little flat, and Lupin was a lot more recognizable than Cody was.


	89. Y7, C11: Umbridge Again

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 11: Umbridge Again**

With Graham in the house, life was a lot more pleasant. Cody couldn't shut out the news from the outside, not when the Daily Prophet reported more and more depravity committed by the Ministry and Voldemort's followers, but having his best friend there to complain with made things more bearable. Especially when Lupin was gone for long periods.

Days passed, and matters didn't get a whole lot better. Though Voldemort hadn't been spotted for ages, his followers were doing a fine job of taking over the wizarding world. Every day brought more stories of Muggle-borns disappearing, people being tortured or killed, and inch by inch, every department of the Ministry falling under the bad guys' complete control. It was scary.

Halfway into August, Cody received some unwelcome news. It seemed the Ministry did not know where to find Lupin's apartment (proving the protective charms he put on it worked), so they had sent Arthur Weasley a message to pass to Cody. Mr. Weasley didn't dare visit the apartment, as he was still being closely watched by the Ministry, but he sent them an owl.

Cody and Graham were alone in the flat when Errol, the Weasleys' old owl, tapped on the window. Cody let him in, where it promptly collapsed on the couch. Graham winced and ran over to pick the creature up, but Errol was already staggering up onto its feet and hopping feebly onto the end table.

"Oy, Cody, it's for you," said Graham as Cody trotted over to see what was going on.

Cody bent down and gently removed the letter from where it was tied around Errol's left foot. "Thanks," he said softly to the creature, sitting down on the couch to open it up.

The first letter was from Arthur:

_Cody – I was "asked" to send this letter along to you. I think it would be a very bad idea for you to go along with this, especially as you have no way of proving you're a wizard. It would be highly dangerous, in any case. Talk it over with Remus._

His stomach knotting uneasily, Cody tossed the letter aside, where Graham snatched it up to read, and drew out the other letter. This was not a scrap bit of parchment, as was Arthur's letter, but an official looking sheet, with the Ministry of Magic seal on the outside. The knot in Cody's stomach drew tighter, and he broke the seal with hands that weren't quite steady. What would the Ministry want with him?

The letter was not so friendly as Arthur's was.

_Cody DeDannan,_

_You are hereby ordered to appear at the Ministry of Magic on Monday, August twenty-third, to be questioned about your blood status. Failure to comply will result in the Ministry's taking measures to bring you into custody, and prevent your re-admission into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry._

_Sincerely,_  
_Dolores Jane Umbridge_  
_Head of the Muggle-born Registration Commission_  
_Ministry of Magic_

Umbridge! That old hag! _She_ was the one behind the Muggle-born Register!

"Those ratbags!" Graham exclaimed, making Cody jump. He had been reading over Cody's shoulder, and now grabbed the letter from his hand. "They can't do that, you're a wizard!"

Cody sighed shakily, slumping back into his seat. "They can do it. They've been doing it. And my name's down as DeDannan at Hogwarts...it must change by itself if your name changes, like mine did when Mom adopted me. The quill wouldn't make any difference between Muggle-borns or purebloods..."

"And none of your family's alive, are they?" asked Graham worriedly.

"Well...actually, I didn't tell you, did I?" And so Cody launched into the story about how he had met Coatl Carrow, his blood-mother's brother...Cody's uncle. He also told Graham about their encounter in the middle of Knockturn Alley, and was amused when Graham was distracted enough to ask what Knockturn Alley was like.

"Was it really creepy?"

"Yeah, you could say that," laughed Cody.

"I guess after that, this Coatl wouldn't be about to help you claim your pure-blood status, would he?"

Cody sighed, swiping his hair back with his hand. "No. And I don't want to claim it! My family's a bunch of murderers!"

"But if the alternative is punishment...blimey, I wonder what the punishment is if they decide you've stolen your magic?"

It was something Cody didn't want to think about. "Azkaban, probably," he said, feeling himself begin to shake. He hadn't seen a dementor since the end of his fourth year, and he didn't want to. "I hope Remus comes back tonight."

"Yeah...me too."

Cody didn't say much the rest of the day. He nursed Errol a bit, giving him some water and some owl treats Remus had stashed in the kitchen before the old owl was able to fly again. He paced the living room until Graham said he was wearing a rut in the wood floor. He tried playing Legend of Zelda on the Nintendo, but kept dying, which didn't seem like a very good omen, and so he stopped.

Lupin did return that night, having been to visit Tonks, and could tell right away that something had happened. When Cody showed him the letter, his face paled. "They've got you down as a Muggle-born," he whispered. "Damn it!" It was clear Lupin was realizing all the things Graham and Cody had discussed that day, because he clenched the fist not holding the letter and repeated, "Damn it!"

"I'm not going."

"No," said Lupin wearily. "No, I'm afraid you can't...especially not when you can't prove your blood status."

"Do you know what they're doing to people who can't?"

"No...though from the rumors I have caught here and there, it's not very pleasant."

Perfect. Not that Cody couldn't have guessed that much already...his imagination was already working overtime! "No Hogwarts...I guess I can't go back," he said, feeling suddenly like he was going to cry. Lupin put an arm around him, but Cody managed to hold back his tears. "I'm goin' in my room," he said glumly, and Lupin rested his hand briefly on Cody's head before letting him go.

Cody said hardly anything the entire night, and didn't eat at all; the idea of eating made his knotted stomach squirm in protest. He drink some apple juice, which settled well, but that was about it.

He went to bed early.

Friday the twenty-third came and went, and Cody stayed in the apartment, almost expecting them to barge in and arrest him, but they didn't. On Tuesday, however, the Evening Prophet ran a list of names, a list of people who had refused to present themselves for questioning. Hermione Granger's name was on the list among several others, and so was Cody's, along with a reward of five galleons per "Mudblood"...an incentive for people to hunt them down and bring them in.

"It's to be expected," said Lupin tensely when he read the list. "Hermione's in hiding, too."

Cody bit his lip. "Is that what I am, in hiding?" Somehow saying it that way made it all seem a lot more real—and a lot more terrifying.

"Afraid so, kiddo," said Lupin.

Cody had never been a fugitive before. He wasn't exactly sure what to feel! Did that make Lupin a fugitive, too, for helping him? In America, they called that "aiding and abetting". What did "abetting" mean, anyway? How did you "abet"? Before going to Hogwarts, and maybe even until a couple of years before, the idea of being fugitive would have been an exciting one...interesting at the very least. Now it only scared him. Maybe it was the people who had died, or maybe it was just the idea of hiding out, waiting for them to find him. He would much rather have made an out and out battle of it!

He wasn't sure what his face looked like, but Graham and Lupin were both looking at him in concern, so Cody thought maybe he didn't look very well. "I'm okay," he murmured. "Just kind of freaked out."

"I don't blame you," said Graham.

"I think I'll make some tea," said Lupin, walking to the closet and rummaging in his traveling bag. "I've some of my calming brew in here. I think that's just the thing."

"I think you're right," said Cody. Then he scowled, shaking his head in disbelief. "All this because I have a Muggle last name! I can't believe they're making such a big deal!"

"It's all a part of getting people under control, Cody," said Lupin from the kitchen, as he set a teapot boiling with a flick of his wand. "You refuse what the Ministry orders you to do, you get hunted down and chastised. Makes other people afraid to rebel."

"I-I see...it makes sense. Sorta. In a really stupid way!"

"'Stupid' is right," grumbled Graham.

Cody growled in frustration. "I just can't believe they let Voldemort take over the Ministry!"

As Lupin was walking out into the living room with a tray full of tea, there were several loud cracks, and before anyone could react, the room was full of people. Lupin let a yell of warning, dropping the tray with a clatter and drawing his wand. Graham tackled Cody to the ground, beneath red jets of light, as Cody grabbed for his own wand, clipped to his belt loop. Through his shock, Cody vaguely realized people had Apparated in, somehow getting through Remus's safeguards!

Several spells went off at once, and Cody scrambled out from under Graham, ducking behind the couch; Graham dove under the table, fumbling in his robes for his wand.

Lupin shot three Stunning spells in rapid succession, and Cody yanked at the clip holding his wand on, growling in frustration and finally grabbing hold of it where it was. "STUPEFY!" he shouted, the red beam lancing out and hitting one of the black-robed intruders right in the back. He dropped, and Cody laughed, the sound a little hysterical. "One shot, right from the hip!"

Two others turned to him, their wands aimed at his head, and he dived back behind the couch as the hexes went off. He yelled as someone dived behind the couch, landing almost directly on him, sending a wild punch at his face. Cody yelled again, reeling backwards, as his attacker grabbed Cody's wand and yanked, breaking the plastic clip that held it on, and throwing his wand across the room.

"LEMME GO!" Cody shrieked, kicking out at his attacker.

The figure cried out in pain as Cody's flailing foot caught him a blow to the groin, and Cody scrambled out, searching frantically for his wand. He caught a glimpse of Lupin dueling with two of the attackers, and Graham taking potshots from the kitchen before an Impedimenta Jinx hit Cody, knocking him over onto his back.

The figure from behind the couch lunged out, diving onto Cody and forcing him onto his frontside, pinning his arms behind his back.

"NO!" Lupin roared, breaking free of his duel and lunging at the man who had Cody pinned. But one of the men flashed out with a fist, catching Lupin under the chin, staggering him. "Incarcerous!" snarled one of the attackers, and Lupin was tightly bound in strong cords. The one who'd cast the spell grabbed Lupin's arms and held him still.

It was over within minutes. When the spells had stopped, Graham was being sat on by someone who outweighed him by at least fifty pounds, and Lupin was bound in ropes, his graying hair clenched in the fist of yet another of their attackers. Cody's attackers had hauled him to his feet, holding him tightly as he fought. "LET GO!"

When the biggest of the lot raised a fist and struck Cody a backhanded blow across the face, he couldn't move enough to avoid it. With a strangled cry, he went limp for a moment, stunned, held up only by the goons grasping his arms. When Cody looked back up, his head pounding from the blow, he recoiled from the face that loomed inches from his, teeth bared, lips set in a snarl.

He was a big man, broad, with unkempt, matted hair and a scrubby growth of hair on his cheeks and chin. He was filthy, and smelled of dirt and something else Cody couldn't identify. A stirring of recognition...

For Lupin it was more than a stirring. From where he sat on the ground, he looked up at the rangy man, his expression horrified. His voice was a hoarse whisper. "Greyback."

Cody whipped his head back from Lupin to the man in front of him, horror making his chest tight. "_Greyback?_"

Greyback leered, an intimidating sight, because the man's teeth were sharp, even in human form. "That's right, brat." He looked over at Lupin and his grin got even wider. "Long time, no see, Remus."

Lupin looked more furious than Cody had ever seen him, almost as if he, too, were succumbing to the wolf. "I swear, Greyback, if you hurt Cody--"

Greyback only laughed. "You'll do what, Lupin? I have the Ministry on my side. They're paying a bounty for these Muggle-born scum."

"I am not Muggle-born!" hollered Cody, his fists clenched. "My blood parents were wizards!"

"Maybe," said Greyback with a shrug. "But you'll have a time proving it. Don't matter to me much either way, really, s'long's I get paid."

"I'm not going!"

Cody recoiled as Greyback approached him and bent low, his face inches from Cody's. Cody could smell the dirt, and what he finally realized was blood on the man's skin, and his stomach gave a sickening lurch. "I think you are, brat."

Cody jerked back, sending one of the wizards holding him off balance, and drew his foot back. He kicked up as high as he could, catching Greyback underneath his chin. The man yelled in pain, reeling back, and Cody twisted around, sinking his teeth into the hands gripping his left arm. That man yelled, too, letting go.

All of a sudden it seemed like everyone was yelling, in fear, in pain, in fury. The wizard Cody had bitten grabbed him again, but Greyback shoved him aside, and Cody's heart leapt in sudden terror; Greyback _looked_ like a beast, crouched on the ground, his pupils dilated, carnivore's teeth bared in a snarl. "You like to bite, boy?" he growled, and before Cody could move, he lunged.

"GREYBACK, NO!" Lupin cried as Greyback seized Cody's freed arm, sinking his own teeth into the skin.

Graham's terrified cry was lost under Cody's own scream as pain sank into his bare arm and shot up his body. His knees buckled as he began to fight, suddenly convinced that Greyback was going to rip him apart; the werewolf's snarls were unidentifiable as humans sounds.

Cody didn't know how long he fought Greyback off, grappling on the floor, striking at his eyes, his face, kicking at his body. but it was one of Greyback's own men who pulled him off of Cody. "Damn it, Greyback, you kill him we don't get no reward! Back off!"

No one was holding Cody now, but they didn't need to, he was shaking too hard to sit up, much less stand, clutching at his torn arm, looking up at Greyback in shocked horror.

Greyback looked down, blood dripping from his mouth, and he wiped at it with the back of his ragged robe. "Get him to the Ministry and patch him up," he snarled, and Cody caught sight of Graham's and Lupin's horrified faces before he was grabbed and Apparated out.

When Cody reappeared, he was in an office that looked horribly, awfully familiar. The walls were covered in lace and nauseatingly cutesy pictures, the desks covered in doilies, and a strange telescopic device on the door. Decorative plates with cutesy kittens on them made him shudder. He was sitting on the floor, and was distracted for a moment as one of the wizards with him conjured white bandages, using magic to wrap them tightly around Cody's arm and leg. He looked down, startled to see that his leg was bleeding, too.

"Ah," said a sickly-sweet, girlish voice. "Mr. DeDannan. I'm not surprised to see you brought in like this."

Clenching his teeth, Cody looked up, shaking in anger as Dolores Umbridge's doughy, fat face looked down on him with an expression of deepest complacency. "You!" was the only thing he could articulate.

"Yes, Mr. DeDannan. Me." She shifted her gaze to the two wizards holding Cody and said, "I think he's the last for now. Take him down with the others. You'll be paid once Greyback gets back."

Cody groaned in pain as he was hauled to his feet, putting all his weight on his uninjured leg. "You got it, miss," said one, and he and his friend unceremoniously pulled Cody towards the door. "Greyback's got 'is wand."

He didn't know where he was going, but he couldn't muster up enough curiosity to ask. His arm ached horribly, and he couldn't walk on his leg; he must have gotten bitten or cursed when he fought Greyback, and hadn't realized it at the time. He'd been too afraid.

Greyback was a monster...as much as monster as Voldemort was, maybe even more. Voldemort was a horrible man, and he, too, had welcomed an inner beast. But Voldemort had reasons for his cruelties. He enjoyed them, of that Cody had no doubt, but he also had reasons other that sheer enjoyment for his atrocities.

Greyback...he just did it because he enjoyed it, he _liked_ watching his victims' blood running from their veins, liked the taste of it, liked to hear their cries of pain. He didn't need a reason other than that.

Cody shivered as he was hustled down the corridor to the lifts, and tossed inside. He kept an eye on the two dark-robed wizards, trying to remember if he knew them, but they were total strangers. They couldn't be more than eighteen or nineteen, either of them, and Cody wondered why in the hell they were traveling with Greyback, hunting down Muggle-borns.

The cool, feminine voice Cody remembered from his last trip to the Ministry sounded above him, calmly calling out the floors and their departments. To his surprise, he was taken to the same floor that the Department of Mysteries was at, hustled roughly out of the lift, and towards a set of stone stairs.

For a few moments, Cody had to center all of his concentration on getting down the steps without falling, but once he was down, something else took every bit of his attention. Tall, ragged figured covered in black robes and hoods...an unnatural chill permeating the entire corridor...a sudden sense of crushing despair. Cody let out a strangled cry of fear as he was dragged towards them, too terrified to fight. He was forced down onto a rough wooden bench next to five other terrified looking people and left there.

"Enjoy," said one of the wizards nastily, as he and his friend made a hasty retreat from the corridor. Once they'd gone, one of the vile dementors glided over to block the way out.

It had been a very long time since Cody had been in the presence of a dementor, and he couldn't stop shaking. They were not drawing in their breath, not pouring in the scenes of Cody's worst memories, but their mere presence was enough.

"Easy, boy,' said a voice next to him , and he turned to see an elderly looking woman trying her best to give Cody a reassuring smile. "Try not to be afraid, okay?"

Yeah, right! Cody didn't think it was possible, but he appreciated the attempt all the same. He edged as close to her as he could get.

The others were all adults, but they looked just as terrified as Cody was. One woman was crying quietly, and the man next to her looked close. "Wh-what...why?" Cody finally managed to ask, his voice barely a whisper.

"We're Muggle-born," said the older woman worriedly. "Our parents aren't magical folks. Some of us have other wizarding relatives, but some..." she shook her head. "My grandfather was a wizard, but he's dead...I don't know how I am going to prove my blood status."

"You shouldn't have to," one man growled, but his voice was shaking. "'Stealing magic.' It's utterly ridiculous."

Yeah...it was. But that wasn't stopping the Ministry, and Cody couldn't see any way out of it. Swallowing hard, he curled up on the bench, gritting his teeth as fresh pain welled in his arm and leg at the movement. The old woman put an arm around him and he finally managed a smile.

After about five minutes, long enough for Cody to feel absolutely wretched thanks to the horrid dementors, the door at the end if the little hallway opened, and a man's name was called. Ghost-white, one of the men stood, cringing away from the dementor who loomed behind him, no doubt to ensure that he didn't make any detours. Cody and the others waited for several minutes, but the man did not come out, and Cody wondered if that was a good sign or bad.

One by one, the Muggle-borns went into the room, until only Cody was left. Not one of the others had come out of that room the same way they went in, and Cody was near tears by the time the voice called, "DeDannan, Cody."

One of the dementors loomed up, and Cody scurried away from it, slipping into the room before it could get too close. It stayed behind him, however, all the way into the room.

The chamber reminded Cody strongly of the Death Chamber they'd seen a year ago at the Department of Mysteries, though it was a lot smaller. In place of the veil, there was an uncomfortable looking chair. More dementors ringed the room, lurking in the corners, and the one behind Cody ushered him to the chair.

Looking up at the front of the room, Cody saw a raised area with chairs in which sat three people: Umbridge, whose face made a surge of fury go through Cody, and a man and woman he did not recognize on either side of her. Shaking, Cody sat in the chair, shivering at how cold it was; he had on only a T-shirt and a pair of jeans cutoffs, and he was already freezing thanks to the dementors.

Chains rattled at the sides of the chair, quickly binding his arms to it, and he gave a yelp of startlement. Hissing in pain as his injured arm was bound, he jerked the other one back, but he was stuck tight.

"Silence," said the man whose voice had called all the Muggle-borns into the room. He noticed a bright-silver cat pacing in front of the three adults, protecting them, he assumed, from the dementors. He sure wished they protected _him_ against them!

"Your full name?" asked Umbridge. Her horrible girl-voice was even worse for its pleasure, its obvious betrayal of Umbridge's enjoyment. She had all the power she wanted, now!

Cody didn't want to cooperate with the miserable old toad, he wanted to yell and scream. But a small voice told him that would not be the best thing to do now. Not while he was bound to a chair, and the room was full of dementors. "C-Cody Revelin DeDannan."

"Ah, I see. And this wand." She held up Cody's wand, still with the broken clasp attached. "Redwood, phoenix feather core? Is it yours?"

Cody scowled. "Yes." He almost added that he wanted it back, but figured that might not be wise.

"Where did you get it?"

"Ollivander's."

"I see. Now, you were summoned several days ago to submit to questioning to prove your blood status, in order for you to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Can you tell me why you refused?"

That was a very good question. How the hell was he supposed to answer it? Finally, he sighed. "Because I'm a pure-blood, but I can't prove it." He looked down at himself, painfully aware that his Muggle attire wasn't helping him any.

Umbridge smirked. "A pureblood, you say? Is that so? Your name, DeDannan, is not the surname of any known wizarding family in Britain, nor can we find any DeDannans in the area of America you lived in. You yourself said on several occasions at school that your family were Muggles. Care to explain that?"

"They're adopted," said Cody. "My blood parents are dead."

"I see." It was very clear that Umbridge didn't believe a word of it. "So why were you found in the care of Remus Lupin, a well-known werewolf?"

Cody's blood was boiling...the disgust, the disdain in Umbridge's face when she mentioned Lupin infuriated him. "Because a worthless bastard killed my mother and left me an orphan...again! That's why."

"Watch your tone, brat!" roared the man to Umbridge's left.

Umbridge sniffed. "A werewolf is hardly an appropriate guardian for a wizard, Muggle-born or not. Now, your parents, boy, what were their names?"

Tears were stinging Cody's eyes, but he tried to force himself to calm down. If there was a way, any way, to convince the old hag, he had to find it! "J-Joseph and Mallory Gregor," he said.

There was a flash of startled recognition in the eyes of the man, but Umbridge only gave him a searching look. "Gregor. There are, indeed, some Gregors among the wizarding families...but in Britain, not America. I don't suppose there is anyone who will speak for you?"

Her tone made it quite plain that she didn't expect Cody to have any relatives that could come to his aid, and neither did Cody. He was about to answer "no", when the door opened.

Nothing could have astonished Cody more than the man who walked in the door and answered, "Yes, he does." It was his uncle, Coatl.


	90. Y7, C12: Savior or Jailer

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 12: Savior or Jailer**

Cody was quite speechless, and Umbridge herself looked just as taken aback. "And who are you?" she asked rudely.

"My name is Coatl Carrow," the man said, sounding confident and haughty. If the dementors were affecting him, Cody couldn't tell. "This boy is my nephew." Umbridge only stared at him, and so Coatl went on. "The Carrows are a very old wizarding family, as I am sure you know. They began as the Carews, my great, great grandparents were the last to bear that name, and split into two branches. Their son, my great grandfather changed the family name to Carrow, to distinguish them more clearly from the Careys, a well-known Muggle line. His sister married into the Tiller family, another well-known wizarding line."

Cody jerked his head around in shock, forgetting even the dementors as he stared at Coatl. The Tillers? He was related to the Tillers? The man who had killed his mother was a part of Cody's blood family? He suddenly remembered the "Dustin" Coatl had spoken of in Knockturn Alley and knew this was true.

Coatl seemed not to have noticed Cody's shock, only finished with, "His mother was Mallory Carrow, until she married and moved to America, where Cody was born and orphaned."

Flustered, Umbridge sputtered for a few moments before managing, "He—he is—Yaxley, is this man who he says he is?"

The man nodded his head slowly, peering down at Coatl. "He is. He is not tremendously active among wizards, but he is pure-blood, and known to us, as was Mallory Gregor."

Umbridge was taken very much by surprise, and was slow to recover. I...I see. Well then, Mr. DeDannan." She smirked nastily at him. "Seems as though you've been lucky. But I cannot allow such a young child to be given back into the care of a werewolf. You will be given over to Mr. Carrow."

_"What?"_ Cody exclaimed furiously, his eye back on her once more. "You can't do that!"

Umbridge seemed to be immensely happy to have at least one weapon against Cody. "Oh, I'm afraid I can, DeDannan. You see, Remus Lupin is a very dangerous man, and I could not in good conscience let him get a hold of you again. You will go with your uncle until the start of term." She mildly observed Cody's furious expression. "Unless, of course, you'd rather remain in the care of the Ministry?" She glanced meaningfully at the dementors still lurking in the corners, and Cody could not help but follow her gaze. The threat was plain enough; cooperate, or suffer for it. Umbridge nodded to Coatl. "Good day, Mr. Carrow. You may take this child, now. Oh, and here is his wand. Whether you permit him to have it is your decision." And she handed him Cody's redwood wand.

Cody felt numb as the chains around his arms loosened, the dementors swept out of the room, and Umbridge and her lackeys left through a door behind them. Cody got shakily out of the miserable chair and turned slowly to look at Coatl, not sure how he felt. He was appalled that the Ministry intended to keep him from Lupin, furious at their claims that Lupin was dangerous. But he also could not help being grateful that Coatl had come to his defense. "I...guess I owe you one," Cody said finally, offering a hand to Coatl.

Coatl, looking more strained now that it was only him and Cody, looked a little surprised, and shook Cody's hand. "You're family, Cody," he said. "Alliance aside, you are family. And blood's important, no matter what you might say."

Cody bit his lip, his hand unconsciously gripping his injured arm. "You don't intend to let me go back home, do you?"

"No," said Coatl quietly. "I cannot. You may hate me for it, but Ms. Umbridge is right, you belong with pureblood family, not a dangerous werewolf."

The tears Cody felt earlier finally began to fall. "Remus isn't dangerous! He's not! He took me and my sister in and loved us like we're his normal kids! See how I've been hurt? That was done by THEIR man!" He jerked his head angrily at where Umbridge had gone.

Coatl looked down at Cody, frowning a little. The bandages were red, soaked through, and as Coatl looked down, so did Cody. The sight alarmed him a little. "I'm going to take you to St. Mungo's," said Coatl. "We will continue our discussion after that."

Cody's first instinct was to refuse, but Coatl had his wand, and Cody had no way to contact anyone. Trying to run for it without any kind of magical assistance would be a futile and stupid attempt. "Okay," he finally said. Besides, he was getting worried he was going to bleed to death.

He followed Coatl out of the Ministry, but did not allow Coatl to help him. He limped along by himself, staring straight ahead, trying to calm the incredible riot of thoughts and feelings in his head. He wished suddenly that he had a Pensieve.

Once the two of them were in the atrium , Cody stared in uneasy disgust. Where there had once been a statue of a witch, wizard, house-elf, goblin, and centaur (it was destroyed last summer), there was now a huge, black statue of a witch and wizard only. They were sitting on a pile of bodies...alive people...and the phrase "Magic is Might" carved at its base. It was like a carved tumor, rising out of the floor.

"Come on, Cody," said Coatl quietly, and Cody turned away from the statue, not wanting to look at it any more.

Once outside the Ministry, Coatl took a firm hold of Cody's arm, and Cody braced himself for Apparition. Injured as he was, it _hurt_, which he wasn't prepared for, and arrived in the waiting room of St. Mungo's with a gasp of shocked pain. This time he did let Coatl steady him, else he would have fallen onto the floor.

Coatl did not bother talking to the Welcome Witch, only looked at the directory, and began helping Cody walk towards a crowded lift, to bring him up to the "first" floor. Being from America, Cody would call it the "second" floor. Once there, Cody was feeling shaky and weak, and Coatl helped him onto a nearby bed before going to talk to the Healer on duty. The woman came over, looking concerned, and asked Cody what happened.

"I got bit by a werewolf," he said, and when the Healer's eyes got very wide, he hastened to add, "An unchanged one...he's in human form."

The Healer was still looking at him with wide eyes, and a look of revulsion came over her face. "But who on earth would be sick enough to attack like that in human form?"

"Try Fenrir Greyback," growled Cody, taking a big breath.

The Healer winced, but it was clear that now she understood why the circumstances were so odd. "I see," she said quietly. "Well, let's take a look. I'm Melissa Drake, by the way, I'm the Healer in charge of this ward. I'm afraid that there are going to be quite a few complications arising from your injuries, Mr. Gregor." Coatl must have told her his name...the name he knew, anyway.

"I know," said Cody, as she gently unwrapped his arm. He grimaced on seeing the ragged injury Greyback had dealt him; it looked exactly as if he'd been savaged by a very large dog. "I know someone else that got attacked by him. He got hurt worse, though. On his face and his neck. He lost lots more blood than me. Just so...just so it heals. I don't care about scars."

He didn't, either. So long as the injury was clean and healed up, he didn't care much what it looked like.

"All right. First of all, drink this." The Healer handed her a small vial of what Cody recognized as the same painkiller Madame Pomfrey used, and Cody took it gratefully and downed the contents. A most wonderful calm feeling spread through him, a tingle that spread through his body, erasing the pain as it went. Cody sighed and slumped back tiredly in the bed.

"I wondered if you had any sort of remedy for the effects of dementors," said Coatl quietly. "He's been in close proximity to some of them for quite a while."

Healer Drake looked startled, but said, "Of course, we have a large stash of chocolate for that reason alone." She called another Healer over, an intern by the look of it, and asked him to get some for Cody. And so a moment later, Cody was eating the chocolate as he lay back in the bed with his eyes closed. He didn't even watch what the Healer did. So long as it didn't hurt him, he didn't care.

He was wakened from a half-doze by the Healer, who was holding out two bottles of potion. "It's going to take a few days to heal over," she said. "And until it does, you've got to take these two potions once a day. For the next four days, in fact."

Cody sat up slowly, taking the bottles suspiciously. One of them he recognized as the same blood-replenishing potion he'd taken after the fight in the Ministry. And the second one looked suspiciously familiar, too. Frowning, he unstoppered the bottle and had a sniff, then thrust it away from him as an acrid smell assaulted his nostrils. It was that one, all right...the horrible tasting one Madame Pomfrey nearly had to shove down his throat.

He sighed. "Okay."

"You'll want to change the bandages before you go to bed for those four days," said Healer Drake, but she seemed to be addressing Coatl more than him.

"I can do it," said Cody.

"Well, all right. Just make sure you get them nice and tight, but not so tightly that you cut off the circulation. They're waterproof, so you can shower if you like."

"Okay. I'll be able to use my arm right?"

"Oh, surely," said the Healer. "There was muscle damage, but I managed to fix most of it, and the rest will heal in time. Just don't strain yourself for a week or so. Otherwise, I think you're ready to go. I'll leave a little package for you, the potions and bandages and such."

She smiled at the pair of them, and Cody managed to smile back, but once she was gone, he looked at Coatl. "What if I refuse to go with you?" he asked. His tone was not belligerent, only serious.

Coatl sighed. "Cody...you have been raised in an extremely unusual way for a wizard. You were raised by a Muggle, though born of pure blood. Though a British citizen, you half grew up in America. You've spent time in the care of a werewolf, something most wizards would never even consider."

"Lupin is not dangerous! He's a good person!"

"Lower your voice!" Coatl hissed, looking around. "My point is, under normal circumstances, most of this should never have been allowed to happen. You belong with a pureblood family, Cody. You need to learn of your heritage, how a pureblood's supposed to act."

"I thought you were a pretty good guy," said Cody resentfully, "even though you think that Voldem--" He was very startled when Coatl lunged forward and clapped a hand on his mouth.

"Don't say his name," he hissed. "They've made it Taboo!"

Confusion made Cody forget to be angry he'd been interrupted. "Huh?" he asked when Coatl removed his hand.

The man sighed, running a finger through his mousy hair. "The Ministry have put a nation-wide Taboo on that name," he said. "The mention of it breaks any and all protective charms around the one who utters it, sends a magical homing signal to the utterer. It's normally only done in the most dire of circumstances, and it is not easy magic to manage. They've put it on that name, knowing that anyone who might use it are serious about opposing the Dark Lord. And it's allowed them to catch several wanted people."

"'Wanted,'" Cody snorted. The Taboo was very unwelcome news, but it made a lot of sense. Now Cody understood what had allowed that filthy git to get into the apartment. Cody had mentioned Voldemort's name right before. Looked like he was going to have to break that particular habit. "Wanted for being decent, you mean."

They both looked at each other for a few moments before Coatl said, "Individual beliefs aside, you're going to be staying with me until you go to Hogwarts. Think about it, Cody. You have no wand, and can't do magic, anyway, or they'll find you again. The Ministry has said you are to stay in my custody, and if you manage to leave, you truly will be a fugitive."

Cody couldn't think of anything to say, because every word of it was true. Coatl had Cody, and he knew it, and he hated it. Frustrated, angry tears streamed down his face.

Coatl sighed again. "Listen. I will allow you to contact Remus Lupin. You will have to use one of my owls, who've been enchanted so they can't be followed...but I will allow you to contact him whenever you want to. And we can arrange to have your belongings sent as well."

There was really nothing for it. Cody supposed there was a time to fight and a time to go along...but it didn't make him very happy. "Fine," he said finally, staring unhappily at the floor. "I don't really have much of a choice."

Coatl didn't try to make conversation as he led Cody out of St. Mungo's and Disapparated with him away from the main waiting room. When they appeared in front of a large manorhouse, Cody was not surprised. The old wizarding families, for the most part, seemed to be very wealthy. It was not nearly so big as Malfoy Manor, which Cody had seen in pictures, but it was still quite large for one person to live in.

Still, Cody didn't comment much on it as he followed Coatl inside. All he was thinking about was when he'd be allowed to contact Lupin.

"All right," said Cody. "I'm going to put you in one of the guest rooms. Don't bother trying to break the windows, they're enchanted." That figured. "I will give your wand back to you when you are to go back to Hogwarts."

"When can I write to Remus?"

"Once you are in your room, I will have the house elf bring you an owl. There is a desk with quills and parchment, as well as things such as pajamas and toiletries in the attached bathroom. You'll be comfortable enough. I intend to care for you properly...whatever else you might think of me."

It was Cody's turn to sigh. He almost felt bad...almost. Coatl _had_ saved his skin. But it was very difficult to feel friendly towards a man who was acting as his jailer. Especially as he was keeping Cody away from Remus. Finally, Cody only nodded.

The house elf looked a great deal like Dobby, though Cody was fairly sure it was a female. "This way, sir!" she squeaked when Coatl summoned her, and told her to take Cody to his room. "I is Sunny – Master Coatl said I is to make you comfortable."

"Right." As Coatl closed the door behind him, Cody followed the little elf towards a set of the stairs.

The stairs weren't any fun. The painkiller was wearing off, and Cody was limping badly as he went upstairs.

"Is you okay, sir?" asked the little elf as Cody groaned, pulling himself up to the top of the staircase.

"Yeah," said Cody, grimacing. "My leg just hurts."

"Can Sunny help you, sir?" asked the elf, sounding genuinely concerned. Cody found himself smiling at the little creature.

"No," he said. "But thanks."

"You is very welcome, sir!" The elf beamed at him before opening an ornate door in the hallway. "This is your room, sir!"

Cody was rather impressed despite himself. It was awfully cushy for a mere guest room; a large four-poster bed sat in the vast room, with light from two huge windows shining in on it. An ornate desk sat in one corner, and a matching wardrobe and chest of drawers stood along another wall. The carpet was plush, and what little he could see of the bathroom through the half-open door looked just as fancy as the rest.

"I-I has to lock you in, sir," said Sunny apologetically. 'That figures,' Cody thought. "But if you needs anything, just calls my name, please, sir, and I'll be right there!"

"I...Coatl said I can use an owl." She nodded. "Could you bring me one, and maybe a couple of sandwiches?"

Sunny beamed. "Of course I can, sir!" She disappeared immediately with a loud crack, and Cody couldn't help but smile. There was something endearing about house elves. Most house elves, anyway—Kreacher hadn't been so likable.

He tried the door, knowing before he did that it was going to be locked. It was. Feeling exhausted, he sat down in the ornate chair in front of the desk and started searching it for parchment.

There was plenty to write on in the desk, as well as several quills and bottles of ink. Cody took a quill, a bottle, and a parchment page out and began to write.

He supposed that Coatl was going to read anything he wrote, but he didn't particularly care much. He was going to write what he wanted.

_Dear Remus,_

_This is Cody. I'm okay. I wouldn't have been, except that Coatl showed up and told them that I was related to him...I couldn't believe it. Except that Umbridge...that old hag!...she was the one that was questioning Muggle-borns. There were others, but I don't know what happened to them...I hope they're okay._ _She said that I had to go with Coatl instead of back to you, and I was REALLY furious! Coatl says it's best, says that I should be with a pureblood, and that I have to stay until we get on the Hogwarts Express. _

_I'll be looking for ways to get out. But first I gotta get my wand back. (Umbridge gave it to Coatl.) Not that I'm not grateful he saved my butt...but he's also keeping me prisoner._ _At least he said I can contact you if I use his owls, because they can't be followed. He also said he can bring my stuff here._ _He took me to St. Mungo's to get my injuries treated, and I have potions and bandages. It still hurts, but it's not bad. And I don't mind having the same effects Bill got. At least I got to kick Greyback in the face...but I hope I meet that jerk again in a __fair__ duel!_

_I miss you...I hope you and Graham are okay. And if you have any ideas to get me out of here...lemme know! Please tell Graham I'm sorry he got roughed up, and I'll see him at Hogwarts...sooner if I can be sneaky enough._ _Oh. Don't say You-know-Who's name. Coatl says they put a Taboo on it. I dunno if you know what that means...you probably do...but it's how they found us and Apparated right to us. I said his name. But I can call You-know-Who a git, and I will!_ _Love,_

_Cody_

Cody slumped back in the chair, watching the parchment curl up slightly when he let it go. After a moment he rolled it up tightly and searched the desk for something to seal it with. He found some wax, but had no idea how to make a seal with it. But he did find a drawer full of ribbons, and he awkwardly used one to tie the letter up.

When Sunny came back into the room, Coatl was with her. Cody frowned. "You gonna read my letter?"

"No," said Coatl quietly. "I am simply going to tell you how to send the owl out. I've enchanted the windows so that humans can't go through them. But to send the owl through, simply touch that button."

Cody blinked, then looked at where Coatl was pointing; a small, golden button sat next to each of the windows. Curious despite himself, Cody pushed it, and was startled by a sudden rush of fresh air. He blinked again; the window looked as solid as ever, and when Cody touched it, it _felt_ as solid as ever. But he still felt the breeze from outside. "Wow."

"Not too difficult an enchantment," said Coatl dismissively. "The important thing is the owl can go through."

Sunny had a large, grayish owl perched on her arm, which at her command, flew over to stand on the desk next to Cody's letter.

"I will be writing Lupin as well," said Coatl, "telling him where he may send your belongings if he so wishes, and to tell him that I do not intend to harm you. I don't know where he is, so I am going to send my letter to the Weasleys. It's rather common knowledge where they live, so there's no danger."

Now that was a good idea...maybe Cody should do the same. Without another word, Cody got into the desk and drew out another piece of paper, writing a quick note to the Weasleys on it, telling them why he was sending it to the Burrow, and telling them that if they wanted to read his letter, that Cody didn't mind. He slid Lupin's letter out of its ribbon and wrapped the Weasleys' around it, rolling it up tightly and re-tying the whole thing.

"Here you go," he said quietly to the owl. "Can you take this to the Burrow? To the Weasley's?"

The pretty bird gently took the letter from Cody, hooted a muffled-sounding hoot, and took off, knocking the ink pot off the desk and flying out the door. Fortunately the inkpot was closed, though Cody didn't particularly care if it made a mess. Not like magic couldn't easily fix the problem.

"Here, sir!' squeaked Sunny, holding up a silver tray with a plate of sandwiches on it, and a jug of what looked like milk.

"Thanks," said Cody gratefully. "If you could put it on the desk?" He didn't dare take the heavy-looking tray with his injured arm.

"Of course, sir!" She did so, having to stand on her toes to reach.

"I'll leave you alone, then," said Coatl. "Perhaps tomorrow we can talk." And with that, he left the room, and Cody was alone with the little house elf.

"I kinda wanna take a shower," Cody said to the elf. "Are there towels and stuff?"

"Sure there is, sir, let me show you!" And the eager little creature ran into the half-open door, bidding Cody follow.

The bathroom was huge...just as fancy as he had expected when he first glimpsed it. A huge tub sat on one corner, and a circular shower stall in the other. He'd never seen them separate like that, before.

"If you takes your clothes off, sir, I'll put them with the washing, sir!"

Cody laughed, putting a hand briefly on the elf's head. "Thanks for taking care of me, Sunny," he said, and was rewarded for his appreciation by a delighted smile. Cody stripped off his bright green shirt and his cutoffs, tossing them into a little pile. The little elf hastened to start the shower before grabbing the clothes and disappearing. Chuckling wearily, Cody got into the stall.

The warm water was just perfect, and Cody never thought a shower could feel so good. Normally it was just a means to get clean, to be finished as quickly as possible, but now he sat down on the tile and just let the water fall on him.

Sunny returned a couple more times to check up on him, but Cody stayed in the shower a long time, only reluctantly standing up and beginning to wash up. There were towels and soap and shampoo and just about anything else he might need in a shower. Actually, there was far _more_ than he'd ever need in a shower.

When he was finished (mildly impressed that his bandages stayed dry), he finally got out and dried off. Sunny had left a pair of pajamas out for him, though when he put them on, they were way too big. Obviously Coatl didn't expect to have such a young houseguest. Still, with the sleeves and legs rolled up, they were fine.

Cody wanted to lie down when he was finished showering, but to his surprise, there was Coatl's owl, sitting on the desk. At first Cody thought it never left in the first place before noticing it held a different letter in its beak. Cody limped over and took the letter, unfolding it and reading the contents.

It was from Lupin—that was fast!

_Dear Cody,_ _I am glad you're okay. I can't say how grateful I am. I don't like that your uncle's keeping you prisoner, either, but it could be worse...and I'm trying to figure out a way to get you out of there. In the meantime, see what you can do about getting your wand. Neither Graham nor I am hurt; any damage we took was from fists, so was easily repaired once Greyback left. When they realized that Graham was not on their list, they weren't interested in us anymore. Still, just to be safe, we're moving._ _He's still with me, wanting to stick around and work on plans to help you escape. He is quite creative, I'll give him that, and more than indignant that you're being held against your will._

Cody smiled; that was Graham, all right! He read on.

_Thanks for the heads-up on the Taboo; I had not known about it. That makes things slightly inconvenient. I'll not say the name again. Arthur also mentioned it, having only learned of it today. We'll be warning everyone we know._

_Hang in there, kiddo. At least your uncle's being fair, at least by his reckoning. He obviously thinks he's doing what's right. That's what makes some of You-know-Who's followers so dangerous; they truly believe in what they're doing, and think that right is on their side. No matter who gets hurt._

_I will arrange to send your things, if you'll send me a list of what you want. Merlin, too...he's very agitated about your absence. Best wait until morning, now, as it's getting late. Keep addressing your letters to the Burrow. Arthur says he'll gladly act as messenger._ _Love, Lupin._ _P. S. – the Weasleys wanted to add a little "encouragement."_

Cody laughed; he could not help it. Ginny's idea of encouragement was, "Kick him in the groin...that usually helps." Fred had written, "Now you have an actual excuse to eat Blood Lollipops", and George wrote, "You shoulda spat in Greyback's eye."

Bill's, Arthur's, and Charlie's messages were a little more encouraging, more along the lines of "hang in there", and Mrs. Weasley told him not to put himself in danger. Cody looked over all of the messages, Lupin's included, fondly before carefully refolding the letter back into fourths.

Cody sent back one more note, thanking all of the Weasleys for their messages, and telling Lupin he'd write again in the morning. Once he'd sent the letter and sent the owl off once more, Cody crept into the four-poster bed, grabbing the bag the Healer had given him. Inside was a parchment of instructions and three bottles. Two were the potions, and one, he was happy to see, was the bottle of painkiller. He took the dosages according to the instructions, re-wrapped his leg and arm with some difficulty, and finally lay on the ultra-soft bed.

The fresh air from the windows and Cody's exhaustion combined to send him off to dreamland almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.


	91. Y7, C13: Catching Up

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 13: Catching Up**

When he awoke, Cody was sore and disoriented. Then, when he remembered what happened, he groaned. Deciding he'd rather be asleep, Cody turned around and closed his eyes.

Unfortunately, that didn't work, because now he was awake. With a sigh, Cody sat up, rubbing his eyes, and looked around. He supposed that so far as prisons went, it wasn't bad. Certainly better than Azkaban.

Over the course of the day, Cody saw no one except for Sunny the house-elf, who was eager to get him just about anything he asked, and was pleasant company. Cody sent a letter to Remus, along with a list of things that he wanted and needed for Hogwarts, and asked if he could send those whenever he "made arrangements" with Coatl. Merlin, too.

The rest of the day he spent alternately talking with Sunny and being extremely bored. There were books in the manor, but none that were of any interest to Cody. He couldn't pace much because his leg was sore, and he was saving the painkiller for nighttime. He spent a lot of time resenting Greyback and mentally calling him all manner of rude names, dipping into his store of those he had learned from the twins and Mrs. Black.

Lupin never was able to get Cody away from Coatl before school started, but Cody supposed it could have been worse. He missed Lupin a great deal, but heard from him every day, and he got his school trunk with all of his school things and his favorite books as well, along with Merlin (on whom he allowed Coatl put the same non-trackable charm) and his Nimbus 1700, so that helped, too.

After giving Cody a suitable amount of time to cool off, Coatl began coming up every once in a while to talk. He told Cody about the Tillers, and showed him a family tree, and Cody was less than thrilled that he and Dustin Tiller were fourth cousins. Of course that also meant that Kyle Tiller was also his fourth cousin, which made it a little better. He wondered if Kyle knew. For that matter, he wondered if Coatl knew just how Mom had been murdered...and by whom.

Coatl also told Cody a lot about the pure-blood philosophies, which were nothing like his own, and he found them incredibly intolerant and narrow-minded...not to mention unfair and even cruel. He argued with Coatl, tried to get him to see why certain things just weren't right, but he didn't know how much good it did. Still, at least Coatl stopped telling Cody how inappropriate it was for Lupin to look after him after Cody yelled at him for it one day. He loved Lupin, and was very tired of hearing him being spoken of so poorly.

Cody kept taking his potions, and putting on the specially treated bandages, which helped to hasten the healing of the wounds Greyback had dealt him. Lupin had been very concerned about the effect the bites would have on Cody, but Cody had noticed very little change. Like Bill, the only thing that was greatly different was his liking for raw meat, which grew more pronounced as the full moon approached.

The worst part of it all was staying in one room all the time. If Coatl was right there with him, he was able to roam the house, but he couldn't go outside or go out of his room alone. And it was very boring.

On the morning of September the first, Cody woke early and took the bandages off of his arm and leg for good. He quickly washed up, ridding himself of the last traces of blood, and looked at the fresh scars Greyback's attack had left. Like Bill's scars on his face, these were cursed scars, and couldn't be removed by magic. He thought maybe some kinds of Muggle surgery might do it, but he had no desire to find out. The scars were ugly, but Cody rather liked the idea of having a battle scar.

Coatl met him in his room, smiling a little to see Cody already dressed in his robes, with his school trunk packed, and Merlin in his cage. I see you're ready to go," he said.

"Yeah. How're we getting there?"

"We're Apparating to an out-of-the-way spot near King's Cross Station," said Coatl. "I'll put a Locomotor Charm on your trunk, it'll look like it has wheels, and we'll get you onto the train there."

Cody nodded. "Okay." He didn't know if he was glad to be getting out of this house and on his way to Hogwarts or not. It felt weird leaving like this, without anyone he loved seeing him off. Even when Mom was alive, though she'd not put him on the train, she'd still seen him off onto the Knight Bus.

Coatl seemed about to say something, then seemed to change him mind, for he only nodded and opened the door wider to let Cody out. "Okay, well, let's head out, then."

"Yeah." Cody turned to Sunny, who was also there to see him off, and smiled at her. "Hey, thanks for being so nice to me," he said to her. "I'm glad you were there."

The little elf beamed happily. "You is most welcome, sir!" she cried. "I is happy to have served you!"

He'd actually miss the little elf, he realized. Smiling at her once more, Cody picked up one end of his trunk and lugged it out the door.

"Here," said Coatl. "Locomotor trunk." Suddenly floating, the trunk was far easier to pull. Cody nodded his thanks as they headed downstairs.

They Apparated from the living room, and appeared not a block from the station. Despite his earlier misgivings, Cody _was_ happy to see the place again, having been afraid he'd never ride the Hogwarts Express again.

Once in the busy station, Coatl waited while Cody casually approached the barrier between platforms nine and ten, smiling fondly at the dull brick. It was a tradition, really, getting in through this barrier. He thought that even if he lived in Hogsmeade, he would want to go to Hogwarts this way.

Coatl arrived a moment later, no doubt to ensure that Cody actually got on the train. He had no reason to worry about that; Cody _wanted_ to go to school.

"Cody!"

Cody's eyes widened at the familiar voice; it was Lupin! Cody let go of his trunk, scanning the steamy platform, until Lupin's familiar figure loomed out of the steam. "Remus!" Laughing, he ran to the man hugged him, feeling all the tension of the past week flow out of his brain.

"Cody," said Lupin, his voice a little shaky. "Thank goodness you're okay. I know the letters...but I had to see for myself. Lemme see your arm...how bad is it?"

He drew back to grasp Cody's wrist, gently pulling back the sleeve of his robe. Lupin grimaced on seeing the ugly scars that marred the skin. "It could be worse," said Cody. "Like Bill. His neck, and his face."

"I know," murmured Lupin. "But I still don't like it. If I ever run into that bastard again..." Lupin did not often cuss, so Cody knew he was not happy!

"He's a jerk, all right," Cody agreed. "He got my leg, too. I'm just glad he didn't hurt you and Graham."

"Yes...so am I." Cody felt very sorry for Lupin, looking him over then. He looked older and more tired than ever before. Cody knew he was only in his early forties, but already his hair was half gray, and his face was lined like that of an older man. It angered Cody that the kind of life he had to live made it so hard on him, and he hated Greyback for doing it to him! But then Remus's expression softened into a warm smile, and Cody found himself smiling back. Werewolf or not, Lupin was more human than most of those damned purebloods.

He caught Lupin looking up, and was the smallest bit surprised to see Coatl still standing there, looking almost confused. He'd actually forgotten Coatl was there, and was glad he wasn't making a scene. Coatl smiled a little and approached them; Cody tensed, backing away a step, but all Coatl did was take Cody's wand out of his pocket.

"Here," said the man, holding the wand out. Cody took it slowly, half expecting Coatl to snatch it away at the last second, but of course he didn't. "Well...have a good term." Coatl smiled wanly at Cody, before turning around and heading back towards the enchanted barrier.

Cody watched him for a moment before looking back at Lupin, and holding up a finger. "I'll be right back!" Before Remus could protest, Cody had caught up to Coatl, who turned and looked at Cody in mild surprise. "Hey, Coatl..." said Cody, feeling suddenly awkward. "Look...thanks for getting me out of trouble at the Ministry. I mean, well, maybe we don't agree on stuff...but I did, you know, appreciate it."

Coatl looked pleasantly surprised for a moment, before offering his hand. "You're welcome."

Cody shook hands. "Well, I guess I'll see you later. And thanks again."

His uncle nodded his head, then turned around again, disappearing through the enchanted barrier once more. Feeling better than he had in a week, Cody turned back to Lupin, who looked proud. "Nicely done, Cody," he said.

"Thanks." He liked when Lupin was proud of him; it was one of the best feelings. The train whistle sounded then, and Cody sighed. "Damn." He winced, looking up at Lupin, whose expression was somewhere between stern and amused.

"You've hung around the Weasley twins too long," he said.

Cody laughed. "I guess so." He looked around as a couple of conductors went around, gathering the last bits of luggage from people's carts, and noted one of them grabbing his own trunk and Merlin's cage. He sighed. "Man...I don't wanna go. I mean I do, but..." He looked up at Lupin. "I'm gonna worry about you. Especially after...after Mad-Eye."

"Hey." Lupin rested a hand on Cody's head and bent a little to look him in the eye. "I'll be okay. Can't guarantee I'll be totally safe, but I intend to be as careful as possible, you know that. Our...group will be doing all we can to keep its members safe."

But still...now that Voldemort had taken over so thoroughly... "I guess," he said, hugging Lupin one last time. Cody scowled in irritation as the conductors began slamming all the doors shut. "Someday that train's gonna leave without someone."

Lupin laughed. "Best not make it you," he said. "Go on, kiddo. And keep in touch."

"I will!" Waving, Cody ran for the train, still limping a little on his leg. "Hold on, wait, wait!" he called to the conductors, as he hurried toward them. He made it into one of the last compartments before it closed, and waved to Lupin as the train began rolling, the whistle sounding loudly enough to echo around the entire platform.

All things aside, it was great to be back on the Express.

"CODY!"

The voice made Cody scream, jump a foot in the air, land painfully on his leg, and spin around with his wand in his hand. Graham stood there, looking shocked, and Cody laughed in relief. "You scared the blazes out of me!"

"Sorry," said Graham, smiling a little as Cody put away his wand. The two of them hugged briefly, and Graham pulled back, looking Cody over. "You're okay, then...blimey, I can't believe that miserable Greyback – but your letter said it was You-Know-Who's name that did it!"

"Hey, slow down, slow down. C'mon, let's get a compartment, and I'll tell you everything that happened."

"We've got one already," said Graham, pointing. Cody peered down the corridor, and was delighted to catch sight of Neville Longbottom peering out of a nearby compartment. Neville grinned, waving impatiently at them to come on.

"Awesome!" Feeling better by the minute, Cody followed Graham into the compartment, which was occupied already by Ginny Weasley, Luna Lovegood, and Neville Longbottom. Cody laughed and hugged everyone in turn, before he and Graham settled down.

"So you're okay?" asked Neville. "We've heard what happened."

"Yeah, I'm okay," said Cody. "And actually, well...Coatl's one of those pure-blood nutters. But for all that, he ended up being okay." He told them about what happened on the platform, of Lupin's showing up _sans_ invitation, and of how Coatl didn't even make a fuss...just gave Cody his wand, and left.

"Maybe there's some hope for him," said Luna, smiling her normal, distracted smile. She was reading the latest issue of the Quibbler, as usual, and Cody giggled.

"I think so," Cody agreed. "Course I found out some stuff from Coatl...like being related to the Tillers. As if the Carrows weren't bad enough!"

"Tiller!" gasped Graham. "You mean the one who..."

"Yeah," said Cody, curling his lip. "Him. But that means I'm also cousins with Kyle Tiller, too, which is okay."

"Still," said Graham, shuddering. "I don't guess that was very fun for you, huh?"

"No...but I'll deal ith it." He also showed him the scars he'd gotten from Greyback, which were still very ugly looking, and was rather amused at their shocked reactions. "At least he wasn't transformed," said Cody.

"Did you bite him back?" asked Ginny.

Cody grimaced, his stomach turning at the thought. "No way! I woulda, but he was disgusting. I bet he wouldn't recognize a bathtub if _it_ bit him!"

Everyone sorta laughed at that, but they all knew what Greyback was like, and it _was_ disgusting. "So," said Neville, his expression sobering up. Cody wasn't sure he liked it. "What do you think of our new headmaster?"

Cody blinked. "Er...isn't it McGonagall?"

Luna, Ginny, and Neville exchanged grim glances. "I guess you haven't seen this morning's paper, have you?" asked Ginny.

"No," said Cody, looking at Graham. "You?"

Graham shook his head. "I was with Lupin, who's kinda hiding out."

"Well, it came down this morning," said Neville, rummaging in a bag he had on the seat next to him. Trevor, Neville's toad, came hopping out of the bag, making a break for it as usual. Cody scooped up the toad, holding him while Neville rummaged. "I think I lost it."

Ginny sighed, but gave Neville a fond look as she got up to help him look. "It's gotta be in there somewhere."

"Ah! I got it," said Neville. "Here."

Cody traded Trevor for the newspaper page Neville gave him. He didn't have to look far to find it, and he nearly choked when his eyes found the words:

"Severus Snape Confirmed as Hogwarts Headmaster"


	92. Y7, C14: The New Headmaster

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 14: The New Headmaster**

"WHAT?"

Graham, reading over Cody's shoulder, looked like a house elf, his eyes were so wide. "I don't believe it!"

"That's not all," said Ginny. "Read on."

Cody scanned the article quickly, a cold chill settling into his chest. "The _Carrows!_ The Carrows are teaching? Defense Against the Dark Arts and Muggle Studies? But-but they're Death Eaters!"

"Yep," said Ginny, giving the article a nasty look.

Cody felt shell-shocked. "But I—I thought—I thought Hogwarts would be safe! I thought that they wouldn't ever be able to take it over! What happened to McGonagall and everyone?"

"They're still there," said Neville quietly. "They don't have much choice, really. We reckon if they didn't go along, Snape'd just kill them. And besides, can you see McGonagall or any of them abandoning the kids to the Carrows?"

"N-no...but...holy cow." Cody slumped back in his seat, stunned. He wondered if Coatl happened to know what he was sending Cody into. He probably thought it was just peachy that the school was being taken over by Death Eaters!

"It's okay," said Neville, now grinning. "Snape's gonna regret ever having messed with Hogwarts. We're reinstating Dumbledore's Army. You in?"

Cody laughed, clenching a fist. "Definitely, you didn't even need to ask!"

"Hey, count me in, too," said Graham.

Neville nodded. "Good. Seamus and a lot of the others are in, too. Snape won't know what hit him."

They five of them spent the remainder of the trip talking about Hogwarts, and of what changes they might be making. The article about Snape and the Carrows mentioned that Muggle Studies was not a required course for everyone, which struck them all as very odd. Cody thought that would be the first class they got rid of.

"And Dad thinks that the original Muggle Studies teacher didn't just resign," said Ginny. "He thinks that she's dead." The more Cody heard, the less he was happy about returning to Hogwarts. And Lupin wasn't going to be too thrilled, either.

"I guess we'll see when we get there, won't we?" asked Graham glumly, staring out the window.

"Yeah," said Ginny. "We will. Snape'll be sorry he ever took the Headmaster's job."

Cody almost wished that he'd never gotten on the train, because it sounded like Hogwarts was ruined. Snape in charge, Death Eaters teaching...it wasn't going to be the Hogwarts he loved. But then he looked at his friends, his best friends in the world except for his sister and Lupin, and thought about just abandoning them, and knew suddenly he couldn't do it. The thought calmed him, somehow, and though he still wasn't looking forward to seeing what Snape had done to the school, he was glad he was on the train.

Their talk died down as it grew dark outside, and the train began to slow.

"This is it," said Neville quietly, and Cody could tell that he was nervous, too. Cody squeezed his hand.

They said nothing as they got out of the train, but a loud, booming voice caught Cody's attention right away.

"Firs' years! Firs' years follow me!"

Hagrid! Hagrid was still there! Cody would have expected Snape to sack Hagrid at the very least, being a member of the Order! "Hagrid!"

Hagrid looked down, and Cody could see his expression was strained, but he still had a grin for Cody. "Hey, shorty," he said with a distracted chuckle. "Yeh'd best get on...yeh don't wanna miss the carriages."

"I'll see you in class, then!" called Cody, letting the flow of students bear him on towards the waiting coaches, the ones Cody now knew were drawn by thestrals. He managed to squeeze into one with Graham, Luna, Neville, and Ginny, though he had to sit on Graham's lap to fit.

"Awww," said Ginny, giggling a little bit. "How sweet."

"Aw, stick it in your windsock," grumbled Cody, which made everyone laugh. He envisioned ways to get revenge on Ginny as the carriages bore them out of Hogsmeade, towards the tall, metal gates that led into Hogwarts castle. Despite everything, his worry, his anger, the horrible events of the summer, Cody was glad to see the castle. The dark turrets, the glimmering light from the windows, even the creepy winged boars that topped the main gate made him feel like he was home.

When the coaches stopped, everyone piled out, standing shoulder to shoulder, gazing up at the castle.

"I thought I'd seen the last of Snape's ugly mug," Cody grumbled as they headed inside the castle. He was a little afraid, but didn't want to admit it. Ever since he first met one in battle, his most primal instinct regarding Death Eaters was either to run away from them or duel them. How could he just sit in a classroom and _learn_ from them? Not to mention he didn't exactly want to learn whatever it was a Death Eater might teach them.

The Great Hall looked much the same as always at first glance, with its enchanted ceiling reflecting the starry sky outside, the thousands of candles lighting the chamber, and the four House tables stretched out before them.

But there _were_ differences. Severus Snape sat in Dumbledore's chair, as ugly as ever, his expression stony and unreadable. Amycus and Alecto Carrow sat in two vacant chairs, the one reserved for the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and one that Cody seemed to remember usually had a witch he didn't recognize sitting in it.

And as Cody looked, the House tables seemed to be far less crowded than usual. In fact, only the Slytherin table seemed normal, with perhaps only a few missing students. It made sense, though. Cody knew that most of the Muggle-born students would be gone, not allowed in, and a lot of them would have fled, like Cody tried to.

Cody and Graham did not join the rest of the Slytherins. Neither, Cody saw, did Luna join the Ravenclaws. They all sat with Neville and Ginny at the Gryffindor table, feeling far safer if they stuck together.

"Dean's not here," Neville murmured as the last of the students trickled in, and Hagrid entered the hall. Cody saw Hagrid's face as he headed to the High Table...he wasn't too thrilled, either. Cody noticed he sat as far as possible from the Carrows. Cody also noticed with a leap of alarm that McGonagall was not there. Certainly she, Head of Gryffindor House, had not been afraid to return!

Snape stood up, and the Hall immediately fell silent. Most of the Slytherins looked smug, but no one else did. Most people looked either nervous or angry. It was just so _wrong_ not to see Dumbledore up there, his eyes twinkling as he surveyed his students. Cody thought that if he ever saw Snape's eyes twinkle, that he'd faint.

Snape did not welcome them to Hogwarts. He simply swept the room with his gaze, his expression as stony as ever, then spoke: "As you may have noticed, there have been some staffing changes at Hogwarts. I am now Headmaster. Alecto Carrow..." The woman stood up, grinning in a sly sort of way, "...will be taking the post of Muggle Studeis teacher, after her predecessor's...ah...retirement."

"Retirement, sure," muttered one of the Gryffindors, but she was hushed up by the boy sitting next to her.

Snape seemed not to have heard, or perhaps did not care about, the ominous muttering that greeted his words. "Amycus Carrow will be taking the Dark Arts class." This time the male Carrow sibling stood, his expression almost identical to his sister's. "The Carrows will also be in charge of discipline at Hogwarts. I strongly suggest that none of you foul up."

The threat in Snape's words was evident, and Cody felt a cold chill snake down his back. Discipline. How far would the Ministry go in letting the Carrows have free reign in how they punished a student? On realizing that the followers of Voldemort were the one in charge of the Ministry now, Cody had his answer. And he didn't like it much.

"Muggle Studies is now a required course for all students," continued Snape. "Your Heads of House will be meeting with you to adjust your schedules accordingly tomorrow morning." He paused ominously, then said only one more thing. "I am in control of this school, now. And there will be order. Anyone who thinks of defying me..." Cody's heart gave a leap as Snape narrowed his eyes at Neville, Ginny, Cody, and Luna, "...will pay the price."

Without further oration, Snape sat down at his table. "Inspiring," said Ginny dryly.

A door opened behind the High Table then, and Cody sighed in relief to see Professor McGonagall walk out of it, leading a group of terrified-looking first years. Of course, the Sorting! How could Cody have forgotten? The Sorting Hat was in McGonagall's left hand, the stool in her other. She set the stool up in front of the High Table. Cody noticed that she looked paler than usual as she took the list of new students from within her robes.

"Brocklehurst, Andrew!"

A very tall boy stepped away from the first years, gulping as he sat down on the stool, and McGonagall put the Sorting Hat on his head.

"No song this year," Ginny whispered. "The Hat usually sings a song."

"It probably doesn't feel much like singing," whispered Graham back. "Or it's afraid to."

"HUFFLEPUFF!" cried the hat. Andrew Brocklehurst made a beeline for the Hufflepuff tables, whose students' applause was much more subdued. In fact, as the Sorting went on, the only students who felt comfortable enough to be enthusiastic were the Slytherins. Each new Slytherin student got a standing ovation. Cody glared across the Great Hall at Crabbe and Goyle, who sat together, laughing.

There were not as many first years that year as usual, for the same reason most of the house tables were a little emptier. Cody never realized how many mages were Muggle-born.

Snape didn't say anything after the Sorting was finished, only turned his attention to the golden plate in front of him. Cody gasped in surprise as the food suddenly appeared on the table, only then realizing how absolutely famished he was. He'd not had breakfast, not feeling very hungry, and had only gotten a few snacks on the Hogwarts Express. Even Snape's hook-nosed visage wasn't enough to curb Cody's appetite.

"I don't like the sound of that 'discipline' thing," muttered Graham, throwing a dirty look up at the High Table, where the Carrows sat. "You don't think they'd do anything really bad, do you?"

Cody looked up at the two of them, both of which sported a nasty smirk. Ginny answered for him. "Yeah," she said. "Yeah, I do." And thought Cody didn't want to, he had to agree.

Cody ate his supper, taking seconds of everything, and piling them on his plate. The noise level in the Hall was as loud as ever, as people put their heads together and discussed Snape and his new staff members.

"Bet Phineas Nigellus is happy," muttered Ginny. "There hasn't been a Slytherin Headmaster since him."

As for Cody, he actually didn't have much to say. He didn't feel safe saying too much right there under Snape's overlarge nose, and his thoughts were keeping him far too busy. Would he be made to sleep in the Slytherin dorms again? The thought was a very depressing one. What of choir, and Quidditch? Would Snape bother keeping those activities? Would Cody want to join them?

When the meals were finished, and dessert had come and gone, Snape stood up again. "Prefects. Lead the first years to the dormitories. Tomorrow morning you will all be given your new schedules." With that, Snape left his seat, and the students began to stand up and mill towards the doors.

Cody wasn't quite sure where to go. Dumbledore had said Cody would be in the Gryffindor dorms "from now on", but would Snape honor that? Considering that the last time Cody and Snape had met, Cody had tried to take Snape's head off with his stolen Beater's bat, Cody rather thought not. Still, he figured he'd go up and see. If his bed was still in the Gryffindor dorms, then he'd have his answer.

"I'd better join the other Ravenclaws," said Luna with a vague smile. "I expect I'll see you all when the DA meets." She drifted off in the direction of the doors.

"You think you're still set up in the Gryffindor dorms?" asked Graham as the rest of them followed Luna's lead.

"Probably," said Cody, feeling bad at the look of disappointment on Graham's face. "Now more than ever it's probably not too safe for me in the dungeons. But I guess I'll find out when I get there."

"Okay," said Graham as they reached the point where they'd have to separate. "I'll see you tomorrow then, okay?" Cody hugged his friend and watched him disappear with the other Slytherins. Cody, however, followed Neville and Ginny up to the Gryffindor Common Room.

To Cody's surprise, Professor McGonagall was in the Common Room when they got inside, and most of the house was already there, seemingly waiting for her to make some kind of announcement. McGonagall smiled distractedly at Cody as they climbed through the portrait hole. "Good evening, Mr. DeDannan, yes, you'll be staying here this year, also, your things are already in the dorm."

'Oh, good,' thought Cody. That was one question answered. And when all the Gryffindors had assembled in the common room, McGonagall addressed them all.

"I just want to tell you all a few things," she began, her face taut with strain. Cody thought that she looked old, and he had never before really seen her as old. Like Dumbledore, despite her age, McGonagall had an incredible energy. But her black hair had started to show white, and her face was lined. "We, that is _most_ of the teachers, intend to try and make life at the school as normal as possible. But there are things that are beyond our control. We will try and protect the students as much as possible, but I urge each and every one of you not to get on the wrong side of the Carrows. They are _Death Eaters._ They are part of You-Know-Who's elite, and Severus Snape's seconds-in-command. They will not hesitate to hurt you, even torture you. They need little excuse to be cruel. So please, whatever they might say or do, do not give them reason to hurt you."

A timid-looking girl in second or third year spoke up. "W-will there still be Quidditch, ma'am? And Gobstones club?"

McGonagall actually chuckled. "Yes, Celine, all normal activities will carry on as usual, at least for now. And third years and above will also be allowed still to visit Hogsmeade. But you will be carefully watched. Honestly, it may be safer to stay at the school."

Cody was rather surprised at that...he hadn't expected Snape to bother with things like Quidditch and Hogsmeade, but he supposed that anything to keep the students busy was all right with him. "Am I still Quidditch commentator, Professor?" asked Cody.

"So far as I know, Mr. DeDannan. If that has changed, I shall let you know."

"Okay." Though Cody wasn't sure just how enthusiastic he could be considering the state of things. He would have to wait and see. He looked at McGonagall's worried face, and added, "Are you okay, ma'am?"

McGonagall rested a hand briefly on Cody's shoulder. "I am, Mr. DeDannan, thank you. Well. If there are no more questions?"

When no one spoke up, McGonagall left the Common Room, shutting the portrait of the Fat Lady behind her. As soon as she was gone, a furious babble of voices broke out all around them. Neville gestured the group into a corner, where they could talk.

"I say let's see what happens," said Neville in a whisper. "I've still got my Galleon, the fake one Hermione gave us all."

"Me too," said Ginny.

"Me three," said Cody.

"Dumbledore's Army...we'll get it going again. You saw everyone's faces back at the Great Hall. The only ones that like this crap are the Slytherins. Most of the Slytherins," he corrected himself.

"And I've got something that'll help us, too," said Cody. He looked around, but no one was paying them any mind. Grinning, he pulled a worn piece of parchment out of the inner pocket of his robes. Tapping it with his wand, he murmured, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

From the first word, it was clear the others knew what it was, and Neville broke into a delighted grin as the black ink lines began to spread over the map'' surface. "Brilliant! Where did you get that?"

"Harry gave it to me," said Cody. "Lended it. Since he didn't come back here he didn't need it. I wanted to go with them, but I couldn't, not being underage and with that bloody Trace still on me. So he gave me this, told me there should be plenty of trouble I can get into with it." He grinned. "That _we_ can get into with it."

"You mean trouble we can _make_ with it," Ginny said, clenching a fist. "That's great. With the Galleons and the map...we've got all the tools we need. We'll start spreading the word as soon as we can safely do it."

"All right," said Neville. "Tomorrow, then." He stifled a yawn, and stood up from his seat. "I guess we should get some sleep. We're gonna need it."

"See you in the morning," said Ginny, and she headed up to the girls' dormitories. Neville and Cody headed up to the boys'.

Cody was very surprised when he got there to see that only three beds had belongings by them. Including Cody, there were usually six boys sleeping in that room. He had known Harry and Ron wouldn't be there, but it was still weird.

Seamus Finnegan was sitting on his bunk when Neville and Cody walked in. He looked extremely glum. "Dean couldn't come back," he said unhappily. "Last I heard, he had to run for it."

"He's Muggle-born?" asked Cody sympathetically.

"Well, he's not sure. See, his father's gone, and his mam's a Muggle. He thinks his father was a wizard, but he can't prove it. And those bastards, well...they were in Dean's neighborhood. He wasn't about to tell them he was Muggle-born and get thrown in Azkaban."

Cody bit his lip, sitting down on his bunk, also. "It's not right," he said, feeling like he was about to cry. "It's not right!" He didn't specify what exactly wasn't right, because he couldn't articulate. But "everything" seemed a good answer. Especially the three vacant bunks in the seventh-year dorm. He looked down at the Marauder's Map, tapped it, and said, "Mischief Managed."

"I know," said Neville. "But it'll get put right. And I for one am gonna do everything I can to help it."

"Me too," said Seamus, his tone suddenly fierce. The three boys shared a grim but determined look. Neville nodded his head.

"We'll start getting them together this week, then," he said.

Cody lay down in his bunk, feeling rather strange. He felt like he'd been left alone in a den of snakes and he missed Lupin a great deal, but he also felt like he had a purpose there. Ginny was right. Snape was going to regret taking over Hogwarts.


	93. Y7, C15: Dark Arts and Muggle Studies

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 15: Dark Arts and Muggle Studies**

When Cody made his way down to breakfast, he wasn't quite sure what to expect. Things were astonishingly normal, considering; people talked as they made their way downstairs, though the talk was grim and furtive. The portraits moved about, and greeted people that they knew. Even once they got into the Great Hall, things were fairly normal...if one ignored Snape and the Carrows, that was. Only the sight of them jarred Cody into remembering that this was not going to be the Hogwarts he remembered.

None of them said anything to the students during breakfast; they only ate their food and spoke among themselves. McGonagall and the other teachers were remarkably silent, and Cody didn't blame them; he would be a little leery of talking in front of that lot, too.

After she'd eaten, McGonagall approached the Gryffindor table, a handful of parchments in her hand. Cody realized that she was handing out the schedules, and wondered if he needed to go and see Professor Slughorn to get his. He liked Slughorn all right; he wished he'd been in charge of Slytherin all those years instead of Snape!

But when McGonagall reached them, she handed Cody a parchment along with everyone else. "Professor Slughorn gave me yours, Cody," she said distractedly. "You've got Muggle Studies in the place you normally had History of Magic, all right?"

"Yes, ma'am," said Cody, taking the schedule and looking down at it. "Thanks."

He peered down at Slughorn's writing, scanning at the list of classes. Hagrid's was his first, and Cody expected he was the only student again. No one else past fifth year had continued with the class. After that was the first class with one of the Carrows: Defense Against the Dark Arts. Cody blinked, looking at the name again. It just said "Dark Arts". Surely not...

"Um, Neville?" said Cody, leaning over to look at Neville's Monday schedule.

"Yes, I have that too," Neville murmured. "Looks like we're not learning to fight it anymore."

"Yeah...that's just great," Cody muttered darkly, grabbing a piece of toast and stuffing it half into his mouth as he looked back at his schedule. After lunch he had Charms with Professor Flitwick, and Ancient Runes after that. Looking at the rest of the days, he saw that they had a Carrow-taught class four times a week, two each. He supposed it could be worse.

"See if Hagrid knows what's going on at all," whispered Ginny. "You're the only one in his class, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I am. I'll ask him." For that matter, Cody wondered what new, creepy creature Hagrid had for him to learn about, and whether or not he still had that Lethifold. Cody had become quite fond of that creature.

When the bell sounded, signaling the start of classes, most of the students looked apprehensive. No one knew what to expect from this new regime. Cody said good-bye to his friends and headed out onto the grounds.

He walked alongside a group of second or third years heading for the greenhouses, then broke off to head for Hagrid's hut. He took a moment to look it over; it seemed to be none the worse for wear after it had been set on fire last year when the Death Eater invaded. He caught a glimpse of Hagrid inside, and couldn't help but grin. He broke into a run.

Hagrid opened the door before Cody could open it. "Well, hello, Cody!" he exclaimed. Cody braced himself for bone-crushing hug, gasping when Hagrid finally let him go. "I'm sure glad ter see yeh," said Hagrid, letting Cody in and shutting the door. "I was worried about yeh."

"Yeah, me too. Worried about you, I mean. What with..." He shrugged helplessly and nodded towards the castle. He lowered his voice as if he could be heard from inside. "McGonagall said that the Carrows wouldn't hesitate to torture someone for punishment. You think she's right?"

"I think so," said Hagrid. He was no longer smiling, and Cody could see just how strained and stressed he was. "All the teachers, on Snape's orders, we're ter turn any students needin' discipline over ter the Carrows. We don't dock points or give detentions anymore. Well, yeh know tha's rubbish. Not a one of us intends to do it if we can possibly get away with it."

Cody scowled. "That IS rubbish!"

"Yeah. Well, what with the Ministry fallen ter You-Know-Who, I don't reckon there's much we can do. The Order's got their hands tied...still jus' waitin'."

"For what?"

Hagrid sighed. "I don' know. I jus' don't know, Cody. But I think when it comes, we'll know then." He ran a hand over his wiry, unruly hair, then smiled. "Well, anyway. I got nothin' too difficult planned the first few lessons. I told yeh I had some baby unicorns fer the lower year classes, wanna see 'em?"

"Yeah!" said Cody, interested. "Hey, do you still have the Lethifold?"

"O' course! 'E's not even full grown yet, an' besides, 'e's been hand raised. Yeh can't let 'em back in the wild when yeh hand raise 'em, they won't survive." Hagrid went over to a large crate-cage, and unlatched the lid. Cody couldn't help but grin as the creature came slithering out, looking like a suede cape, and went right to Cody, resting its head on his shoes.

He laughed, knowing he was sniffing Cody out, and bent to pick him up. "Hi!" he said as the half-grown creature curled around, clearly happy to see him. "I missed you too. Hagrid, does he have a name yet?"

"Nah, not yet. I won' be keepin' 'im. Once we're done with him, 'e'll be given ter the wizarding zoo over in Ireland." Cody never knew there was a wizarding zoo! "Unless, that is," said Hagrid with a wink, "Yeh decide yeh want ter keep 'im like I mentioned las' year. Think abou' it."

That's right...Hagrid _had_ mentioned it! He was going to help Cody get the permits he needed. Of course, now...Cody supposed it was a moot point. He wasn't about to go to the Ministry now and ask for a permit. But it wouldn't be that way forever. "Sounds good," he said.

"Well then, let's go see them unicorns."

Hagrid spent the rest of the class doing a review on unicorns, while Cody played with the month-old foals. They were shining-golden in color, lanky and delicate, and Cody fell in love with them. Hagrid had sugar cubes to give them, which Cody enjoyed giving as much as the unicorns did.

When they returned to Hagrid's cabin, Cody was highly reluctant to leave. "I really don't want to learn magic from Amycus Carrow," said Cody moodily, glaring down at his timetable.

"Yeh'll be all right, Cody," said Hagrid, but he looked worried and tense again. "Jus' keep yer head abou' yeh an' you'll be all right. Go on, now. The las' class yeh want to be late in is one o' them."

Cody bit his lip and nodded. "Yeah...okay. I'll see you Hagrid."

Hagrid managed a smile as Cody went out the door, feeling like he was walking to his doom. He brooded the whole way into the castle, heading for the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. The classroom door was open when he got there, and he stopped, taking a big breath, and then stepped in.

The room didn't look all that different from when Snape taught in it. The same creepy pictures were up on the wall, and the shelves had things on that Cody didn't want to know the name of. But none of it was half as ugly as the teacher.

Amycus Carrow sat in the chair behind the professor's desk, favoring the class with his lopsided grin, tapping his wand absently on the desk. Cody looked at him for a moment, then looked around at the rest of the class, locating Neville and Seamus in the back and moving to join them. They both looked uncharacteristically grim.

Cody sat down behind a desk, keeping his eye on Carrow, while the last students trickled in. Finally the bell rang, and Amycus Carrow stood up, smiling unpleasantly. Cody suddenly wished Snape _was_ still teaching.

"Well," said the Death Eater, his voice a wheezy cackle. "You'll no longer be learning _defense_ in this class." The emphasis he put on the word "defense" inflected it with the deepest disdain. "You'll be learning the Dark Arts. Period. I'm sure that some of you will be quite adept at what I've got to teach you." He gave a lopsided grin to the front two rows, comprised of the rest of the Slytherin seventh-years. Cody hear Crabbe chuckle in appreciation.

"Yeah, that's the _only_ thing Crabbe'll ever be good at," Seamus whispered, and Cody stifled a giggle.

Carrow didn't see to know what Seamus had said, but he had heard something, for he threw a sharp glance in their direction. "And some of you," he said, "will either learn, or suffer for it." Silence greeted his words, and Cody began wondering frantically just what he was going to be made to do in this class...and whether he'd be able to do it.

"Sir," said Goyle from the front row, "what will we be starting with?"

"Oh, we'll start you off slow for now. Divide up into pairs, we'll start with a few basic hexes." Carrow smirked. "We'll work you up to more serious damage later."

'More serious damage?' Cody thought.

From the first, it was clear there were going to be problems. Carrow's idea of starting off slow was teaching them the Stunning Spell, which knocked the opponent out cold. It wasn't a very nice spell, and not one he particularly wanted to practice on Neville. While Seamus paired off with a Ravenclaw boy, Cody faced Neville, his wand out, reluctant to knock him out.

Cries of "Stupefy!" were heard around the room, the most enthusiastic by the Slytherins and a couple of others. Frowning, Cody pointed his wand at Neville. He knew the spell quite well by that time, but he was still reluctant to knock Neville out, and his "Stupefy!" had no heart to it. Neville winced, but no spell came his way.

"This is stupid," Neville muttered, turning his wand on Cody in turn, and muttering the spell. "Now if I was partnering Crabbe or Goyle or Pansy Parkinson..."

"Yeah, no kidding," muttered Cody. He glanced furtively around, then said, "Just keep yelling the spell at me. For magic you have to want to do it, put your will behind it. Stupefy!" Not only was he not willing Neville to be knocked out, he was concentrating very hard on _not_ doing it.

"Come on, now!" came a wheezy voice from behind Cody, and he jumped about a foot in the air, spinning around. Carrow was standing there, looking amused. "Well go on, let's see it, boy."

Giving Carrow a dirty look, Cody took two steps away from the man and turned to Neville once more. "Stupefy!" he yelled.

"No, no, boy, put some effort into it! You're trying to knock him out! Longbottom, do it!"

Neville was frowning, too, and he looked intimidated. "S-stupefy!"

Cody wasn't sure how many times they yelled their spell, with Carrow heckling them, telling them they were too stupid to learn magic if they couldn't manage such a simple spell. Cody didn't know if he really thought they couldn't use the spell, or whether he knew why it wasn't working. But Cody was very, very tempted to Stun Carrow to prove he knew full well how to use a Stunning Spell. Some of the students had stopped to watch, and he caught sight of Crabbe, smirking and nudging Goyle in the ribs.

Finally, as Carrow asked if he had any brains at all in his head, Cody turned around, just about to lose his temper. "Sorry, _Professor,"_ he growled. "I didn't attend Death Eater nursery school."

He had time to hear Neville and Seamus laugh in disbelief, to hear a gasp from one of the girls, before Carrow's fist lashed out to catch Cody across the face. Taken by surprise, Cody sprawled on the floor, his wand clattering into a corner. Next thing he knew, Carrow knelt down, grabbing the very front of Cody's robes, and jammed the tip of his wand under Cody's chin. Cody froze, shocked.

For a moment there was nothing but silence. Then Carrow's voice, low, almost a growl. "You go ahead and cheek me, boy. You see what it gets you. Dumbledore ain't here to protect you, or any of your little friends anymore, remember that. You just remember that next time you feel like sassing me. You understand, brat?" When Cody didn't answer, Carrow jabbed the wand harder into the shelf under Cody's jaw. "Answer me!"

"Yes!" Cody yelled through clenched teeth. "I got it!"

Carrow stood up, looking on Cody with an expression of extreme disgust. He looked around at the rest of the class, most of whom looked shocked, and said, "That goes for the rest of you."

Seamus and Neville knelt next to Cody as he sat up, shaking, putting a hand to the side of his face. His lip was bleeding, and his head was pounding. "You all right?" asked Neville softly.

"Yeah," said Cody. "I'm okay. Where'd my wand go?" He looked around, spotting it on the floor in the corner, and scuttled over to grab it up from the floor. He stood up, glaring at Amycus Carrow, who returned his gaze evenly.

"I ain't told anyone to stop practicing," he said.

Cody turned his back on the man, taking a big breath and turning to Neville. He held out his wand, aimed it at Neville, and the "practice" began again.

Neither he nor Neville Stunned the other during that practice, though both of them knew how to do it. They'd practiced in the DA...even on one another...but this was different. They weren't using the spell to fight against people like Umbridge in this class. They were building up to nastier curses. Cody was afraid that soon Carrow would be expecting them to use the Unforgivable Curses on the other students. Cody knew full well he'd never be able to do that.

When the class was over, Cody grabbed up his books and left the room as quickly as he could. He waited outside for Seamus and Neville, who looked as shaken and angry as Cody felt.

"Guess Snape wasn't kidding," muttered Neville, his eyes narrowed.

Crabbe passed then, smirking at the three of them. "Too stupid to be a wizard, huh? Well, that describes you lot just fine."

Neville hissed angrily, drawing his wand, but Seamus and Cody grabbed his arm. "Not here," Seamus hissed. "Not right outside that lumpy old bastard's classroom!"

Cody burst into laughter, unable to help it. He rather thought Seamus had a lot of bollocks, saying _that_ right outside the classroom. Even Neville had to chuckle. "Yeah. Okay. Let's get into the Great Hall."

There was a lot more ominous muttering in the Great Hall at lunch. Four different classes, now, had experienced the Carrows' lessons, either Amycus's or her sister's. And it was clear that the only people who liked them were the Slytherins and a very few pure-bloods from the other houses. Cody himself didn't say much; he had a huge headache, and was still a little shaken. It wasn't as if he'd never been hurt before, far from it, but it had still been a surprise.

In Charms, Flitwick performed a quick little charm to take down the swelling in Cody's cheek and eye, and to ease the headache. Cody was very grateful. When Cody and the Gryffindors finally made it back to their common room, Cody saw that there were others who clearly had been struck or hurt somehow, and it made Cody afraid. If this kind of things was happening only on their first day...

"They've got to curb rebellion from the start," said Seamus wisely.

"Well it won't work," said Neville fiercely. It won't work."

The week didn't get any better. The "normal" teachers were tense and worried, and even the mild-mannered Flitwick, who normally just sighed when Neville accidentally sent him across the room when practicing Banishing Charms, began yelling when students got things wrong or goofed off in class. Cody knew they were scared of having to turn someone over to the Carrows for discipline, even for a badly aimed practice spell.

Alecto's Muggle Studies class was awful. She began by telling them they were there to learn the truth about Muggles, and not the "propaganda" the Ministry had been feeding them for years. She had charts of intelligence, maps of Muggle dwelling, "scientific" reports from the Ministry of Magic, all of which "proved" that Muggles were inferior, subhuman. That they were merely animals who had to be controlled and guided, for their own good as well as the wizards'.

Most of the class looked stunned at the fervor with which the woman spoke of Muggles, mere beasts who would just as soon kill a wizard as look at him. Cody knew it wasn't true. Sure, there were plenty of Muggles who _would_ do that, but there were plenty of wizards who would, too!

"So you're saying they're not even human?" Cody asked in disbelief, not able to help himself.

"That's right," sneered Alecto, toying with a very sharp looking dagger that she'd been fondling all class. "Animals, really. Below even the lowliest magical creature! And any wizard who dirties himself with Muggle blood might as well mate with a hippogriff or a troll."

Neville stood up then, looking angrier than Cody had seen him in a long time, his face red, his clenched fists shaking. "How much Muggle blood have you and your brother got, then?"

Cody gaped at Neville, wide-eyed with admiration for his nerve, but Neville paid for the comment. Alecto snarled, sounding like an animal herself, and grabbed Neville by the front of the robes. Before anyone could say anything, she'd lashed out with the knife, opening a bloody gash on the side of Neville's face.

"Hey!" Cody protested, also standing up.

"Shut your mouth, boy, or you'll get the same!"

"It's all right, Cody," said Neville through clenched teeth. "If she wants to carve me up, she can. I must've been damned close to the mark to piss her off so badly."

Cody bit his lip, clenching his fists, afraid that Alecto was going to do something _really_ bad for Neville's comment. The whole class watched in silence as Alecto turned back to Neville and suddenly smiled, reminding Cody a little bit of Umbridge. "I think I'll put you down for a detention, Longbottom. This evening after dinner. My office."

"Aren't you even gonna let him go to the nurse?" asked Cody indignantly as Alecto went back to her desk..

"No. He'll live. Now sit down, both of you. _Now._"

Cody did, watching Neville worriedly as the older boy sat also, his hand pressed against the gash in his cheek. Bad enough she bloodied Neville, but to not let him go to Madame Pomfrey!

Neville didn't say anything else during the lesson, and neither did Cody. After the class, they split up, because Cody had Ancient Runes, and Neville had a free period. "I'm gonna be spending it getting people together," said Neville quietly. "And snag some healing herbs from the greenhouses. I know Professor Sprout won't mind."

Cody nodded, and the two of them went their separate ways.

Neville was silent at dinner, holding a packet of strange looking, smelly plants to his face, and eating his dinner rapidly. Cody wondered if he was nervous about his detention; Cody knew he would be. Neville left dinner without a word, and Cody sighed, hoping it wouldn't be anything too bad. 'Probably has something like Umbridge's quill,' he thought.

Ginny, Graham, and Luna sat with him, asking what had happened, and he gave them a brief explanation of the day's Muggle Studies class.

"That foul old bint!" Ginny snarled. "We got that same rubbish about Muggles being animals...but no one got slashed."

"I bet no one had the guts to say what Neville said, either," said Cody. "I just hope he'll be okay."

They didn't see Neville until after midnight. Cody and Ginny hadn't wanted to sleep without knowing what happened, and so they sat in the common room in front of the fire, waiting, as the Gryffindors slowly emptied out of the room.

When the portrait hole finally opened up, Neville came climbing in, shaking and ghost white. "Jeez," Cody hissed, getting to his feet and hurrying over to help. He and Ginny grabbed his arms, helping him over to a chair. Cody looked him over; he didn't seem to have gotten any more slash marks.

"I'll grab some water," said Cody as Ginny got Neville seated, and ran upstairs to the boys' dorms, where there pitchers of waters. He snagged a clean glass and filled it, bringing it back to Neville.

"Thanks," he whispered, taking it and downing half the water in one go.

"What'd she do to you?" Ginny asked, her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Well," said Neville. "At first she only had Filch chain me up on the dungeon walls." Ginny made an angry hissing sound. "She left me alone for a while...I dunno how long. Few hours. Then she came back, with Vincent Crabbe. I couldn't understand it, until she started instructing him on how to use the Cruciatus Curse. I was the guinea pig."

_"What?"_ exclaimed Ginny and Cody in unison.

"She can't!" Cody added.

"She can," said Neville. He looked terrified, but grimly determined as well.

"Come on," Cody murmured. "Ginny, help me get him into the dorms?"

"Sure." Together, they assisted Neville into the boys' dormitory, but by then he'd calmed enough to walk. He looked extremely sore, and Cody felt a surge of sheer fury go through him. Alecto Carrow had hurt one of his best friends, and he was sure it wouldn't be the first time.

Once Neville was in bed, Ginny and Cody said goodnight, and headed for their own beds. But sleep did not come easily.


	94. Y7, C16: Dumbledore's Army Reinstated

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 16: Dumbledore's Army Reinstated**

Neville, Ginny, and Cody began recruiting the next day. They kept quiet in their classes (which was a lot easier, as none of them had a Carrow period that day), and went to all the previous members of Dumbledore's Army, seeking them out during breaks and mealtimes. By suppertime on Friday, they had their group togethers.

Several members of the DA had already left, like Harry, Ron, the twins, and Lee Jordan. Huddled in a corner of the grounds, behind one of the greenhouses, Cody looked at who was left. Besides Cody, Neville, and Ginny, they had Graham Pritchard, Seamus Finnegan, Lavender Brown, Parvati and Padma Patil, Micheal Corner, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Hannah Abbot, Ernie MacMillan, Susan Bones, Anthony Goldstein, and Luna Lovegood. Over a dozen, all told!

Most of the others looked excited, and some, especially those who had already felt the Carrows' wrath, still looked excited, but grim, also. They knew what they were going to be risking, rebelling like this.

"Okay," said Neville. "We start meeting tomorrow. Room of Requirement, as usual."

"What time?" asked Graham. Tomorrow was Saturday, and there were no classes.

"After lunch," said Neville. "Say two o'clock. That'll give us plenty of time to plan what we want to do and to get some good defense practice in. I have a feeling we'll need it."

There were murmurs of agreement, and nodding heads around the circle.

"You guys still have your money, right?" asked Luna, which made everyone sort of blink and look at them.

Cody giggled. "She means your Galleons, the fake ones Hermione did the Protean Charm on."

"Oh, that!" said Terry Boot. "I remember that, I was _really_ impressed. We're only now learning those in Charms. I still have mine."

Most of the assembled group had their Galleons in their trunks, at least, and the others said they could write home and get theirs.

"No," said Ginny suddenly. "Don't write home about any of this...the Carrows and Snape might be reading our mail. Only do that if you can get the message across without being specific."

"Good idea," Neville murmured. "And be _very_ careful what you say and where. The Room of Requirement will be safe, but anywhere else, whisper...don't talk of it at all if you can, of what we're doing. And don't group in the halls. Don't come over at dinnertime, not too often, that'll look suspicious."

"We'll use the coins to communicate," said Luna happily, taking hers out of her pocket. "And for people who don't have one, we'll make sure they know what they need to."

"Awesome," said Cody. Now that they were actually _doing_ something, he felt a whole lot better. "Now let's go in and eat. I'm starving."

There were a few chuckles and words of agreement, and Cody's stomach grumbled as they all peered around to make sure they weren't being watched, then headed for the castle in pairs and threes.

Cody followed Ginny and Neville to the Gryffindor table, feeling smug.

Saturday afternoon couldn't happen fast enough. Cody and Graham spent the morning eating breakfast and avoiding the Carrows and the other Slytherins. After lunch, Cody got out the Marauder's Map and looked it over, still familiarizing himself with the magical parchment. He began going around to the various other members of the DA and telling them when it was clear to get to the seventh floor without running into unfriendlies.

Ginny, Graham, and Cody were the last to get to the Room of Requirement, and found that everyone had made it just fine. Neville had gone first to set it up, and Cody grinned at the familiarity of the room; just like in fifth year when they were rebelling against Umbridge.

Ginny turned around and locked the door with the huge key sticking out of it. After pocketing the key, she laughed. Cody didn't blame her. Dangerous or not, it _was_ exciting.

"All right!' called Neville. "Are we all here?" He did a quick head count, and then nodded. "Okay. Well. Snape and the Carrows have taken over our school. I think it's time we do something about it."

A rousing "Yeah!" came from everyone, and Cody saw a few fists raised in the air.

"But what?" asked Justin Finch-Fletchley.

"We can't exactly go into open revolt," said Michael Corner. "There aren't many of us, and Snape could smear us over the landscape."

"I know," said Neville. "And they've been using terrorist tactics to keep us beaten down." He surveyed the group, looking meaningfully at bruises and cuts on some of the members' faces. Only a week into term, and already people were being punished. "At first what we'll mostly do is defense, since we're obviously not learning it now. We need to prepare ourselves for when we _can_ overthrow Snape and the Carrows."

"Yeah," said Ginny fiercely. "And my family'll help, I know it!"

"And Remus Lupin, too," added Cody.

"And Harry Potter'll be back, too," said Neville. "I don't know what he's doing, but it's got to be something that'll help! And when he does, well...we'll be ready. We'll _really_ have an army together by then!"

"Yeah!" yelled Graham, laughing. "Then they'll be sorry!"

"So what we do first is little stuff," said Neville. "Test the waters. I've been thinking about it all week. We put messages on the walls. We mess up their classrooms. We do all the sneaky stuff we can to let them know that there are people here who _won't_ stand for what they're doing!"

"If they're punishing someone, help them if you can," added Ginny. "Bolster people's spirits, keep their courage up." That's most important. If people start believing their propaganda, start bowing down and submitting to what Snape and the Carrows want them to do, then those gits win."

Neville nodded, smiling now. "That's most important, I think. We have to show them that brute force isn't going to work. So. For now, I want to go over some basics. All the things we practiced in the DA before. The Carrows want us to learn Stunning? They asked for it! They want us to learn jinxes and hexes? They got it!"

"For that matter," said Cody thoughtfully, "for some stuff in Amycus's class we could actually cooperate with. Like when he got ticked at us for not doing Stunning well. He's too stupid to know the difference, and we'd get some good practice in!"

Several people laughed, and Neville nodded. "That's true. Some stuff we can do, we just have to have a partner that won't mind being hexed in the name of practice. Or a partner we'd enjoy hexing." More laughter. "We've got all day to practice. Let's start with Expelliarmus, and go from there."

And so they did. For the next four hours, all they did was practice defense: Expelliarmus, Impedimenta, Stupfy, Protego...any basic hex or defensive charm they could remember from Defense classes and the DA. Neville practiced too, but mostly he went around and observed, giving people pointers and tips. Cody felt suddenly proud of him. Anyone who'd known him his first few years at Hogwarts couldn't possibly have expected him to come to this: leader of an organized rebellion against the Death Eaters, helping others with their magic. But Cody had never doubted him.

When he came around to Cody and Seamus (whom he was partnering), Cody laughed and hugged him.

"What was that for?" he asked, surprised.

Cody laughed. "You're just cool, that's all," he said. "The Sorting Hat knew what it was doing!"

Neville's face turned pink, but he looked pleased at the compliment. "Thanks, Cody," he said. "Guess I just needed a reason to fight...and someone like you to tell me I could do it. So let's see your Stunning Spells! Cody, you first."

Seamus winced, but positioned himself over the cushions they'd laid out for the exercise.

"Stupefy!" Cody called, sending a searing jet of light at Seamus. It hit, and Seamus dropped onto the cushioned. Cody grimaced, but couldn't help but grin; he was getting good at this!

"Rennervate," said Neville quietly, reviving Seamus from his unconsciousness. Everyone had learned the revival spell in Charms, which came in very handy for practice. "All right Seamus, your turn."

Cody switched places with Seamus, screwing up his face in anticipation as Seamus pointed his wand at Cody. He hated being Stunned! It didn't hurt, really, but it felt like an electric shock, and after a while it left you sore. He grimaced as the red light slammed into him, and suddenly things went dark.

The next thing he knew, Cody was lying down in an awkward position on a pile of cushions. Seamus helped him to his feet.

"Good job, you two,' said Neville. "Just take it easy, while I check the others."

Cody grinned and he and Seamus shook hands, as Neville went off to another pair.

The group broke for supper, not wanting to be found absent from the Great Hall. But Cody barely ate, he was so excited. He spent most of supper looking around and feeling smug.

They met again for three hours in the evening, until everyone was quite sick of practicing spells.

"I think that's enough for now!" called Neville. "Next meeting to be called by coin. Next meeting, we'll plan our first 'annoy-the-hell-out-of-Snape' mission."

Everyone laughed, nodding agreement and thrusting fists in the air. Cody got out the Marauder's Map and check it, doing what Harry had done two years before, and letting people out in small groups. Finally it was just Luna, Ginny, Neville, and Cody.

"You were awesome," said Cody to Neville. "See? I told you you could be great!"

Neville laughed and hugged him. "Yeah...you were right, huh?"

Cody giggled. "Like always!"

Ginny snorted. "You're getting a big head, kid. I'm getting out the ego harpoon." Cody stuck his tongue out and checked the map. When the coast was clear, the four of them left the Room of Requirement.

The DA put their plans into action three days after the first meeting, after a "Dark Arts" class that had half the class nursing bruises from being smacked around by Amycus Carrow. They spent two hours at the meeting talking about tactics to annoy the Carrows, and decided first on a pamphlet campaign: Ginny lettered a pamphlet on a piece of clean parchment, and Luna did a tricky little charm to disguise the handwriting, managing to make it look like Snape's. Several of the seventh-year Transfiguration students set about multiplying it into several copies.

The pamphlet read:

_NO WIZARD IS 100 PURE!_

_Wizards had to begin somewhere...they didn't just spring up out of the earth like daisies. No matter what you believe, Creationism or Darwinism (or something else), the first humans were NOT wizards! So no matter how far back your family extends, there's a Muggle in it somewhere! Do you really think by scratching names off of family trees and hushing up Squibs and 'blood-traitors' that you can hide the Muggle ancestry?_

_Idiots._

_Every wizard in the world is part Muggle. The "Dark Lord" himself's only half-blood!_

_Signed,_ _The Wizarding World_

"This is gonna ROYALLY piss them off!" exclaimed Lavender Brown gleefully.

"I want everyone in teams of two," said Neville. "Each team will get three pamphlets. We have fourteen people and 8 floors. That works out nearly right. So. Go in your teams, make sure that you stay out of sight of Filch and his miserable cat. Paste them up wherever you like."

Cody piped up, "Make sure you get the doors to the Carrows' classrooms!"

And so they dispersed, after a quick check of the Marauder's Map. Cody wanted to partner Graham, but Neville said it might be better if Graham was with one of the Hufflepuffs, as their common rooms were both on the lower levels. Cody agreed reluctantly, and the two Slytherins split up.

By that time it was after the latest curfew, and the halls were mostly deserted. Neville and Cody crept down to the third floor, giggling quietly every once in a while, using the Map to check whether they were still in the clear. Neville put one sign up on the door that led to where Fluffy the three-headed dog had once been stationed, one on the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, and one on the stairwell that led down to the lower levels.

Neither of them knew the Permanent Sticking Charm, but they did know how to magically seal one object to another. "Magiglue," Cody snickered as he performed the charm.

A noise in a nearby corridor made them both jump. "Nox!" they whispered, almost in unison, and ducked back into the shadows. It was Peeves, Cody saw, who was humming rude songs to himself as he drifted down the hall.

Once he'd left, Neville snickered. "All right. Whoa, hold on." He reached into his pocket, and Cody knew why: the Galleon was heating up. Neville lit his wand, the level low, and looked at the message.

_Task done. Back safe. Michael_

Neville nodded, satisfied. "Let's head up," he said.

Before they got to the sixth floor, similar messages from the other teams had come in on the Galleon, and Cody and Neville exchanged a high-five. They watched everyone going back to their dorms on the Marauder's Map, then headed up to Gryffindor Tower.

Cody couldn't stop giggling as he got into bed and wiped the Marauder's Map clean.

Next day, there were murmurs all around from the students. Cody caught a glimpse of one or two flyers being passed around, and heard several people gabbing amazedly about the gall of "whoever put these buggers up!"

To say the very least, Snape was not amused. "A person or persons unknown," he announced before breakfast appeared on the House tables, "put up a number of vulgar flyers last night. Rest assured that if I _ever_ find out who did it, I will personally ensure that they dearly regret the task. Any student found in possession of these flyers after breakfast today will be given a week's detention with Amycus and Alecto Carrow."

Cody managed not to smirk as Snape's eye landed on him, Neville, and Ginny in turn. 'Suspect all you like, you git! You can't prove anything!'

No one spoke outwardly of the incident all day and all the flyers in the students' possession had been hidden, but the various members of the DA whispered to each other throughout the day so that by the end of it, everyone knew where the flyers had been put up.

As Neville and Cody had decorated the door of one Carrow's classroom, Michael Corner and Anthony Goldstein had taken the other. One flyer had been put down on the Slytherins' Common Room entrance...that one had to be Graham's team...and one was on the doors to the Great Hall. One had been put on the entrance to Ravenclaw tower, and another had been pasted right on the door leading up to Snape's office! Cody didn't know who had the nerve to do that, but he silently applauded them. He'd put his money on whatever pair Ginny was a part of!

The next meeting of Dumbledore's Army was filled with elation. Everyone was laughing about their first, successful escapade.

"Did you see Snape's face this morning?" crowed Lavender Brown. "He about ate the whole table!"

Everyone snickered. "Amycus Carrow was smacking the fourth-years around all during class for no reason," said Graham. Cody noted he had a bruise on his face, but he didn't seem to care. Everyone was on the most incredible high for the success of their first stunt.

"Yes, that was brilliant, everyone!" Neville called, grinning. "Fantastic start. But don't get complacent. We got away with it. But the more we keep doing, the more they're going to come down on us. They'll increase patrols, question people, set up magical booby traps."

"That's right," said Seamus Finnegan. "We can't let our guard down! We've always got to take as many precautions as we can when we do this stuff."

"Yeah," said Cody. "Just think what woulda happened if Snape caught us putting up those flyers last night!"

The laughter died down as people imagined what _would_ have happened if they got caught, and a few people nodded. "Yeah," said Parvati, shivering. "That would be bad."

To say the least!

"So. Let's lie a little low for a while. Quidditch is coming up, and there's other activities starting up, and we'll be busy. So. Let's keep meeting for practice, for sure, and keep up with a mild barrage of rebellion. Individual, I mean. Notes, letters, maybe some minor sabotage and damage to certain people's property."

"Mouth off in class once in a while," suggested Ginny with a grin. "It'll get you smacked, maybe, but it'll annoy the hell out of them."

"Exactly," said Neville. "And we can begin seeking out others to join us. Keep talking to people about how wrong the Carrows are, try and rouse the entire student body against the Carows for when we can actually overthrow them. You've seen the other students. They won't stand for this. But for now, let's get into Patronuses."

They spent the rest of the day practicing Patronuses, and Cody was satisfied with his own progress: nothing distinct, yet, but he was able to achieve the Shield version of the Patronus, the white wisp...formless, but of some use against Dementors. Neville was right; it was far easier to accomplish something when you had a good reason for it.


	95. Y7, C17: Failed Mission

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 17: Failed Mission**

The next few weeks were a mixture of elation and fear. The elation came from the DA, and their underground rebellion. There were no more organized missions just yet, but the members found their own ways of expressing their dislike for the new Hogwarts commanders.

Luna Lovegood painted a moustache and a beard on the gargoyle that led to Snape's office. "He just stood there and let me do it!" she laughed at a meeting. "He hates Snape, too!"

Ginny Weasley spiked Alecto Carrow's afternoon pumpkin juice with U-No-Poo, a product from her twin brothers' store that caused acute constipation. It worked so well she missed two days' worth of classes trying to sort it out.

Cody had tied a pretty, pink ribbon on one of his edible Dark Marks, sneaked it onto Alecto Carrow's desk, and left a note saying, "To Professor Carrow – enjoy!" and a happy face. For some odd reason, she didn't appreciate the gift.

Little graffiti began appearing all over the place, saying things like "Muggle-borns rule!" or "You-Know-Who's a coward!" Snape and the Carrows were livid, and the best part was, it wasn't just Dumbledore's Army putting up all the graffiti...others were getting into the game, too.

Aside from rebellion, Cody found some enjoyment in Quidditch practices. Demelza Robbins had been made the new Gyrffindor captain, and Cody was surprised and pleased she'd allowed him to practice with her team again that year. Reluctantly, but she agreed; he and Demelza had not gotten along well the previous year. So he had Quidditch practices to enjoy with the new team; Ginny was the new Seeker, and there were new Beaters and a Chaser.

On the downside, Snape informed Cody that he would not be commentating that year; Cody was not surprised, but he was disappointed. Zacharias Smith got the job, which galled Cody a great deal.

The students discovered that Harry Potter had been labeled "Undesirable Number One", and that there was a ten-thousand Galleon reward out on his capture. That was an unpleasant bit of news! Of course the fact that Harry was still on the run and hadn't been caught yet was a feat, and was a constant source of amusement and smugness for the DA.

The fear came mostly from the Carrows. They used their fists and knives regularly in class, physically chastising students who got cheeky, or who couldn't (or wouldn't) grasp the concept they were trying to teach. If you got caught doing anything beyond mere cheekiness, you got a more severe punishment. Cody had so far avoided being outright tortured, but only barely.

Snape, who had been there for Umbridge's own Supreme Reich, was beginning to suspect what was going on. That fact was obvious when Cody woke up one morning and found most of the Gryffindor DA members grouped around the message board. Snape had instituted an unwelcome, but very familiar rule: no unofficial school groups or organizations. An organization, of course, was defined as a regular meeting of three or more students. That made things a lot less convenient! The DA began learning and practicing Disillusionment Charms.

The Carrows began to get more and more brutal. Anyone who disagreed with Alecto's vicious anti-Muggle teachings got hurt, period. And in Amycus's Dark Arts class, the curses the students were expected to learn increased in severity each week. They weren't up to Unforgivables yet, but Cody thought it was only a matter of time. As they had decided, the DA members capitulated enough to practice all but the worst jinxes on one another in the git's class, both to avoid getting hurt as much as possible, and to get some extra practice in right under his nose.

As a personal annoyance, both Alecto and Amycus refused to use Cody's right name, insisting that it belonged to a filthy Muggle, and a pure-blood should be ashamed to use it. (Cody was less than thrilled at the insult to his mother) They called him "Gregor", and hit him if he protested or refused to answer to it. When Neville pointed out that Gregor was Cody's father's name, and he had been a decent sort, Cody stopped making a huge fuss about it. But he still asked everyone else to use "DeDannan".

Outside contact had not been forbidden, which was scariest. The letters were being screened before being sent on, so the DA had to be very careful of what they put in a letter, but any reports of the abuse were allowed to be sent. That was what was scary. Snape had full Ministry support, and as it was solid law now that kids _had_ to attend Hogwarts, there was nothing anyone could do about it.

Lupin was worried and outraged, and his letters to Cody were as encouraging as he could make them. "Hang in there, Cody," he said in the last one. "I know you've got the courage, and I'm proud of you. But be careful." Cody had tried, without giving anything away, to let Lupin know that he was resisting, and Lupin seemed to have understood.

Cody finally had to send Merlin to stay with Lupin for good after Snape threatened to have him killed and stuffed if Cody didn't behave. "I know you don't like it," he murmured to the little bat. "I hate it. I'm gonna miss you! But I don't want you to get hurt. Remus'll take care of you. I'm sending a letter to Lupin with one of the owls, though, so you can head out first and not be bothered once they see you don't have a letter." Merlin often went out alone to hunt down fruit and berries and the like for his supper, so he shouldn't have a problem.

He knew the little bat understood, and Cody kissed him on the head. Merlin licked Cody's face before heading out, and Cody sighed, biting his lip so he wouldn't cry. Cody missed him already.

He replied to Remus's letter, saying that he and Ginny and all were all right for now, and complained about being sacked as Quidditch commentator. "And keep Merlin, will you?" he added in a PS. "Snape threatened to turn him into a decoration." He used one of the school owls to send the letter, and headed back to Gryffindor Tower.

---

The first Hogsmeade weekend of the year was to be that Halloween, and Cody could not wait. He wanted nothing more at that point than to get the blazes out of the castle, even for only a day.

The DA decided it would be too risky to try and do anything during the Hogsmeade weekend. Snape had warned them that they would be closely watched, and Lupin and the Weasleys had said in letters to Ginny and Cody that there were several Death Eaters stationed there on regular basis to watch out for Harry or other "undesirables".

That was okay with Cody. He just wanted to enjoy his time away from the school.

Halloween day was freezing cold, according to Cody. He dressed in his long underwear and winter cloak to visit the village, silently cursing Dementors the whole way.

The village of Hogsmeade was not the peaceful, relaxed place it used to be. Dark-cloaked figures were everywhere, and the people who were there didn't stick around and talk. Even the crowd from Hogwarts wasn't too exuberant; they went to their stores and stayed there until they had reason to leave.

Cody and Graham were taking the opportunity to just hang out with each other; what with homework (like Alecto's latest essay assignment: one foot of parchment explaining why biology proved Muggles were lower life forms. Cody didn't intend to turn it in) and the DA, Graham and Cody hadn't had much of a chance.

They ducked into Honeydukes, which as usual was very warm and sweet-smelling, and Cody got a large supply of sweets. He grinned wickedly at Graham as he grabbed a large box of Blood Lollipops, and enjoyed the revolted look on Graham's face.

"Ya know," said Graham, nodding at Cody's arm, the one Greyback had scarred, "considering that you're sorta a pseudo werewolf now, you might start liking those for their taste."

"Shh!" hissed Cody, glaring at Graham as several people gave them wary looks. The last thing he needed was for people to think he was a werewolf at all. He slugged Graham in the arm, making him cackle, and headed for the check out counter. Still, he supposed Graham had a point.

It was in Hogsmeade that Cody first heard of Potterwatch. When Graham and Cody went into the Three Broomsticks for some butterbeer to stave off the bitter chill outside, they caught sight of Neville and a couple of the other DA members heading through a door behind the bar. Looking around to make sure no one unfriendly was paying attention, Neville gestured the two Slytherins in. Puzzled, they obeyed, sliding past the pretty barmaid, who winked slyly as they passed. Obviously she already knew what was going on.

"What's up?" asked Cody once he and Graham had closed the door behind them.

Luna was there, as well as Seamus and a couple of the Ravenclaws. There was a big, old-fashioned looking radio sitting on the floor, and everyone seemed to be huddling around it.

"Listen," whispered Neville.

"For those of you who've just tuned in," said a very familiar voice, "my name is River."

Cody gaped. "That's Lee Jordan!" he hissed. How could he have forgotten that voice after cursing it for three years during Quidditch matches?

"Yeah!" replied Seamus. "Now shut up and listen!"

Cody stuck out his tongue, but he and Graham joined the group huddled around the huge radio, listening to a broadcast "River" called "Potterwatch."

"And," said Lee, "we have an update on deaths in Britain, the ones you won't see in the Daily Prophet, all of Muggles in the area of Liverpool. An old couple found dead of what the Muggles figure were heart attacks, but our sources say it was the Killing Curse that did it. A gang of Muggle teenagers was found dead at a local arcade, along with three employees...all evidence points to this being simple sport, a killing for the 'fun' of it."

Someone made a sound of horrified indignation; Cody was too appalled to make any noise at all. For the "fun" of it? Killing Muggles for _sport?_

"And now for Pals of Potter," continued Lee Jordan. "We have here Romulus, one of Harry Potter's many friends. Welcome, Romulus!"

"Thanks, River," said a hoarse, quiet voice. Cody nearly crowed with surprise: Lupin! It was great to hear Lupin's voice!

"No one's caught sight of Potter yet?" Lee asked, sounding as smug as always.

Lupin chuckled. "No, we've had no word of him, either way. Wherever he is, he's easily evaded You-know-Who and his followers. All the worse for them."

Lee laughed. "You said it, Romulus. And what of people who might want to do their part against ol' You-Know-Who?"

"Be extremely careful," said Lupin. "Do what you can, or what you think you have to do, but see to the safety of your friends and family. People should send their children away, if possible, to other countries...get them out of You-Know-Who's immediate reach. Learn as much defense magic as you can, and prepare yourself. Use common sense in your fight. And most of all, let these terrorists know that England will not lie at their feet and surrender."

A cheer came from the listeners in front of the radio, and Cody clenched his fist proudly. There were others there along with Lee, obviously, because Cody heard cheering on the radio, too.

"Well, there you have it," said Lee, still laughing. "Couldn't have said it better myself. As for You-Know-Who himself, well, there's not been a real sighting now in forever. He's mostly got his peons doing the dirty work. Not that they're anything to sneeze at, they're right nasty themselves. Not to be taken lightly. And remember, we can't emphasize this enough: do _not_ use You-Know-Who's name. They've used the magic of Taboo on that name, in order to catch the most adamant opponents of the Chief Death Eaters, and members of the Order of the Phoenix. Hugely complicated magic, the Taboo...the mention of the name will drop any protections around you, and lead them straight to your door. So remember, nicknames only. And make sure to check out the latest copy of the Quibbler for the news the Daily Prophet refuses to print! Anyway, that's all the time we've got right now on Potterwatch. Keep listening, listeners; our next password will be 'rebellion'. Be safe, be careful. River, out."

The radio's lights went dark, and the speakers silent. Cody burst out laughing. "I don't believe it!"

"Good, huh?" said Neville happily. "'River' has been doing this now for a few weeks...always on different stations and on different channels. You've got to use the password they gave you during the previous broadcast, and if you miss it, you have to find someone who knows it. They can't be on at the same place each time. They've already almost gotten caught once."

"It's brilliant," said Seamus. "They've all got different names, and most of the people who, well, fight You-know-Who come on and talk. They give news of deaths or big events that the Prophet's hushed up. And since You-Know-Who's followers have taken over that, too, well, they're not too happy."

"Awesome!" exclaimed Cody. "We gotta get a radio for you-know-where!"

"Good idea," said Neville. "I'll make sure and specify that next time we meet. And when we're here in Hogsmeade, Madam Rosmerta's place is pretty safe to listen to this. She hates You-know-Who as much as we do. And," he added in a whisper, "she's no longer being controlled."

Cody winced, remembering how she'd been under the Imperius Curse the previous year, helping Draco try to kill Dumbledore. As everyone began to leave, Cody realized that there was someone missing.

"Where's Ginny?" asked Graham as everyone stood up.

"Dunno," said Neville. "She said she had something to do, but I'm not sure what." He cracked the door open and peered out, obviously waiting for something. Cody found out a moment later when Neville said, "Okay, she's given the all clear. Let's get out of here."

In twos and threes, the little group slipped back out into the bar, which was surprisingly crowded, considering. Cody supposed that being the main center of community in the town, not even a hostile takeover of Britain could keep everyone away from the pub.

Ginny joined up with them later that day, while they were all having a good look at the Shrieking Shack. It was still creepy, even now that Cody knew the truth behind it. You-Know-Who himself could even be in there and he'd never know!

"Where've you been?" asked Cody curiously as Ginny came running up.

"You'll see," she said mysteriously, then dropped her voice to a whisper as she turned to Neville. "But I have an idea or two. Let's go back to you-know-where."

People had taken to using variations of "you-know-who" to describe thing they didn't want to mention aloud, and Cody thought it was hilarious. Make common usage out of the name...that was sure to irritate Voldemort himself.

It was only Graham, Cody, Neville, Ginny, Luna, and Seamus who met in the Room of Requirement. Once the room was secure, and they were all sitting on cushions and chairs, Ginny said, "Cody, do you remember what Harry said that night at the Burrow? That Dumbledore had left him the Sword of Gryffindor, but Scrimgeour refused to let Harry have it?"

Cody blinked. "Yes..." the others were looking confused, so Cody quickly explained about Scrimgeour's visit to the Burrow, and the events that took place.

"That sword is in Snape's office," said Ginny with a grin. "Maybe we should get it for Harry. I bet if we got it out of that office, Hagrid or someone could easily smuggle it out; he goes to the village all the time."

Ooo, now _that_ was an idea!

"It could work," said Neville slowly. "We haven't done anything major since the flyers. But we wouldn't need everyone...just a few people."

"Count me in!" Cody exclaimed.

"And me," said Ginny and Luna at the same time.

Seamus held up a hand, shaking his head. "I'll sit this one out, if you don't mind. Snape only caught me yesterday carving rude words into one of the banisters. I'm lucky I didn't get handed over to the Carrows for that."

"I'll go," said Graham.

Neville nodded. "Okay, good. Let's do that tonight, then. The Halloween feast is tonight, and everyone'll be down there celebrating. And the slimy gits like Snape who don't celebrate, they'll be there with them on the lookout for trouble."

"Sounds good," said Neville. "Luna was sent to see him only the other day, so she still knows the password...hopefully it hasn't changed since then."

"Oh, I'm sure not," said Luna dreamily. "That'd be too much work, you know."

And so they had a plan...Dumbledore's Army was about to strike again!

The five of them didn't bother showing up to the feast. Cody was overfull on Honeydukes sweets, anyway, and the delicious smells wafting from the kitchen hardly tempted him. Instead, they all met in the Room of Requirement to get ready.

Cody had the Marauder's Map, and everyone else had their wands. Luna had what looked like a large flyswatter, "in case of Wrackspurts," she said; Ginny, Neville, Graham, and Cody all managed to keep straight faces. "And if I need to, I'll use it on Snape," Luna finished.

That did it; everyone cracked up. Cody imagined Luna walloping Snape with that giant flyswatter right across his hind end, and giggled gleefully.

"So let's go, guys," said Ginny. "Anything that'll help Harry'll help the wizarding world!"

It was not a huge problem, getting from the Room of Requirement to the gargoyle that guarded the entrance to Dumbledore's Office. Luna gave the password ("control"), and the gargoyle sprang aside, winking at them all. Lighting his wand to a low level, Cody looked down at the Map, seeing that Snape was still in the Great Hall.

"He's still there," he whispered. "Quick!"

"Where does he keep the sword?" Ginny asked.

"On a shelf next to the Sorting Hat," whispered Luna.

"Okay, wands lit, but only just," said Neville. "We don't need the portraits to recognize us. I can't think any would alert Snape, but you never know."

"I can think of one," muttered Ginny, and Cody thought he knew who she meant. Phineas Nigellus had been a Slytherin, and he was a jerk. "So let's try not to wake 'em."

A quick "Alohomora" got the doors into the office itself open, and the five of them tumbled in. It didn't look awfully different from the last time Cody had been in the office, though the atmosphere wasn't nearly as friendly or as welcoming as when Dumbledore was there. Cody thought he even caught sight of Dumbledore himself, snoozing in the portrait directly behind the desk. Cody bit his lip, resisting the very great urge to light his wand more brightly, and talk with Dumbledore.

Instead he watched the Marauder's Map, wanting to keep an eye on Snape. There he was at the high table, and Cody stuck out his tongue before looking back up at his friends.

"There!" whispered Luna happily.

"On the mantle," said Neville, reaching for it.

"Look out," whispered Ginny. "This is faster. Reducto!"

The sound of shattering glass was shocking, and there were several startled cries from the portraits. "Who's there?" "What the devil?" "Intruders!" Cody looked up in alarm.

"Subtle, Ginny," Neville whispered.

His heart pounding from the sound, Cody looked back down at the map, and his whole body went cold; _Snape wasn't in the Great Hall. _"Hurry!" Cody hissed. "Snape's left the Hall!"

"What?" exclaimed Graham. "Where is he?"

"I'm looking! Hurry up and get the sword!" He didn't dare look up to see their progress as he frantically searched the map for the tiny dot labeled "Severus Snape." As someone climbed up on Dumbledore's desk to reach the sword, he finally located it: Snape halfway to the office, and moving fast! "Hurry!" he said again. "He's coming here! Fast! He knows!"

Neville swore, and someone jumped down from the desk.

"Got it!" hissed Ginny. "Let's get out of here!"

"Run!" Cody exclaimed. Snape was only a floor away...

The five of them ran for it, dim lights playing on the floor so they wouldn't trip. Cody caught a glimpse of the beautiful sword Harry had once used on a basilisk in Ginny's hand. If they were lucky...

But luck was not forthcoming. Snape moved faster than Cody ever could have thought, and his sneering voice spat the password. Realizing they were about to be caught, Cody jabbed his wand at the Marauder's Map, and hissed, "Mischief Managed!" It was wiped blank, and Cody shoved the parchment into his back pocket as the gargoyle below sprang to one side.

The five of them froze in the light from the hallway as Snape's wand blazed light in their faces, and they met Snape's furious gaze.


	96. Y7, C18: Full Moon Detention

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 18: Full Moon Detention**

'He knew,' Cody thought frantically, feeling panic stealing over him. 'How did he know?'

"Well, well, well," said Snape silkily. His voice was deadly calm, but his expression was enraged. "Caught red-handed, were you? And what might you five model students be doing here while everyone else is at the feast?"

"W-we needed to talk to you about something," Graham stuttered. "We, we came right from Hogsmeade to--"

_"Don't lie to me!"_ Snape snarled, "I know you were inside the office already! Weasley! What have you got behind your back?"

"Nothing," said Ginny, and Cody admired her tone; it was supremely unconcerned.

Snape growled and shoved past Luna and Neville, reaching behind Ginny's back and grabbing the sword by the hilt. His black eyes slowly narrowed. "Nothing, is it? You come thieving in MY office, and it's nothing?"

"Dumbledore left that sword to Harry," said Ginny coolly.

Snape growled, grasping the front of Ginny's robes and pulling her nose to nose with him.

"Hey!" Neville protested, but Snape ignored him.

"Do not mention that name in my office," he hissed, though he didn't specify which name. "This sword belongs to Hogwarts, and it will stay in my possession." He let go of Ginny, who finally looked a little unnerved. He turned his gaze to all of them in turn. "You will serve detention," he said flatly, stepping back. "You will report to Hagrid's hut two nights from tonight at ten o'clock in the evening. Understood?"

All of them nodded rather resentfully; as for Cody, he was immensely relieved. If detention in the Forbidden Forest was all he'd have to deal with, he wasn't going to worry a whole lot.

Snape then backed out of the cramped stairwell and into the hallway. "Get out."

No one needed to tell them twice! They ran out of the corridor and down a set of stairs, huddling in a corner. "Coulda been worse," said Graham shakily. "Mind you I wasn't happy about suddenly meeting him face to face."

"Yeah," said Neville, taking a big breath. "Well, that didn't work out so well, did it? Come on, let's--" He paused as the sounds of several hundred feet came from the Great Hall, and he sighed. "Looks like we missed the feast. Let's just get back to the common rooms."

Everyone sort of nodded and shuffled off. Cody hugged Graham before they split up, and Graham headed back down towards the dungeons. No one said anything as they all climbed a few flights of stairs, and then Luna split off towards the Ravenclaw dorms.

"Success is great," Cody grumbled as they climbed in through the potrait hole of Gryffindor Tower, "but failure sure feels crappy."

To his surprise, both Ginny and Neville chuckled, and Ginny put her arm around Cody. "You should've learned that already,' she said, "considering you played Quidditch for Slytherin."

"HEY!" Cody exclaimed indignantly. Ginny laughed and sprinted away, and Cody gaped at her. Minutes after being caught trying to steal from Snape, and she was making jokes? Cody laughed too, and tore off after her.

Later, after a futile attempt to catch Ginny and several threats (the one about chopping Ginny up and feeding her to Hagrid's Lethifold made her laugh even harder), Cody flopped down in a chair by the fire. The other Gryffindors hadn't arrived yet from the feast, so they had their pick of chairs for the night.

"I'm still going to get you," said Cody, but in truth he wasn't even indignant anymore...not at the jibe, nor that he couldn't catch her. She'd made him laugh, and reminded him that even though they'd screwed up, the world didn't end.

"Right," said Ginny, smirking at him from the next chair. "In a few years, maybe."

Cody snorted, turning around as several people started coming in through the portrait hole. Cody was rather glad the other DA members hadn't been involved; Cody didn't exactly want to admit how idiotic they'd been.

Neville figured it was wiser not to make too much trouble in the next couple of days. At least not until their detention in the Forbidden Forest was over with. Actually, Cody was sort of looking forward to it; he liked going into the forest. It scared the hell out of him, but that was part of the fun.

Luna and Graham were both waiting in the Entrance Hall when Ginny, Neville, and Cody got there. Graham looked confused, and as Cody caught the word "Snorkack" from Luna, he wasn't too surprised.

"Well, let's get this over with," sighed Ginny.

Yawning a little bit, Cody nodded and followed the others out. He normally went to bed at ten or ten-thirty when he'd gotten up early for school, and he was a little tired...he hoped whatever they were doing wouldn't take all too long.

Hagrid was already outside when they got there, with his giant crossbow in his hands, and Fang at his heels. Fang trotted over and licked Cody's face, which made him laugh, but all Hagrid did was call the dog back; he looked grim, which was never a pleasant expression on Hagrid. It wasn't normal for him. "All righ', yeh lot," he said, looking around furtively before settling his gaze back on them. " Not that I object ter yer rebellion. If I was a student, I'd be righ' there with yeh. But hones'ly, that wasn' the brightest stunt in the world!"

No one said anything; Cody thought they all rather agreed. Cody sure did!

"I don' wan ter see yeh hurt...not if it can be avoided! Jus'...jus' try an' be a little more cunning abou' the whole thing...Cody yer a Slytherin, an' yeh, Graham. This sneaky stuff should be yer forte!"

Graham and Cody exchanged a glance, and shrugged.

"What are we doing?" asked Neville nervously, peering into the forest. Cody remembered the last time they'd had a detention in the forest had been during their first year. It was the first time Cody ever saw Voldemort. He had never been so terrified in his life. For that matter, the thought of meeting him face to face _still_ terrified him.

"We're goin' after a thestral," said Hagrid. "Two of 'em, actually. They've gone missin', an' we've got to hunt 'em down."

"But Hagrid," said Ginny. "Some of us can't see them."

"I know," said Hagrid. "But we're gonna be stayin' in one group. An' I can see 'em jus' fine. Now. All of you get yer wands out, an' keep 'em out. The forest's more dangerous than ever, an' espec--"

Hagrid was cut off suddenly by an eerie howl, rising from the trees to cut through the night. Wolves?

"Especially tonight," Hagrid finished in a whisper.

The rising moon caught Cody's attention then, and he suddenly realized just why tonight was so dangerous, and why Snape had insisted this be the night of their detention. The moon was full.

And everyone knew there were werewolves in the Forbidden Forest.

"All righ'," said Hagrid. "Stay close ter me. An' be alert."

"Great," Cody muttered. "I've already met enough werewolves."

"You mean Lupin?" asked Luna, puzzled.

"No. Greyback." Cody scowled darkly, pulling up the sleeve of his robe and giving the messy scar there a dirty look. "That git."

"Well," said Luna reasonably as they all ducked into the darkness of the trees, "it wouldn't be so bad for you, would it? You're half werewolf already, right?"

As Ginny laughed and Neville seemed to be deciding if he was amused or indignant, Cody gave Luna a very strange look. "Thanks...I think."

The forest was pitch black, which made Cody glad he had his wand. With all five of them lighting the way, the darkness wasn't too oppressive. The creepy werewolf howl sounded again, making Cody shiver, and he wondered what it felt like to transform. He hoped he never found out.

They tromped along in silence for at least a half an hour before stopping in a little clearing. Cody was very puzzled by the sounds...someone moving around...because he could not see anything. But when something nudged his shoulder (he had to choke back a scream), he suddenly understood. It was the clearing where the thestrals lived. As his heart started slowing down to normal again, Cody reached up and felt for the leathery face, laughing softly when he touched the strange skin. He rubbed the beast's nose (which felt more like a beak), and it made a strange cry of contentment. Cody rather liked it.

"You scared the crap out of me," he whispered.

"All right'," said Hagrid. "Come over here, guys, an' look. The tracks lead this way. Bu' the ground gets hard, an' the trail's lost. So what we gotta do is find the trail again...look for scuffed ground, an' broken branches an' all. An' keep watch!"

Hagrid's repeated warning to keep alert not only reminded Cody of Mad-Eye Moody, but they were beginning to make him nervous!

Cody patted the invisible thestral once more, the crept along the trail after Hagrid. He squinted hard at the ground, trying to discern normal scuffed ground from thestral-scuffed ground. He was no woodsman, how on Earth was he supposed to tell?

Hagrid seemed to know what he was doing, though, and so Cody just followed him. While he was sure they wouldn't be allowed to go back to the castle until they'd found the missing beasts, Cody felt sure that he and the others kids weren't meant to be much of a help. They were meant to be intimidated, and they _were_ in real danger. The continued werewolf howls sending the hairs on the back of Cody's neck to attention was proof enough of that.

It wasn't until nearly midnight that Hagrid found what he was looking for, closing his eyes and heaving a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness." Cody of course could see nothing, but Neville suddenly smiled, aiming his wandlight at a spot a few yards away. Hagrid spoke softly to what Cody assumed was the thestral, then bent down to pet something. Cody frowned, cocking his head curiously.

"What's that?"

Hagrid laughed. "C'mere. Tha's why this mare an' her mate wanted away from the others...she was about ter foal. She's had her little one. Come here an' feel...she's all righ' She knows me."

Delighted curiosity came over Cody, and he edged slowly forward, feeling carefully until he felt something soft. Adult thestrals felt like old leather. But this one felt smooth and soft, almost like a human baby's skin. Cody giggled as the little thestral nosed his palm, and Cody pet the infant's head.

"It's cute," he whispered. And it was cute, even though Cody could not see it. It _felt_ cute.

"Yeah, well, they're pretty beasts, if yeh've got an open mind," said Hagrid. "Come on. Let's get these guys back...and get outta here."

Cody was relieved they'd succeeded, but still nervous as the night wore on. The full moon was high in the sky, now, shining through the gaps in the trees. The baby thestral kept nudging Cody, wanting attention, and he pet him most of the trip back. Finally, they arrived back in the Thestral clearing, and Cody heard odd, keening noises from the other thestrals, greeting the mother and her newborn. Cody almost wished he could see them. If only seeing death wasn't the thing that allowed a person to do so!

As they walked towards the castle, Cody was beginning to think they'd get out without any trouble. The others clearly thought so too, so it was a real shock when something thudded into a tree right beside Cody's head. He yelled in alarm, making everyone else jump, and Hagrid snarled. "Damn it, GET DOWN!"

Everyone dove for the floor, and Hagrid yelled in pain as something hit him, and he raised his crossbow. The sound of hooves finally clicked it all together: centaurs! Raucous yells and whoops rent the air as a thunder of hooves ran at the six of them, and Hagrid spun around, knocking one of the centaurs clean off his hooves.

Neville cried out, and Cody wasn't sure if he'd been hit with an arrow, but the next second all of them were scattering, staggering behind trees and sprinting for the cover of the shadows. And not a moment too soon; if they'd stayed, they'd have been trampled.

"Get the foal away!" one of the intruders cried, and Cody suddenly felt large, powerful hands on his arms.

"HEY!" Cody shrieked, kicking his legs and fighting as the centaur behind him dragged him away from the sounds of the fight. He heard another cry of pain, and Neville shouting a Shield Spell. "Let go!"

The centaur did not answer, only hoisted Cody over his shoulder in a fireman's carry, keeping a firm grip on his wand hand.

Cody's struggles did very little good; the centaur was unbelievably powerful, and soon they were out of earshot. The centaur finally let Cody down, being surprisingly gentle. Cody stumbled backwards a few steps, scowling. "What's the big idea?" he hollered.

"You will be hurt if you stay there, young one," said the centaur. "Even we do not hurt the young. But the others, they've trespassed here, they know they're not welcome! This is not a place for humans!"

"We're looking for a lost thestral! Why do you care of we come in the forest? We're not here to hurt anyone! Besides, Snape made us come out here for detention...why do you guys hate humans so much, anyways?"

The centaur snarled, his chiseled features contorting into something scary. "Why?" he asked incredulously. "_Why?_ After all the ills your kind have wreaked on ours? The oppression your Ministry has forced on us, the denials of freedoms? And after all this, this war...this wizard's war, that has taken lives from all creatures, not just your own kind?"

Taken aback, Cody stared for a few minutes. Finally he said the only thing he could think of: "But...what's the got to do with us?"

The centaur looked at Cody as if he might be mentally handicapped. "Are you not humans? Wizards?"

"Well yeah, but _we_ didn't kill any centaurs! We didn't say you couldn't have wands, we all think that's a stupid rule!"

It was the centaur's turn to look taken aback. A sudden shriek, audible from where Cody had just left, made him feel cold.

"I gotta go back!" Cody cried. He made as if run in the direction of the scream, but his arm was caught again by the centaur.

"I am sorry, human foal, I cannot allow you to go back. I was charged with keeping you out of the line of fire."

Cody hated to do it, but his friends could be getting hurt, and if any of them died... He swung around, aiming his wand at the centaur, biting his lip at the look of hurt on the man's'face. "I'm sorry," said Cody, close to tears. "I _have_ to, they're my friends! My...my herd! Thank you for wanting me to be safe...I appreciate it...but you have to let me go! I'll hex you...only if I have to!"

The centaur slowly let go of Cody's arm, and backed away a step, his expression now unreadable. Feeling he'd somehow betrayed the centaur, Cody ran away, towards the source of the fight.

The sounds were fading by the time Cody got there, which had his heart thumping in fear for his friends. Did they drive their attackers away? Were they dead? When he got near enough to see, when he saw they were all on their feet, he felt shaky with relief. Not thinking, he burst out onto the path, and had to dive into the bushes to avoid the four Stunning Spells his friends shot his way.

"Whoa, hold on, it's just me, it's Cody!" he yelled from within the bush.

"Jeez, are you okay?" Graham exclaimed, running over and helping Cody extract himself.

"Yeah...I'm okay, I shouldn't have...oh, my God, you guys're hurt, we gotta get you to hospital!"

Hagrid was bleeding badly in several places, and Neville had an arrow sticking out of his shoulder. Graham's head was bleeding, and Ginny was clutching her ribs, looking like she was in some considerable pain. Luna seemed the only one who had escape injury, but she looked rather disheveled.

"Yeah," Hagrid grunted. "Yeah, let's hurry."

Almost frantic with worry, Cody nearly ran circles around his friends, keeping an eye out for further attack, his wand out and ready to curse the first person who came anywhere near them.

But no one else attacked that night, and the group finally staggered out of the forest and onto the grounds.


	97. Y7, C19: Home for the Holidays

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 19: Home for the Holidays**

The trip to the hospital wing seemed to take forever, but once they were there, Cody felt a whole lot better. They weren't magical wounds, Cody knew that, which meant the matron would be able to sort them out easily enough.

When Madame Pomfrey saw them, she nearly swallowed her whole face. "My goodness, what on Earth – arrows! What have you all gotten into? Everyone, sit down, sit down, sit still." She muttered ominously that the Carrows had better not give her trouble for healing them.

While she bustled around getting people settled, Cody told her what had happened.

"You're not the first who've been injured thanks to them," she whispered, trying to look Hagrid over. But Hagrid refused, insisting she look at the kids first.

"Broken ribs, for goodness sake." As she prodded Ginny's ribs with her wand, Ginny clenched her teeth, then slumped back in her chair as Madame Pomfrey's spell finished mending the breaks.

She used a Vanishing Spell to get rid of the arrow in Neville's shoulder, sealing up the wound and checking for fractures. After healing Graham's head wound and ascertaining that Luna was unhurt, she moved to Hagrid, who finally let her look him over.

Hagrid had half a dozen arrows in him at least, and Cody was sure he'd gotten them protecting his friends. As soon as Madame Pomfrey had dealt with the injuries, Cody ran forward and hugged him, feeling more grateful than he could express. "Thanks," he whispered.

Hagrid seemed to understand well enough. "Yeh're not hurt, are yeh?" he asked.

"No. He grabbed me to keep me safe. I had to threaten to hex him before he let me go...I feel bad about it."

"No, it's all righ', Cody. Yeh did what yeh had to. You...you all had better get up ter yer dorms. I'll go an' report to Snape." Hagrid clenched his huge fists, and Cody winced, hoping he wasn't going to do anything he was going to regret.

Cody exchanged glances with the others, and they nodded, each thanking Hagrid before he chivvied them out the door.

None of them wanted to spend much time talking, not with it being far past curfew even for the seventh years. The five of them sort of exchanged a harried look before splitting up.

Once Ginny, Neville, and Cody were in the common room, they all collapsed onto the chairs in front of the dead fire; Neville and Ginny looked as exhausted as Cody felt.

"Just what would Snape have done if one of us got bitten by a werewolf?" asked Cody indignantly. "Or killed!"

"I don't think he expected any of us to die," said Neville wearily. "I heard the Carrows talking earlier today; they don't want to spill magical blood. So I reckon we're safe from death. But they don't much care if we get hurt. In fact the Carrows, they enjoy it, and I think Snape considers it suitable punishment."

"That's because he's a jerk!" Scowling, Cody sat huffily back in his chair, his arms crossed.

"Yeah," said Neville. "Yeah, he is. All right. We have classes tomorrow...it's after one o'clock. Let's try and get some sleep. We've got Alecto's Muggle Studies tomorrow."

---

The trip into the forest might have been Snape's idea of punishment, and true it wasn't all that great, but if he was hoping to intimidate the DA into piping down, he was sorely disappointed.

Luna and Neville snuck out the very next night, using the Marauder's map, and used everlasting ink to draw a picture of the Dark Mark on the wall of the Entrance Hall, with a cute little red and gold bow on its head and on the snake's neck. Luna wrote, "Death Eaters are cute and cuddly!" next to it. Cody about choked with laughter when he heard. Snape wasn't amused, and the Carrows were more than angry; they were royally peeved!

During the next Quidditch game, between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, Ginny and Anthony Goldstein crashed the game on borrowed school broomsticks, taking a leaf from the Death Eaters' book and wearing black robes and masks. Using some of Fred and George's magical fireworks that Ginny had managed to smuggle into Hogwarts, they spelled out:

SnapeGreaseball

Since they were flying, and flying fast, they had done the deed and flown off before any of the adults could do anything about it. Snape and the Carrows shot several hexes at them, but they'd flown high for that very reason, and none of them hit. The only people who were mounted on broomsticks were the Quidditch players and Madame Hooch, and none of them were too eager to give chase; they were laughing too hard.

The November second issue of the Quibbler explained the mystery of why Ginny had been curiously absent that first Hogsmeade weekend. There was an interview within by Xenophilius Lovegood (Cody was surprised to find his name started with an X) of Ginny Weasley!

In the interview, Ginny gave details of everything the Carrows and Snape were doing at the school, of how they were abusing the students, even torturing them, of how people's kids were either being corrupted or hurt. Cody knew that the students were allowed to contact their parents, but that article would make everything widely-known. That stunt got her banned from further Hogsmeade weekends, and a detention with Amycus Carrow.

The beginning of December was another Hogsmeade weekend, and Cody hunted down a copy of that first flyer the DA had put out, getting out his special, trick ink he'd bought from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes so long ago and making a copy. The ink he chose would only show up at a certain, specified date and time. He got Terry Boot to help with the Transfiguration, multiplying the flyers so that Cody had about forty of them.

When everyone made their way into Hogsmeade, Cody, Graham, and a couple others surreptitiously began leaving the blank parchments all over the town...stuck in doors, stuck to buildings, and scattered all over the streets.

Snickering, the two of them went about their business in the town. Cody bought Christmas gifts for those he'd not already shopped for and a new clip for his wand, and Graham got himself a new set of school robes. (Several of his were too small.) Then they joined the rest of the DA in the Three Broomsticks for some butterbeer.

At about six o'clock that night, after the students had gone home, the ink suddenly showed up on the flyers.

That trick even got into the Daily Prophet, because all the Death Eaters that had been stationed at Hogsmeade were just a little upset about it. The Ministry even offered a reward of fifty Galleons for any information regarding those who had pulled the stunt. Cody was highly gleeful!

In the middle of December, Neville and a few others started sneaking out at night and writing "Dumbledore's Army, still recruiting" all over the walls. Snape and the Carrows were about driven mad with frustration. Peeves only added to the chaos the DA created by throwing chalk and walking sticks at the Carrows--by dumping soapy water on Snape, sing-songing that it was time for his yearly bath--and generally causing his usual chaos chaos.

And all in between these stunts was the public defiance the DA and others put up against the Death Eaters that had taken over their school. They held their meetings, gathering a few new people and practicing Disillusionment Charms, Shield Charms, and anything else they could think of that would be of use in their war. They made up new fake coins, imbuing them with the same Protean Charm Hermione had used on the originals. Neville came up with the idea of using Sickles instead of Galleons for the new ones, so that everyone didn't have the exact same thing, and would make the coins less suspect if they were searched.

They listened to Potterwatch on a regular basis, hearing from Lee Jordan and Remus Lupin, Kingsley Shacklebolt and Arthur Weasley. Between them and the Quibbler, no one needed to read the Daily Prophet, anyway. Potterwatch and the Quibbler told far more of the truth than Rita Skeeter ever did!

Not that it was all easy and effortless. There were so many close calls, even with the use of the Marauder's Map, that Cody wondered if his heart rate would ever be the same. Anthony Goldstein got caught graffiti-ing Amycus's room and got the Cruciatus Curse for it. Cody got slashed across the face for telling Alecto that his Muggle sister was smarter than both Carrows combined, and Ginny Weasley got banned from the Gryffindor Quidditch team for letting loose a Bludger in Snape's office.

Most of the students were getting used to being smacked around or chained up for minor offenses such as not doing homework or being late to class. Even the smallest and youngest students weren't exempt from this harsh treatment, and that made Dumbledore's Army all the more determined to fight.

By the time Christmas rolled around, the DA felt they'd done enough damage for the time being, and backed off. They only held their meetings and mouthed off every once in a while, just so the Carrows didn't get too comfortable. But as Neville said, "We don't want too much trouble around Christmas," he said. "Grievous injuries make lousy Christmas gifts."

Everyone had laughed, but it was true. As Cody thought about it, Lupin was going to be upset enough to see the abuse that was already evident...the slash Cody had gotten had begun to heal, but Cody was afraid it was going to scar.

In the week before Christmas, Hagrid began doing his best to ensure that the castle was as festive as always. Cody often helped him decorate, and took to singing his favorite carols as he walked in the hallways, and generally being cheerful. It annoyed certain people.

Cody was surprised that Snape was letting the students go home for the holidays. In fact, Snape addressed the student body during supper the night before the train was to leave.

"Just remember," he sneered at them, "that attendance here is mandatory. Any of you who might be considering staying home once you're there, consider this: you will be breaking the law. I rather think attending Hogwarts might be a little more bearable than a nice, restful holiday in Azkaban."

Most of the students broke out into muttering as the food arrived on the plates, and most seemed to be wondering if the Ministry really would throw a kid in Azkaban for not going to school. Cody felt personally that nothing would surprise him anymore. It was strange, though. Cody had never before been so eager to leave Hogwarts. As he traipsed back up to Gryffindor Tower, all he could think of was packing his trunk and getting OUT. He even managed to sleep fairly well that night.

In the morning, Ginny presented him with a new possible dilemma. "Is that damned uncle of yours going to prevent you going home with Lupin for the holidays?"

His uncle. How could he have forgotten Coatl? "He won't," said Cody fiercely. "He won't. I won't let him. I've got my wand, now. If he tries anything..."

Amazingly, Ginny smiled. "I hoped you'd say that. Count me in, too. He tries anything, I'll hit him with my Bat-Bogey Hex."

Cody winced. "I've never seen that, you know," he said. "I don't think I want to."

Boarding the Hogwarts Express felt strange. It felt strange to be leaving the place that had felt more and more like a prison to him. That he would be allowed to leave, period, felt strange.

Cody shared a train compartment with Graham, Neville, and Ginny. None of them dared discuss anything remotely having to do with the DA, and Cody was glad. As much as he enjoyed fighting, as much as he liked standing up for what he believed in...he really needed a break. Cody had never understood the term "battle-weary" before, not really. But he was beginning to understand it now.

When Graham wondered why Luna hadn't joined them in their compartment, Cody speculated that she'd seen a Crumple-Horned Snorkack in one of the other compartments, and gone after it. Graham laughed, but Neville seemed a little uneasy.

"I hope nothing's happened to her," he said quietly.

"Yeah," said Cody, "I hope not, too. but I;m sure she's fine."

Having gotten far less sleep than he was accustomed to in the last weeks, Cody fell asleep halfway to London. Graham was gently shaking him when Cody opened his eyes, found himself curled up on the seat, and sat up, feeling mildly grumpy until he realized that they had arrived.

Anxiety and excitement both fought for dominance in Cody's gut, making him feel a little uneasy in the stomach. He scowled at it, yawned, rubbed his eyes, and stood up. The window he was at did not face the platform, which was pretty useless, so he stood up to go outside...his wand ready in his hands.

"Listen," said Neville in a whisper before they headed out. "While we're out here, let's talk with old members of the DA...like your brothers, Ginny. We can use the Galleons to communicate! Then we can talk freely, and communicate outside the school."

"Definitely," said Ginny. "Now let's go and see if we need to get rough with Cody's uncle." Ginny's lip curled and she said, "He's a Carrow, too, isn't he?"

"Yeah," Cody grumbled. "Actually, he's not bad. He's not sadistic like Amycus and his sister. Still, he's their nephew. I really don't like the idea of the Carrows being my great aunt and uncle...especially after what they've done to me! I wonder if they know."

"Don't worry about it," said Graham. "Not like you can help who your family is."

"I know," said Cody. "I mostly just take offense!" Taking a big breath, he gripped his wand and followed everyone else out of the door.

When the little group stepped out onto the platform, Cody blinked, at first not believing what he was seeing. Lupin and Coatl both were standing there, side by side, as if they were on perfectly friendly terms. Cody frowned suspiciously, regarding them both, and did not put his wand away.

"Uh...is that you, Remus? Prove you're you!"

Remus looked taken aback, but he reeled off a few facts that only Remus would know, and Cody sighed in relief. Still, he didn't get too close. As much as he wanted to run forward and hug Remus, he was still a little wary.

"I've been talking to your guardian here," said Coatl. "Remus." He smiled a little wryly, and Cody remembered Remus had first given Coatl his middle name, John. "Interesting, actually. My parents, and of course my aunt and uncle, would probably disown me. But, well, I was never as hard-headed as they were."

At first Cody had no clue where this was heading, but it didn't seem too hostile, so he relaxed just a little bit.

"I'm not going to insist you return home with me, Cody," Coatl finished.

Cody blinked. "You're not?"

Coatl smiled. "No. Well, some of the talks we had when I, er, took custody of you, and some of the things Remus here has said...it's got me thinking a little. There's no need for anyone to know that I didn't take you for Christmas break."

It was a shock...as much of a pure-blood fanatic as Coatl was...to let Cody go back into the care of a blood-traitor werewolf? Maybe Cody had been a little hasty in resenting his uncle quite so much. After all, Coatl had never mistreated him, never abused or insulted him. And in holding Cody prisoner, he truly was doing what he thought was right. Cody still disagreed on that account...but he didn't hate Coatl for it.

He suddenly remembered the start of term, when Lupin had shown up on the platform to see Cody off, and Coatl hadn't made a big scene there, either. He smiled. "Thanks, Coatl," he said. He hesitated a moment, then put away his wand and offered his hand instead.

Coatl took it and shook. "You were thinking of using force if I decided to be difficult?" he asked, looking amused.

Cody did not blush; he only nodded. "And I had backup."

"You're a pretty formidable wizard for a child," said Coatl, nodding his head slowly. "Well...keep in touch, all right?"

"I will." Cody gave the man's hand a final shake, the let go. Coatl turned around and slipped through the enchanted barrier. Cody watched him, feeling very pleased...his uncle truly wasn't so bad after all. Maybe someday he'd come around completely.

'I'm really glad there wasn't a fight," said Graham. "That coulda been bad." Cody wholeheartedly agreed.

"Well, there's my parents," said Ginny. "I'll see you later, Cody! I imagine we'll all be having Christmas together!"

"Bye, Ginny! Thanks for the backup!" Neville and Graham also spotted their families, and went to greet them, leaving Cody with Remus.

He felt better than he had in weeks. He grinned suddenly and rushed forward, throwing his arms around Lupin. Cody noticed suddenly that his hugs were higher than they used to be on Lupin. He must have gotten taller.

Lupin hugged him back, holding on for a few minutes. "I've been so worried, Cody." He pulled Cody back to look him thoroughly over, and he ran his finger lightly along the slash across Cody's face. Cody winced and pulled away.

"It's still kinda sore."

"Who did it?" asked Lupin quietly.

"Alecto Carrow. I told her my Muggle sister had more brains than her and her brother together. For some reason, she took offense."

Lupin was surprised into a laugh. "Yes, yes I imagine she did. We can take care of that. Molly's pretty good at healing, though if it was done by magic--"

"It wasn't. They both have daggers they use when students get too smart-aleky." Having the blasted thing healed sounded great to Cody! "_Are_ we having Christmas with the Weasleys?"

"We are," said Lupin. "Tonks and I have found a different place to live, however. The old flat was suddenly not a very safe place to live."

A rush of guilt assaulted Cody, and he swallowed hard. "I'm so sorry, that was my fault, I said--" By sheer habit, he very nearly said the name aloud again. "You-Know-Who's name."

"It's all right," said Lupin, giving him a squeeze around the shoulders. "There's no way we could have known. We'll drop your stuff off there, then head for the Burrow. And you can tell Tonks and me everything. In detail."

"Okay. Hold on, I wanna say 'bye' to Neville and Graham first, then." Remus nodded, and Cody ran over to hug his friends. They all agreed to keep their medallions with them in case something happened and they needed to communicate right away, and bade one another to have a good holiday.

Ten minutes later, the two of them left King's Cross Station in a Muggle cab, and Cody slumped back in the seat, feeling suddenly exhausted. He fell asleep on the way to Remus's house, and when Remus woke him up, Cody was confused for a minute. Then he saw Remus and grinned.


	98. Y7, C20: New Recruits

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 20: New Recruits**

The new flat was a lot smaller than the old one, with only one tiny bedroom. Remus apologized for the lack of room, but finding a place that was both secure and affordable had been a bit of a trick. "Even with magic," he added ruefully.

Cody said he'd just sleep on the couch. "I can sleep anywhere," he said. He was startled by a sudden screech and the leathery flap of wings, and Merlin launched himself across the room right at Cody's robe. Cody laughed, catching the little bat and holding him close. "I missed you," he said to Merlin.

Merlin looked up at Cody with the happy-bat face, and Cody laughed again.

"He has missed you, too," said Lupin. "He likes me, but I'm no substitute for his daddy." Lupin winked as Merlin licked Cody's face.

"Boy...I _really_ missed him. Hey, you said we're gonna stay a few days with the Weasleys, right?"

"That's right," said Remus. "Molly wasn't about to let us spend Christmas alone. Tonks is already over there. Go ahead and take your pajamas and toiletries, and a few changes of clothes. Along with any books or games you might like."

"Okay, awesome!" Cody grinned and nearly pounced on his trunk.

Packing an overnight bag with Merlin clinging to his robes was an exercise in flexibility. But finally he had one of his old backpacks filled with books, clothes, and a toothbrush. He got an ordinary cloth tote sack to carry the presents he'd bought in Hogsmeade.

One short, uncomfortable Apparition later (Merlin was about as thrilled as Cody was), Lupin and Cody were standing in the Weasleys' front yard. Tonks was waiting there for them, and she broke into a sunny smile at the sight of them, running forward to hug first Lupin then Cody. She winced when she saw Cody's face, and glanced back towards the Burrow.

"Be ready for a full-scale Molly rant," said Tonks. "Remus has been telling her the things that are going on at Hogwarts, and she's livid. She won't be happy when she sees your face. Er, you know what I mean."

"Remus said she can probably fix it, though," said Cody with a grin. The abuse he'd suffered at school seemed so easy to deal with now that he was among the people he loved.

"Yeah, she probably can," said Tonks. "Well, let's get you inside, then. It's gonna be a small gathering, I'm afraid. Bill and Fleur wanted to spend their first Christmas together alone, and of course Harry, Ron, and Hermione are out doing their thing." Tonks sighed. "But the twins and Charlie and Ginny are all here, at least, and Samantha, of course."

Cody's good mood faded a little as they headed in. It wasn't going to be the same without everyone there, and it seemed to bode ill, like things weren't ever going to be the same again. Trying to shake the frightening feeling, Cody shook his head hard.

Tonks's prediction came true as soon as Molly Weasley caught sight of Cody. She fussed over him like a mother hen, exclaiming how appalled she was at what was happening to the students, and verbally abusing Severus Snape. Cody only let her fuss, grinning delightedly at the insults she was coming up with. He'd have to use some of them when he got back to Hogwarts and it was his turn to write on the walls.

"We wondered if you could just heal the cut," said Lupin. "I was hoping it wouldn't leave a scar, and I sure as hell am not about to bring him to St. Mungo's. As much control as You-Know-Who has over the wizarding world right now...that could be a bad idea."

"Well, yes, I can heal it," said Molly, taking Cody's face in her hands and peering at the slash mark. "It's only half healed...I should be able to get rid of the scar, too."

It occurred to Cody that if the Carrows saw the mark had been healed when he returned, they might see fit to replace it, but didn't say so. He simply let Mrs. Weasley sit him on a chair, where she asked him to hold very still. Cody set Merlin aside, where he flew off to explore the house, and sat as still as he could. Mrs. Weasley took out her wand and settled it very lightly on Cody's face, and he crossed his eyes, trying to watch it. When his eyes began to ache, he closed them.

It didn't hurt, but it felt strange, as magical healings always do. Mrs. Weasley wasn't as quick as Madame Pomfrey, but once she was done, it didn't hurt at all! "There," she said, sounding satisfied. "Got rid of some of that old bruising, too."

Cody felt his face, delighted to feel only smooth skin. "Thanks, Mrs. Weasley...that feels loads better!"

The woman smiled distractedly and hugged him. "Well, let's get you settled in. I figured you could take Ron's room...since...since he's not here, we can put the ghoul elsewhere, and Remus and Tonks you can use Percy's?"

Cody winced. "I'd rather sleep on the couch, Mrs. Weasley. I...well I always sleep on the couch here. So much else is different...I don't want that to be different too."

Mrs. Weasley seemed to understand. She pursed her lips together, looking like she was trying not to cry, and cupped Cody's cheek for a moment. "The couch it is, then."

As Lupin and Tonks were bringing their belongings up to Percy's old room, Cody dragged his to the couch, settling it in its normal place. Charlie was in the room, listening to a truly horrible song on the wireless radio, and he jumped up as Cody set his trunk down, making Cody yell in startlement as Charlie ran right at him, grinning.

He grabbed Cody and lifted him high, making him shriek in surprised laughter. "Hey, put me down, you big dork!"

Charlie laughed, shaking Cody back and forth. "'Dork,' is it?" he demanded, crash-landing roughly Cody onto the couch. "Well, then, what about this?"

And with that, Charlie pinned Cody down on the couch and launched a fierce tickle attack on him. In between helpless laughter, Cody yelled threats and indignation, kicking and squirming to get out of Charlie's grasp. But Charlie had worked for years with dragons, and Cody's puny strength was no match for him. And so by the time Charlie had finished and let Cody up, he could only lie on the couch, his giggles tapering off into gasps of breath.

"I'll get you for this!" he vowed, rolling off the couch and pretending to collapse in exhaustion.

"Bring it on!" invited Charlie.

A familiar laugh made him sit up, and a moment later, Samantha was throwing herself into Cody's lap. He grinned and hugged his little sister, doubly glad to see her after being so worried. "I missed you, squirt!"

"Me too!" she exclaimed. "And Merlin, too."

Remus and Tonks were back, too, and Cody felt suddenly a lot more cheerful. Changes or not, having one's family around made things better. And besides, who could be sad after being attacked by a tickle-crazy git?

"By the way," said Lupin, smiling a little. "I imagine you'll be meeting our two new Order members tomorrow. We've not been having regular meetings at all...we're all being watched...but we've expanded a bit, even so."

"Who are they" asked Cody. "Do I know them?"

Lupin's smile was most mysterious. "You'll see," he said. "I think you'll be pleased, though."

"Aw! Remus!" complained Cody. "You gotta tell me!"

Lupin chuckled. "Not a chance...it'll be a surprise." Cody put his hands on his hips as Remus headed into the kitchen. Adults were infuriating sometimes!

The day was a very pleasant one. Cody challenged Remus, Ginny, Tonks, and Charlie to a Quidditch match or two, and they agreed. All of them needed a little recreation, and Cody had a lot of excess energy he had to let out somehow, even if it meant braving the bitter cold outside. Samantha asked if she could play, and Cody asked Mrs. Weasley if Samantha could borrow her broom. Mrs. Weasley agreed a little uncertainly, but Cody assured her that he wouldn't let Samantha get hurt.

"We'll keep the Bludgers out of it," he said with a grin as he led his sister out.

Samantha was so excited to join the game that she was jumping up and down the whole way out to the broom shed. They all enjoyed teaching the rules to Samantha, who wasn't too bad once she learned the basics. That was one of the many things Cody liked about brooms...they were already enchanted, so Muggles could use them, too.

Samantha liked playing Keeper, and Charlie said he'd keep an eye on her, so Cody could enjoy the game.

The six of them played outside the whole day, and it was a day that Cody remembered the rest of his life. Even Mrs. Weasley, and Mr. Weasley when he got back from work, were happy that day, and didn't talk once about the people they'd lost, or the horrible things that were happening in the wizarding world. For that one day, they just enjoyed themselves, and were grateful that they had each other.

By the end of the day, Cody was exhausted and freezing to death, but he felt wonderful. He was full of a fantastic meal, and he had his family with him. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow Mrs. Weasley had gotten out for him.

Cody's dreams were not kind that night. He didn't quite remember them once he awoke, but he was grateful for that, because the leftover terror was still strong, and he didn't want to remember _anything_ that scared him _that_ badly. There was death in them, he knew, but he didn't try to remember any further.

---

Everyone seemed to be tired still as they were called down to breakfast the next morning. Cody was feeling surly about his evil dreams, and Tonks looked only half-awake. Her hair was half brown and half pink, which Cody found amusing; either she'd done it deliberately, or wasn't awake enough to get it all pink.

After breakfast, Cody sent a quick note to Coatl, saying hello, and wishing him a Merry Christmas. He wasn't quite ready to be too friendly with the guy, but he figured a "Merry Christmas" greeting was okay. Just as he sent off the letter, a sudden, loud CRACK from outside had Cody jumping to his feet in alarm, already going for his wand. Lupin only chuckled. "It's all right, Cody," he said, standing up. "I'll be right back."

Hoping he wasn't getting as paranoid as Mad-Eye Moody, Cody frowned, watching as Lupin went outside, and talked to someone out of Cody's sight. Curiosity overcoming him, he slipped out of the back door and froze when he saw that Lupin was talking to two very familiar people.

"_Kathy, Kyle!_" he hollered in shocked delight, laughing and sprinting over to where they stood talking to Lupin.

Kathy laughed and bent to hug him, before turning him loose to hug Kyle as well. After a moment he stepped back and looked the pair over.

Kyle looked much the same as ever, tall and lanky, though Cody thought he'd gained a bit of muscle. His sand-blond hair was a bit long, spilling over his eyes. Kathy had lost some weight, and her hair was much longer than he remembered seeing; she must not have cut it all year.

"I can't believe it's you," said Kathy, shaking her head in astonishment. "You've grown about a foot, kid! Maybe two!"

Cody laughed. "Aw, go on, it's only been a year, jeez" said Cody, shaking his head. He'd visited them both the summer before sixth year.

"You're twelve, now?" asked Kyle. "You really have grown some. You're still shrimpy, though."

"I am not! Just because you're tall! What're you guys doing here?"

"I told you," said Lupin with a smile.

Cody's jaw dropped, and he laughed again, turning back to his old friends. "No way, you guys joined—joined with the--!"

"Let's get inside," suggested Lupin, interrupting. "We can talk more freely there."

"Awesome!" Cody never expected that Kathy and Kyle would ever join the Order of the Phoenix! He kept up a steady stream of questions about what they were doing, and what they'd done, as they headed inside. There was a lot to get caught up on, and Cody had a load to tell them, too!

When everyone was gathered in the kitchen, Cody told Kyle about being related to him, and the other things he'd learned about his blood family. (He didn't even bother mentioning Dustin, and Kyle did the same.) "Yeah," said Kyle. "I knew we were kin to the Carrows, but like a certain other git, I never mentioned I was related."

"I don't like being related to jerks!" said Cody indignantly. "How revolting."

"Tell me about it! Still, gaining you as a cousin seems a fair trade-off." Cody laughed.

Kathy told Cody how her Auror training had been going, at least up until the takeover of the Ministry, and how she only had a few more months to go until she could take her final tests.

"I've had to make myself scarce from there lately, though," she said in a low voice. "They don't much like my anti-You-Know-Who views. And I've got a big mouth, so I don't shut up when I ought to."

Cody and Ginny took turns telling them all the things that had been happening at Hogwarts, and while Kyle fumed at the treatment the students had been getting, Kathy applauded their rebellion.

"That's showing them!" she exclaimed. "And you're doing just the right things, too, down to the open rebellion during classes. It keeps people's spirits up, shows them that evil _can_ be fought!"

"That's what Neville said."

"Damn straight," said Ginny.

"Ginny! Watch your mouth!"

Ginny sighed. "Sorry, Mum." But she winked when Mrs. Weasley turned away.

"I'm proud of you, kid," said Kyle, smiling and giving Cody a brief hug. "Worried...but proud. It's people like you and your friend you've told me about to show people that not all Slytherins are like Malfoy. And to show the other kids in your house that being a Slytherin does _not_ mean being an idiot."

"Unless you're a Malfoy," said Kathy, and they all laughed.

After that, talk turned the Order, and what they were doing to try and fight back. Not liking for Samantha to hear the horrible news of the outside world, Mrs. Weasley slyly got her out of the room by asking her if she would mind going round the house, checking the windows and doors. "Make sure they're closed and locked, while we talk?" Looking pleased to be given a task she deemed important, she nodded her agreement and got up, starting with the kitchen door and moving on from there.

"And find a place on one of the upper floors where you can see outside," said Mrs. Weasley. "And keep a watch out." Cody knew that wouldn't sound too suspicious to Samantha; the Burrow had been watched off and on by people _no one_ wanted around!

When Samantha was gone, Cody turned back to the conversation.

It wasn't an optimistic picture. It was just like the stories from the first war, when the Order was so badly outnumbered, when the enemy infiltrated everywhere...and it was worse than that. Before, Voldemort had never gotten his claws completely into the Ministry, and he'd never been able to take Hogwarts.

Mr. Weasley and the other members of the Order who still worked at the Ministry had to be very careful not to reveal that they were still trying to fight, or they'd be hunted down just like the Muggle-borns and other "undesirables".

"Harry's been labeled as 'Undesirable Number One'," said Mr. Weasley grimly. "And with that price on his head, well, his capture, I should say, I'm really afraid for his safety."

"They'll never catch him," said Cody confidently.

He was a little surprised that he and Ginny were being allowed to sit in on this meeting, no matter how informal, and he wasn't about to complain. But then he and Ginny had seen a lot, more than anyone should have to see, much less two children, and it was likely this that had prompted the change. Even Mrs. Weasley didn't protest.

"Why do you say that?" asked Kathy curiously.

"They haven't yet, have they? It's only him, Ron, and Hermione. They've got a mission for Dumbledore to do, and they've only got a bag each of stuff...and a tent. You-Know-Who has _loads_ of people looking for them, especially because of that reward..._and_ his Death Eaters are looking for Harry. And Harry _still_ didn't get caught or killed!"

"Well, that's true," said Kathy. "It takes real skill to manage that."

"Or luck," said Mr. Weasley, but he was smiling a little. "Though in Harry's case, it's a little of both, I think. As well as two best friends who are just as brave and talented."

"Yeah, Hermione knows every magic on the planet," said Cody, taking a sip of his tea. He winced, taking a sharp breath; it was hot! "Sheesh."

"That's hot," Kyle deadpanned.

"Yeah, thanks."

"So," said Mrs. Weasley, "what...what else can _we_ do to help? We have no idea what Harry's mission is, or even if we could help if we did know. Our hands are tied no matter how you look at it."

"Well," said Remus, "for now, not a lot. Our friend River's been broadcasting the truth now on Potterwatch..."

Lupin smiled slyly, and Cody laughed. "I heard that in Hogsmeade!"

"Very interesting, wasn't it? I particularly liked Romulus's report." Cody snorted. "And the Quibbler's been good at getting the news out, too. Keeping people informed, I think, is going to be the most important aspect of being ready to fight when the time comes."

Cody sat back, frowning, as he tried to digest everything that was being said. "You're saying we can't really do anything yet, aren't you?" he finally said. "That we have to wait and watch, make sure we know everything that's happening...the _true_ everything...and that we'll fight when the time's right?"

"Sort of," said Mr. Weasley. "You-Know-Who is not in England, we're almost certain of this. He doesn't need to be. But we think that he has his own mission, and we're trying to find out what that is. As for fighting, well, let's just say you lot aren't the only ones rebelling against the current regime."

Cody blinked.

"That's right," smirked Kyle. "While we haven't been quite as creative as you guys, we've still been doing our own little things to let the Death Eaters know that we're not going to just sit quietly and let them take over England. While your guys have been taking care of things from Hogwarts, ours have been doing the same here."

"We've distributed flyers," said Kathy. "We've protected Muggles and evacuated whole neighborhoods when we've gotten wind of an impending attack. Kingsley Shacklebolt saved a few hundred Muggle lives when he used the teflone...tele..."

"Fellytone," Mr. Weasley offered, and Cody nearly choked trying not to laugh.

"Yeah, well he used that to warn a local high school that there was a bomb in it. Some Muggle destructive device. Anyway, they evacuated the school, so that when a very large friend of You-Know-Who's arrived and reduced it to rubble, the building was empty."

Cody stared. "They knocked down a school? How? What big frie—a _giant?_ They sent a _giant_ to knock down a school?"

"They did," said Lupin wearily. "Now granted the kids and teachers will probably have nightmares for a month about it...at least they all managed to get away. Shacklebolt was there in case any of them got caught, but the giant seemed more interesting in breaking the building than chasing the people outside of it."

"We've been sending anonymous notes to the Ministry," said Kyle, "telling them that they hadn't won, and that Harry Potter was going to defeat their master."

"Awesome," said Cody, nodding; it was extremely satisfied to hear that the Order was fighting back much the same way Dumbledore's Army was.

"Fred and George have been inventing some very helpful things as well," said Mr. Weasley with a sly grin. "They said they'll take you to work tomorrow and show you."

"Aw, cool!" Cody exclaimed delightedly. "They always showed me their stuff when they were making it in school and everything it was awesome."

"I imagine you'll like their newest creations," assured Mr. Weasley.

Samantha came back into the room then, frowning uncertainly, and went up to Mrs. Weasley. "Those creepy guys are out there again," she said.

Mrs. Weasley sighed. "I see. Thank you, dear...go ahead and stay down here with us, then. Remus, perhaps we should continue this another day. There are some things we don't want to be overheard."

"Agreed." Remus stood up, then, and opened the kitchen door. He peered outside for a minute, then came back in. "Well we've said everything that need saying for now. Let's just enjoy the day."


	99. Y7, C21: Weasleys' Wizard Ears

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 21: Weasleys' Wizard Ears**

The next morning, Fred and George woke Cody up early, completely deaf to his mutinous mutterings and grouchings about being made to get up so early. "If you want to come with us to the shop," said George with a laugh, "you'll get up, you lazy sod!"

"Hey! 'Mnot!" Rubbing his eyes furiously, Cody sat up, indignation helping more than anything to clear the sleep cobwebs. "I don't even get up this early at school!"

"Early to bed early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise," Fred quoted smugly, opening Cody's trunk and finding the neon green sweater Mrs. Weasley had knitted for him one Christmas and tossing it to him.

Cody snorted, pulling off his pajama top, putting on a light shirt first (wool was scratchy!), then putting the sweater on. "Healthy and wealthy, maybe. Wise...I dunno!"

He laughed as Fred threw a pillow from the couch at him, nearly knocking him onto the floor. "Keep it up," he threatened, "and we'll not show you anything!"

"Okay, okay. Sheesh." Feeling it best to surrender, Cody got the rest of the way dressed, and pulled on his winter cloak. He grabbed his Slytherin scarf, but George came over and plucked it away from him, tossing him a Gryffindor one instead.

"Use mine," he said. "Trust me, most our clientele aren't too friendly towards the green-and-silvers lately."

'No,' Cody thought, winding the red and gold scarf around his neck, 'I don't guess they are.'

With Fred and George in their horrible, magenta work-uniform robes, and Cody bundled against the cold, the three of them walked out of the Burrow, saying good-bye to Lupin, the only other one awake.

"Are we walking or flying?" asked Cody.

"Flying," said George.

"We've got a route down that takes us away from Muggle eyes," said Fred.

"Yeah, we normally Floo, but lately..."

"...we just can't risk it. You like flying, though, don't you?"

"Of course I do!" said Cody as the twins unlocked the broom shed, taking out their brooms. Cody, who was keeping his there also, grabbed his as well. "You knew that already."

"Isn't that Marcus Flint's old broom?" asked George once they were up in the air.

"Yeah, he gave it to me for Christmas after the Slytherin team got the Nimbus 2001's. It's not as fast as Harry's Firebolt, but it's definitely better than the school brooms! I take good care of it, keep it polished and all."

"Well I suppose it's got a better owner now," said Fred with a wink.

Cody laughed a little, but didn't answer much on the subject. He liked Marcus Flint; while Marcus could really be a slimeball, he never went as far as Malfoy did. He wasn't, so far as Cody knew, a Voldemort supporter. Cody was relieved; he would have been disappointed if Marcus had turned out like that.

It was not a long flight to get to the twins's shop, which at the moment was dark and deserted. Diagon Alley was devoid of people, and Cody shivered a little in the cold as he slipped into Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes and the twins began lighting lamps.

"It's awful out there," Cody complained.

"Yeah," said George. "It's only gotten worse, what with the Ministry taking wands from Muggle-borns, imprisoning them... People are afraid. Still, we do business well enough, and get a lot of owl-order items."

"I guess," said Cody. "I'm glad that people still like your stuff. It makes people laugh." He went over to play with the Pygmy Puffs while the twins went about getting the store ready for business.

There wasn't much to do, really. They lit the lamps (lots of them, blazing the store with light), got the cash register ready for use, unlocked the front door and put the magically-lit OPEN sign out on the window.

"We had a few broken windows lately," said George. "But they're easy enough to fix, and I'd bet the gits that did it weren't too happy."

"Anti-vandalism hexes?" Cody guessed with a smirk.

"You got it, kid," said Fred. "I imagine they've still got WWW tattooed on their faces. We sell those hex-slingers, too."

"So...what are the new things you've got?" asked Cody. "Remus said you had some stuff that was helping in fighting You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters."

"That sounds like some weird wizarding band," muttered George, and Cody snickered.

"You wanna take him, or shall I?" asked Fred.

"You go ahead," said George. "I'll mind the shop."

"In that case," said Fred. "Walk this way!"

Excitedly, Cody jogged after Fred as he led the way into the back room, where Cody knew they kept their more serious merchandise, such as the Decoy Detonators and the shield garb. He noticed new boxes, but Fred didn't bother with those. He took Cody straight into the back, where a nondescript door stood, and used his wand to open it.

The room was the twins's office, and it was full of bright colors, half-invented items, weird posters, and two very messy desks. Cody grinned just looking at it.

"Well then," said Fred. "Most these items aren't even on the shelf yet...and some we're not gonna be selling until after bloody You-Know-Who is dealt with...we're letting the Order have first crack."

"Wow," said Cody. "So show me! What kind of stuff?"

"Well first...since we don't have the Marauder's Map anymore, we've been working on this." He handed Cody a sturdy piece of parchment, grinned, tapped it, and said the familiar phrase, 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good'." At first Cody thought they'd made a replica, but as he watched the lines begin to spread over the parchment, he realized he was not looking at Hogwarts...but at Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes.

"You made a map of here?"

Fred laughed. "A map of everywhere. It's not perfected yet, and we're having trouble figuring out how to make it show secret passages and magic-protected places, but otherwise it's good."

Cody watched a tiny dot labeled "Cody DeDannan" fidget in his place, and laughed. "Wow...how'd you do it?"

"It's a complicated sort of tracking magic," said Fred. "The same sort the Ministry uses on under-seventeens. It records people's presence, senses the walls and the rooms, and records it down on the parchment. No labels for the rooms, though, we're still figuring out how to make it do that."

"So it works anywhere?"

"Yep! Once we get it perfected, we're gonna make maps of different sizes, like some that'll do only a room, some that'll do whole towns, and you can zoom up close to it to see details. And you can choose what word you want to be the password...it comes with instructions and all."

"Awesome!" Cody exclaimed. "What else?"

"This."

As Cody set the prototype map down, Fred handed him a ring, the kind people wore on their finger. It was tastefully decorated with scrollwork, and seemed to be a nice ring, but knowing the twins, Cody was reluctant to try it on. He gave Fred an uncertain look.

"Go ahead," he said. "It's safe. Watch."

Cody slipped the ring on, slightly startled when it changed size to fit his finger, and looked at it for a moment. It did nothing.

When he looked up at Fred again, he was puzzled to see he was aiming his wand at Cody. For the briefest of moments, Cody wondered frantically if it really _was_ Fred, then thought that he probably just needed to use magic to activate the ring, and felt foolish for his moment of alarm.

He was right...in a way. As Fred stood there, a big grin on his face, he heard a voice whisper in his ear, "Rictusempra!" Startled, he spun around, but no one was there...as it sounded like the twins, he suspected George was behind him and having a joke at his expense, but had no time to ask.

The Tickling Charm hit him and he squirmed, giving a shriek of laughter as it tweaked him right in the ribs, where he was the most ticklish. Fred lifted his wand and the Charm broke off, but Cody still didn't know what the ring had to do with it, or whether George had hexed Cody from hiding.

"Nonverbal hexes," said Fred. "That ring detects nonverbal spells coming your way. It only gives you a second or two to react, but it's an advantage...it detects the spell, even if the caster doesn't say a word."

Cody stared, highly impressed, then took the ring off and stared at it. "That's brilliant!"

"And useful. That's one of our exclusive items...Order members only until the war's finished." He winked at Cody. "We've also outfitted them with some of our shield garb, too."

Cody liked that idea; the twins were helping in their own unique way, and their help really was a big one. Nonverbal spells were evil, sneaky things, and to be able to detect them--!

Those weren't the only things the twins had engineered. There were cloaks that zapped anyone who laid a hand on the wearer, wand-guns that shot magically charged pellets that would knock a troll out cold, spray bottles of a potion that sounded a lot like Mace, as well as more powerful versions of the Skiving Snackboxes.

"Those'll do some serious harm," said Fred. "_If_ you can get it in someone's mouth. They don't even have to swallow it."

"What about that one?" asked Cody, pointing to what looked like a mini-Frisbee. He thought for a moment it was a Fanged Frisbee, but when Fred picked it up, it didn't try to bite. He handed it to Cody.

"It was inspired by poor George," he said once Cody had taken hold of it. "It's for anyone who might need a few extra...EARS!"

At the word "ears", the disk disappeared, and Cody yelled in pained startlement as something exploded on his skin, and for a moment, he thought that he'd been nailed with a Furnunculus Curse. As Fred about died laughing, Cody stumbled backwards, tripping over something and falling on his hind end.

He gaped in shock, shuddering as things just...grew out of his skin, like horns, or ropes, or... He caught sight of one of the new growths and was rather perplexed to see that it looked like a very long rabbit ear, and it was still growing! "What the--!"

Fred was laughing so hard he could barely stand, and Cody glared at him in indignation. "'Earing Aids!" Fred gasped between guffaws. "You throw 'em, shout 'ears!' and the disk hits...better than Devil's Snare! Just not so lethal!"

"Get 'em off!" Cody hollered, staggering to his feet.

"No!" Grinning, Fred sprinted out of the office.

Outraged, Cody ran out after him, staggering under the strangely imbalanced weight of a dozen long, heavy rabbit ears sprouting out of his body and growing longer by the second.

"Tell me the counter curse!" demanded Cody, chasing Fred into the main part of the shop.

George was behind the counter, and burst into laughter at the sight. There was a girl there, one of their employees, and she only stared in bewilderment. The three or four customers in the shop stared a little uneasily as Cody ran out, looking like some horrible human-rabbit hybrid.

"I dunno, Cody, I think I like you better than that!" Fred laughed, keeping the counter between him and Cody.

Cody took a step forward, then yelled as an ear coiled around his feet, tripping him. He struggled into a sitting position, glaring at the twins. "You better get these off!"

"And if we don't?" asked Fred, grinning like a loon. "Gonna give us an ear-lashing?"

"Worse!" threatened Cody. "I'll tell your Mum!"

Fred clutched at his heart, feigning mortal offense. "Cody!" he gasped. "You've hit below the belt."

Cody shook his fists, sending rabbit ears waving everywhere. "I'm covered in ears!" he hollered. "I'm allowed!"

Everyone started laughing at that...and Cody finally couldn't stay angry any longer. He began to laugh too, only imagining how utterly ridiculous the scene looked.

"Is that for sale?" asked one of the customers interestedly, peering down at Cody.

"Absolutely," said Fred, winking at Cody as he led the customer to a shelf full of thin boxes. "The 'Earing Aid is, anyway. Afraid you can't have the anklebiter who's displaying them." Cody sputtered with indignation. "And they're reusable, they last at least one year under normal, once-a-day use."

While Fred showed off the 'Earing Aids, George came over and muttered, "Earretract."

The ears disappeared immediately with a small pop, and the mini-Frisbee disk fell to the floor with a clatter. Shaking his head, Cody picked it up, giving George a sidelong glare. "I'll get Fred for that," he vowed. "I'll get revenge."

"Tell you what," chuckled George, "Go ahead and keep that one. It's the least we can do, as thanks for getting our customers interested in 'em." He pointed his wand at Cody's clothing, mending the rips that the ears had left.

He winked, and Cody laughed, getting a little shakily to his feet. "Thanks." He pocketed the disk, thinking it could be useful against some of the Slytherins. Now that he was normal again, Cody's ire was fading fast.

Fifteen minutes later, Cody had forgiven Fred almost entirely, though he still intended to get revenge. He watched the twins and Verity, their lone employee, take care of the initial customer group, and watched the clients leave with new purchases. (At least three had gotten 'Earing Aids.) Cody purchased a few small things himself, such as new Edible Dark Marks (he'd run out annoying the Carrows) and a couple of other little novelties.

"Well, we told Remus one of us'd escort you back to the Burrow once we'd shown you our merchandise," said George. "You about ready to go?"

Cody said that he was, and fastened the cloth bag he'd put his purchases in to his belt loop.

"I'll see you in a bit, then," said Fred, grinning at Cody. "Hope you liked the demonstration, Cody."

"Hmph!" Cody tried to glare, but giggled instead, because it _was_ way too funny. So he grabbed his broom instead, shook his head, and headed out.

George didn't have much time to hang around once he'd led the way back to the Burrow, so Cody said his goodbyes and went into the house alone.

The 'Earing Aid story made for a whole lot of amusement that evening at suppertime, and Cody demonstrated the one that George had given him on Fred...his revenge. Fred took it good-naturedly enough, managing a little dance with the new adornments before they started getting so long they tangled up, like they had on Cody. When Fred could no longer move, Cody spoke the retracting order, and reclaimed the disk.

--

After that, there was nothing quite so unusual or entertaining as the trip to the twins' store, but it was still enjoyable. Charlie was around most of the time, as was Mrs. Weasley and Remus, so Cody, Ginny, and Samantha had plenty of company. They played games, flew brooms, told stories, wrestled, and enjoyed Mrs. Weasley's most excellent cooking.

On Christmas Eve, Kathy and Kyle were invited to spend the night at the Burrow and have Christmas there, which made Cody pretty happy. He spent much of Christmas Eve trying to win a wrestling match with Kyle; it wasn't fair, because Charlie kept darting in to tickle Cody every time he got out of Kyle's grasp. No one else seemed to think this was the great injustice that Cody did.

When Mrs. Weasley roused everyone on Christmas morning, they discovered it had snowed outside, and most everyone there had a huge snowball fight before breakfast. Then, once they'd eaten, they exchanged presents.

Cody got another Weasley sweater (though this one was bright yellow instead of green), Quidditch Through the Ages (a really interesting book about the history of the game), a few other books and sundries, and a set of homemade bookmarks from Samantha. She beamed when Cody said that he'd thought they were store-bought, they were that good.

The twins gave him a large bag full of their store merchandise, and Cody was delighted to find that they'd given him one of the Detectorings...the rings that detected nonverbal spells. A lot of that stuff would come in handy against the Carrows!

Cody's absolute favorite was a present from Remus, that Cody knew he must have saved his money for. When he unwrapped the heavy gift and opened the box it was in, he could only stare at it for nearly an entire minute without talking; it was a dagger. It wasn't a big dagger, but something that Cody could easily handle, silver-steel in color, with a transparent green gem at one end.

"Holy cow."

Lupin laughed, coming over to put an arm around Cody's shoulders. "I wasn't sure on whether to get this for you, whether you would be interested, but it seemed to be the right gift. It caught my attention while I was in Diagon Alley a few months ago, so I planned on getting it for you for Christmas."

Cody finally laughed, jumping up and hugging Remus as tightly as he could. "It's _awesome_ Remus...thanks! I love it, it's awesome! I'm going to put it on my wall. Man, I wish I could bring this to Hogwarts for the next time Carrow tries to cut me, but he probably knows how to use one better than me."

"Likely so," said Lupin. "Of course being a wizard, I doubt you'll ever use this as a weapon; your wand is all you really need. It's more a symbolic gift, I suppose. I wanted to tell you that I trust you with such a weapon, and that even though you're a child, that doesn't mean you're not a warrior, also. That I respect your bravery, and what you've done."

Cody was speechless. He felt his face going red, but he didn't mind...all he could do was to hug Lupin again, feeling like he was going to cry at any minute. When Lupin sat back down, Cody gazed at the dagger all throughout the gift giving. He showed it off to everyone.

Kathy and Kyle stuck around through the evening, and disgusted Cody by announcing that they had gotten engaged, and planned to wed the following October. Was there some kind of marriage virus going around, or what?

Once they were gone, Cody brought his various gifts over to the couch, with the green and silver dagger on top. Slytherin colors _were_ good ones. Kathy and Kyle were right. It was a fine, respectable house. It was only what the people within made of it.

Of course the founder was a psychotic old murderer, but he was dead, so who cared about him, anyway?

After Christmas, the days seemed to pass way too quickly. Cody usually didn't want holidays to end, but knowing what he'd be going back to made the whole thing that much more difficult. Ginny felt the same, Cody could tell. She _said_ she really wanted to go back to continue the war against the Death Eaters, and Cody didn't doubt that was true. But she still looked awfully reluctant when it was time to pack.

"You don't have to go," Lupin told Cody quietly that night before he went to sleep. Cody and Lupin were still staying with the Weasleys so they could all go to King's Cross in a group. "You've fought better than any wizard your age could hope to fight, and seen more than you should have to. If you want to stay here, we can arrange for you to hide. No one would think the worse of you for it."

And Cody was tempted...oh, how he was tempted. To not have to worry about which Carrow he was going to annoy, and be smacked around by... to not watch teachers he respected having to watch every step they took in order to protect the students. To not have to learn the most horrible magic, and practice curses on his friends.

He remembered feeling the same last summer as they fought the Death Eaters that had invaded the school, after one of them had used the Cruciatus Curse on him. He was terrified to go back into the fight, but there was something that made him do it. He _couldn't_ stop fighting. It was in his blood, what he was made for. No matter how much he wanted to, Cody didn't think he _could_ stay home and hide, especially with his best friends in the world returning to fight. It would be nothing less than treason.

He didn't need to answer, he found. When he looked up at Lupin to do so, he was already smiling in a somber sort of way. "Best get some sleep then, kiddo," he said. "You'll need it."

"Okay," said Cody. "Is there any trick you want me to play on the Carrows or Snape for you?"

Lupin blinked, then laughed. "I suppose you could give Severus Snape a gift of shampoo, and a note instructing him how to use it...and sign it on my behalf."

Cody gave a shriek of delighted laughter, and had to muffle it with the pillow so he didn't wake anyone. "You got it!" he whispered. Snickering, he watched Lupin stand, then walk over to Arthur's chair, which he was sleeping on that night. (Tonks was bunking with Kathy.) Still chuckling, Cody closed his eyes.


	100. Y7, C22: Missing in Action

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 22: Missing In Action**

The next morning, no one was feeling very exuberant, and Cody was not awake enough to care much either way. After a very excellent breakfast from Mrs. Weasley, Cody followed everyone out to the front yard, where once again they were to go by taxi to the train station. Cody wondered what these Muggle cabbies thought of the Burrow, a crooked, leaning house that would never pass a building inspection in the Muggle world.

Cody said good-bye to Merlin before leaving him in his cage at the Weasley's for Lupin to pick up later. That was Cody's biggest regret, having to leave Merlin behind to keep him away from harm. He hugged his sister and assured her he'd be very careful, and said good-bye to Charlie and the twins, who would not be coming along to the station.

They only needed one taxi that day, with the four of them squishing together in the back seat, and their belongings crammed into the roomy trunk.

"Why do you call the trunk the boot, anyway?" asked Cody.

"'Trunk? Is that what you Americans call it?" asked Ginny curiously. "Well, boot, and bonnet. Front and back, I suppose."

Cody giggled. "The bonnet I can see...but who wears boots on their butt end, anyway?"

Ginny snorted. "How do you know that's not the car's feet, instead of the butt end?"

"Well, who has their feet trailing out behind it?" Cody retorted. "Unless you move around on your belly."

Mrs. Weasley and Lupin exchanged an eye roll, and Ginny and Cody laughed. "I dunno," said Ginny. "The same creature who's got their trunk behind their back, I guess."

"Aw, it's not like an elephant trunk," said Cody. "It's more like a school trunk. The wheels would be the feet, and the trunk—boot—the back end. Like a backpack."

It was amazing that anyone could keep a conversation about vehicle body parts going for so long, but the discussion lasted the entire way to King's Cross Station. As Remus and Mrs. Weasley helped them get their things onto the platform, only then did the conversation tail off. Cody wasn't sure who'd won the debate, but it had been an entertaining one.

"All right," said Remus finally. "Cody...be careful. Please. Do what you have to, but minimize your risks, don't take ridiculous chances, and just...just try and stay in one piece, okay?" Cody heard Mrs. Weasley giving similar (though more dire) instructions to Ginny.

"I will. You too, Remus."

"And remember to give my message to Severus."

Cody laughed, nodding his head. "Definitely!" The train whistle blew, and Cody sighed. "Guess I gotta get on, now. Christmas wasn't long enough. I guess I'll see you Easter, right?"

Lupin smiled. "You will, Cody. Now go on." He hugged Cody once more, before the boy grabbed one end of his trunk and dragged it over to the train. He was getting better at dragging that thing around, but the neon green trunk was quite battered at the ends. Cody was very hard on it.

Once their things were stowed, Ginny and Cody went along the corridors of the train cars, looking for their friends. They met Neville Longbottom just getting on as the train began to move, and Lavender Brown in a compartment with Seamus Finnegan and Graham Pritchard.

"I can't find Luna anywhere, though," said Neville worriedly, as they all took their seats. "I guess it's possible she'll be late, or...or even that her Dad's put her into hiding. But...I dunno. I've got a bad feeling about it."

"Well, we'll see her at the feast," said Cody.

"I sure hope so. So...how did your vacations go?"

The group spent much of the trip talking about trivial things, but Cody didn't join in much. He was feeling restless and hyper, and wasn't thrilled about the day-long trip to get to Hogwarts. Why did it have to be so far away, anyway? It was up in Scotland somewhere, and it took forever to get there. It was too bad the Hogwarts Express couldn't be a giant portkey.

But finally, they had changed into their uniforms, and were walking as a group towards the Great Hall. Cody liked that. He liked the camaraderie they'd gained by fighting together, and as they walked into the Great Hall, he thought that others might just notice it, too. They were clearly a unified force.

They didn't find out anything about Luna until the following day. She was neither at dinner, nor breakfast, and Ginny said she wasn't in any of the sixth year classes that Gryffindors and Ravenclaws had together. When Lavender Brown went over to the Ravenclaw table at lunch to ask after her, they said that she never returned to the dorm rooms, and her stuff wasn't there, either.

It wasn't good news, and it had the members of Dumbledore's Army concerned. Neville said he'd do some searching.

Cody didn't hear again from Neville until after supper, while he and Graham were throwing large stones onto the frozen lake and seeing how far they could make them skid. The Galleon in his pocket turned warm, and when he looked at it, and was a little surprised to see that Neville was calling a meeting of the DA right that minute.

"A meeting?" asked Graham, looking over Cody's shoulder.

"Yeah," murmured Cody. "I hope he's all right." He hurried up to the castle, Graham by his side.

By the time they got to the Room of Requirement, Most of the others were already there, but the only one Cody really noticed was Neville. In Charms, Neville had looked perfectly fine. Now he looked as though he'd insulted a hippogriff; his nose and lip were bleeding, his eye was swollen, and his face was badly bruised.

"What the bloody hell--?" exclaimed Graham.

"Explain in a minute," said Neville, the words distorted by his swollen lip. Cody grimaced, wondering who Neville had torqued off, and sat down, feeling anger build for whoever had hurt his friend.

When the last couple of members walked through the door (and also exclaimed their surprise), Neville explained what happened.

After Charms in the afternoon, Neville had a free period, because he didn't take Ancient Runes. He had used that period to hang out in front of each of the Carrows' classes in turn, listening at their doors, and hoping to find some information out. Hearing nothing but the expected, he tried the same at Snape's office, with even less success.

Finally he'd just decided to ask Amycus Carrow outright where Luna was.

"He told me," snarled Neville. "He had fun telling me. I guess Luna's father...he owns the Quibbler...has finally caught the attention of the Death Eaters. And they don't much like all the articles he's been writing in support of Harry. They've got Luna hostage...leverage against her father."

Indignation and outrage burst from everyone's lips at this news. That one of their own had been kidnapped, used against her own family!

"Where is she?" asked Lavender Brown.

"I don't know," said Neville, taking in a big breath. "He wouldn't tell me. I kinda lost my temper and went off on him, calling him a coward...among other things." He winced, gingerly touching a finger to his lip. "He responded with force."

Cody was amazed at the incredible understatement. "That miserable git!" Which was another incredible understatement.

"So," said Neville. "They've captured one of our army. As of now, the war is back on."

---

Neville's calm statement was the most profound understatement yet. Fueled by the loss of Luna, whom all of Dumbledore's Army were quite fond of, the battle was back on. And even people who did not join the DA began rebelling as well. For a while, Cody was sure the whole school would go into full revolt, no matter how much the Carrows tortured people.

Neville snuck a Fanged Geranium into Amycus's classroom (Cody declined to help with that one), and put it beneath the git's desk. When Amycus sat down in class, he let the most horrible howl, kicking his desk over in reaction and crashing onto the floor off his chair. Cody shrieked in laughter to see the vicious plant firmly clamped onto Carrow's groin! Class was dismissed while he went up to the hospital wing.

After Gregory Goyle spent an hour or so perfecting the Cruciatus Curse on Ernie MacMillian for detention one afternoon, the vengeful Hufflepuff secretly swiped Goyle's potions kit, substituting its ingredients for things a little less harmless. During Horace Slughorn's next Potions class, Goyle's cauldron melted down, as if cast into the fires of Mount Doom, and molten pewter covered the entire floor. Forewarned, those of Dumbledore's Army in the class were able to avoid injury, but most of the Slytherins were sent to hospital with extreme burns.

Cody dropped a large handful of Stink Pellets in Alecto's room, which resulted in class being dismissed half an hour early. Lavender Brown sent Peeves a present of a large bag of dungbombs, and the poltergeist amused himself all day pelting the Carrows (and various students) with them.

During a meeting at the end of January, Graham brought up that they hadn't done much major in the way of annoying the Carrows, and Neville agreed that it was about time to do something big.

"I'll do it," volunteered Cody with a grin. "I've been wanting to do something major, anyway, because they've _really_ been torquing me off! Alecto insults my little sister all the time because she's a Muggle, and that stupid ol' Carrow knows it makes me mad. Besides, I want to do something fun."

"All right," said Neville amusedly. "What did you plan on doing?"

"Well, I've got my broom. I think I'll do like the old bombers did sometimes in the Muggle wars. They had a plane...a flying machine...and they dropped bombs. But they weren't real bombs, they were—well I forget what they called them, but they dropped flyers and stuff. Like they were papers telling the enemy that they were going to lose, of how much more overpowered they were, and all that."

"Psychological warfare," said Seamus Finnegan. "Propaganda bombs. I remember learning about that in me Muggle school before comin' here. Kinda what we've been doing with our messages."

"Yep!" said Cody with a grin. "There's no Astronomy class tonight, I don't think, so I shouldn't be spotted. I'll grab the old flyers, I know I have some left, and we can make a bunch of them. I'll fly all around the castle and drop the flyers behind me all around the grounds!"

"Brilliant," said Graham. "People can't help but see them tomorrow morning."

"Okay," said Neville, smiling. "But let's make up a new one...a new message. Something more inspiring, at least to our side."

So Cody watched as several of the DA member poured over a new flyer...one that proclaimed Voldemort's downfall, and how Harry Potter was going to win in the end.

"I love it!" said Cody with a laugh, holding it up once it was done and gazing at it.

"I'll replicate it," said a sixth-year Hufflepuff, and Cody handed it over.

"Make lots," Cody suggested.

"We'll have to rig something for you to carry them in," said Michael Corner. "Something that'll just start sending out a couple at a time as you're flying."

"He can use my packsack," said one of the newer recruits, a second year Gryffindor not too much older than Cody was. "I'll get it to you when we get back to the Gryffindor Common Room. Just wear it in front and reach in and grab handfuls out. You can fly one-handed, can't you?"

"Sure!" said Cody with a grin. "I had to when I was in Quidditch. I was too small to hit the Bludgers with only one hand so I learned to fly one- and no-handed."

"He's _still_ too little," said Graham in a very loud whisper.

Cody smacked him on the arm. "Shut it, you git."

Five minutes later, Cody had a very large stack of flyers before him, all in different colors of paper and ink. "Awesome," he said, surveying it. "I'll go around midnight, then. This should be fun! Too bad we can't do a charm on them that'll make 'em multiply on their own."

"You know," said Michael Corner. "We might be able to manage it...give us a few minutes with 'em, see what we can do."

"Good idea," said Neville. "Meanwhile, let's get some practicing in, everyone! Anything you want, just make sure it's something you're not very good at!"

While some of the older students went to work on the parchments, Cody partnered Graham as they worked on Shield Charms. Cody was far better with offensive spells than defensive ones, and his Shield Charms were usually pretty weak.

By the time the meeting ended, Cody had a whole pile of parchments that were enchanted to multiply every hour after midnight.

He decided that he wanted a little sleep before his attack, so he set his alarm to go off at eleven-thirty, and got an hour and a half of sleep before getting himself dressed. He put on his long underwear, some jeans, a warm ski mask, and the new, neon sweater Mrs. Weasley had made him, then a school robe, dragon-hide gloves, and his winter cloak...because it was freezing outside! He grabbed the heavy rucksack full of flyers and used a Sticking Spell to affix it temporarily to the Nimbus.

Ginny met the boys in the boys' dorm, not wanting to do this in front the Gryffindors who remained in the common room. Cody took a good look at the Marauder's Map, and saw that Professor Flitwick seemed to be in the bathroom, and Peeves was bouncing around in his office in his absence.

"I think I'm just gonna go out the window," muttered Cody. "It's better than trying to get out then back in through the front doors, and then all those floors. Even with the Map...I have to get too close to the dungeons, too."

"Good idea," said Ginny. "You might wanna leave the Map here, though. Try not to get all too close to the windows. I can't see Flitwick turning you in if he sees you and everyone else should be asleep, but still."

"Okay," Cody said, glancing at the clock, then throwing the Marauder's Map onto his bunk. "Mischief managed. Okay, it's almost midnight."

"Good luck," Neville murmured, throwing open one of the large windows in the dorm.

A blast of icy wind made them all squint their eyes against it. Cody took a deep breath and mounted his Nimbus 1700 and slowly flew out of the window. It was a bit of a tight squeeze, with the big rucksack, but Cody was still fairly small. Once outside, he grinned and waved at the Gryffindors before flying up into the air.

The air was cold, and within minutes, Cody's eyes had begun to water, but he didn't care; it felt great to be flying! He did a couple of figure-eights, just because he could, before beginning his flyer distribution.

It was incredibly satisfying, taking out handful after handful of parchments, watching them flutter down, down, onto the dark lawn. He imagined the look on Snape's face when people began finding the new flyer and reading it.. Even though the frigid wind numbed his face and his hands, even though he was getting colder by the minute, he was still having fun.

A half hour later, Cody was on the last fourth of the flyers, when a sudden blast of red light to his left startled him, nearly making him fall from his broom. He only just caught onto it and swerved out of the way looking around wildly for the source of the hex. A shouted spell from below made Cody's chest feel cold; the voice belonged to Amycus Carrow.


	101. Y7, C23: Caught in the Act

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 23: Caught in the Act**

"LEVICORPUS!"

Cody shrieked in outraged surprise as he was suddenly hoisted several feet into the air, his broomstick and the nearly-empty rucksack plummeting to the ground below. "HEY!" His stomach gave a sickening lurch as he was yanked through the air towards the Astronomy tower, dangling by one foot, his robes bunching down and hanging below his head. He twisted around , trying to look, and was chilled to see he was suspended nearly level with the Astronomy Tower, and that Carrow was standing there, a nasty leer on his face. Crabbe and Goyle flanked him, and Cody caught sight of Blaise Zabini standing just behind. He stared in horror; how had they known? Had he been spotted?

"Well, well," Amycus said, giggling wheezily. "Looks like we've caught a rebel red-handed!" Zabini snickered, moving so he could see better.

"PUT ME DOWN!" hollered Cody, struggling against the curse, not thinking about the fact that he was several stories up in the air.

"Oh, you want down, do you?" asked Amycus, giggling again. He made a sudden downward motion with his wand, and for just a second, Cody fell straight down. He screamed, catching a dizzying, nauseating view of the ground below, looking so far away in the dark, and he waved his hands wildly around for something to hold onto. The Slytherins laughed with mean amusement.

"Jerk!" he exclaimed, his voice quite higher than normal.

"'Jerk' is it?" said Amycus, the smirk gone from his face. "Well then."

He swung his wand upwards and over, so that Cody was flung onto the floor of the Astronomy Tower, skidding on the rough stone and sliding into the nearest battlement. Stunned, he sat up and shook his head, as Carrow stalked over and grabbed Cody's ski mask, smiling down at him in a very unpleasant way as he pulled it off. Cody scrambled back against the battlement again, hastily swiping his hair from his eyes, and looked up. He couldn't remember the last time he had been so scared; his heart was beating so hard it almost hurt, and his stomach was twisting in what felt like knots.

Cody's robe was torn at the shoulder, and the skin beneath scraped; his head was bleeding, too. He glanced from Carrow to Crabbe and Goyle, then to Blaise Zabini, who all looked as if they were enjoying a particularly good show.

"So," said Carrow, glaring down at Cody, who carefully got to his feet, rubbing his shoulder.

"Where'd you come from?" Cody demanded.

Blaise Zabini smirked. "Filch saw you from his window," he said, and Cody glared at him. "Sent his mangy cat for Professor Carrow straight away. He sent for us in case you tried anything stupid."

Cody scowled angrily, vowing vengeance on that damned cat and her master. He turned again to face Carrow, biting his lip as the Death Eater took a folded paper out of his pocket: one of Cody's flyers. "So," Carrow repeated, holding up the flyer, and he began to read aloud. "'There have been several Dark wizards throughout history...and each one was a bully and a coward.'"

Cody winced; he had anticipated that this flyer was not going to be very well received by the Death Eaters, but he hadn't expected to be caught red-handed in the middle of distributing them. He snaked a hand beneath his robes, trying to surreptitiously grab his wand, as Carrow read on.

"'Our current "Dark Lord" is no exception. Just as those who came before them, his greed and lust for power will be his downfall. Harry Potter, the boy he has failed to kill several times now, will in the end destroy him, and the cowards who serve him will end up in Azkaban where they belong. Long live Harry Potter!'."

He was livid, Cody could tell. The man's tone was calm, even mildly amused, but his eyes were wide with fury. Cody carefully unclipped his wand from his belt loop, but he'd barely cleared it from his robes before Crabbe yelled, "Expelliarmus!"

Cody hissed as his wand was knocked from his hand, caught neatly by Blaise, and he cursed.

"You've been causing us a good bit of grief, Gregor," said Carrow, his tone still that horrible, calm tenor, as he drew his own wand. Cody bristled at the use of the name, but felt that moment was the wrong time to protest. "You and your friends. If it weren't for the fact that our master doesn't want any more magical blood spilled than necessary, I'd have killed you all months ago. However, your rebellion _will be punished! Crucio!"_

There was no time to brace himself for it, had no time to dodge the curse or try and defend himself. The vicious curse hit him hard, the pain sank into every muscle in his body, as he collapsed to the freezing stone, screaming. From far away, he heard the Slytherins laughing, as the pain increased every second, filling his mind with red haze.

Finally it stopped, and Cody lay on the ground, sobbing weakly, shaking so badly he could not sit up. Someone grabbed the front of his cloak and hauled him up, slamming him against the parapet. Cody's eyes flew open to meet those of Amycus Carrow. "You're a filthy blood traitor, Gregor," he snarled.

Rage began to supersede the terror, fueled by the lingering pain from the curse. "I hate you," Cody hissed, tears streaming down his face. "I'm not the traitor, you're the one torturing your own blood family! And my name is not Gregor, it's DeDannan!"

The fact that Amycus only looked angry, not surprised, told Cody that he already knew that Cody was blood to him. "You're a _disgrace_ to our family, Cody Gregor, a shame, a disappointment! If I had my way, I'd kill you and throw your worthless body in a mire somewhere – raised by a filthy Muggle, Tiller did you a favor when he slaughtered her!"

A shriek of fury tore from Cody's throat and he snarled, a feral, bestial sound, as he jerked away from Carrow's grip. To hear his mother spoken of so, to be so brutally reminded she'd been murdered, taken from him and his sister, was more unbearable than the Cruciatus Curse. He drew his legs back, kicking out at Carrow as hard as he could, wanting to hurt him, trying only to cause him even a fraction of the pain Cody felt.

Carrow yelled as one of Cody's feet caught his throat, and he staggered back, gagging. Cody tried to scramble to his feet, but an Impedimenta Jinx knocked him onto his back, and for a moment he was too shocked to move; he had completely forgotten that the other Slytherins were there.

_"Crucio!"_

Carrow's furious curse seemed to hit him even harder, sending Cody back to the ground as he tried to get up again, sending waves of agony through him. It seemed like hours...until Cody's mind must snap, until if he'd been able, he would have been begging Carrow to stop...or to kill him and end it. He began to lose consciousness, an oblivion he tried to embrace.

The pain suddenly stopped. Cody was too exhausted to cry, only lay still on the ground, his vision fading in and out.

"Get him on his feet," growled Carrow. "Against that taller battlement."

Cody could not fight, or even protest as two of the Slytherins grabbed his arms and slammed him against one of the merlons. He forced his eyes open to see Carrow walking at him, his dagger in his hand.

"Hold his head," ordered Carrow. "I'm going to give him a little reminder of where his loyalties should lie."

He tried to fight, tried to make his exhausted body obey his commands, but he was in no condition to struggle. Crabbe grabbed Cody's face in his ham-like hand, forcing his head up and grabbing his hair with the other hand. Goyle pinned Cody against the parapet with a knee in his gut and added his hands to Crabbe's.

Cody caught a brief glimpse of Carrow's dagger coming at his face, and squeezed his eyes shut, letting a strangled-sounding cry as the blade sliced into his cheek.

"Hold him still!" Carrow barked, and the hands holding Cody tightened.

The cuts weren't terribly deep, but they hurt, and Carrow was making a lot of them. Cody couldn't make any sense of them, but it seemed that Carrow was carving a pattern, or maybe a message onto the side of Cody's face. When he finally stepped back and nodded to the Slytherins to let go, Cody collapsed back down to the ground, his gloved hand at his face.

Causing physical damage seemed to have calmed Carrow considerably. He plucked Cody's wand from Blaise's hand and tossed it on the ground beside Cody with a disdainful sneer. "Remember this the next time you have the urge to get rebellious."

Carrow left without another word, and laughing, the Slytherins followed him. Cody watched them leave, and finally burst into tears, laying his head down on the freezing stone floor and sobbing. In that moment he didn't want to be a warrior, he didn't even want to be a wizard. He just wanted to be home, in Florida, lying in bed and knowing that in the morning his mother would come and wake him up for breakfast.

He cried until he was too exhausted to do it anymore, until the freezing wind brought him round to his senses. He had to get inside, before he froze to death.

Cody's hands and feet were already getting numb from the howling wind, and he was shaking almost too hard to walk. He grabbed his wand, not even trying to clip it back on his belt loop but shoving it in a robe pocket, then forced himself to his feet, staggering against the battlement. He made it to the door, pushing it open and stumbling onto the landing, keeping his hand on his face, the side of which was covered in blood. But it didn't hurt anymore. His face was too numb from the wind to hurt, though Cody wasn't sure which was worse, the pain or the cold.

The stairs were an ordeal; Cody had to take it slow, so his numb feet didn't slip, and try to convince his shaking hand to grip the railing. It seemed like an hour before he reached the bottom, feeling so exhausted by the effort that his fatigue scared him. He pushed open the door at the bottom of the stairs, but the sight of two shadowy figures made him gasp in panic. He didn't realize until they were nearly on top of him that it wasn't Carrow, or the Slytherins, or even Filch. It was Ginny and Neville.

"Cody!" Ginny exclaimed. She was holding the Marauder's Map, and her face was very pale. "God, what did they do to you?"

"Not here," Neville whispered, his voice strained and tense. "Damn them, let's get him back in front of the fire, he's freezing."

Cody felt nothing but gratitude and relief as Neville put an arm around Cody, supporting him, helping him walk. Cody kept his hand on the slashes on his face as Ginny led the way, looking every few seconds at the Map. Luckily there were no stairs to climb, only a few corridors they had to get by before reaching the portrait of the Fat Lady that guarded Gryffindor Tower.

"Alpha Orionis," said Ginny, and the portrait swung open.

Neville helped Cody climb through the portrait hole, and got him over to the fireplace, where he sat Cody down on the floor right in front. Ginny ran up to the girls' dorm while Neville started a fire in the fireplace grate. Cody thought he'd never felt anything so wonderful as that fire.

"Let's get those clothes off," said Neville softly. "They're freezing, Ginny's gone to get you a blanket. We checked the map, saw the Slytherins and Carrow leaving the Astronomy Tower, and you there," he explained. "Thought we should see if you were all right."

Cody nodded his thanks, not quite yet able to speak, and let Neville help him get his cold weather gear off, until he was left only in his long johns. Ginny came back then with a thick comforter, which she put around Cody. He managed then to thank her, his voice hoarse, and grabbed the comforter around himself.

Suddenly he began to cry again, not able to help it. Neville put his arm around Cody again and let him cry as long as he needed. It wasn't too long...he'd done most of his crying at the tower...it was only the aftermath of the terror.

"What happened, Cody?" asked Ginny after Cody had calmed down.

And so, his voice still hoarse from screaming, Cody told them what had happened, how Filch had seen him and reported to Carrow, how they'd gone up to the deserted Astronomy Tower and grabbed Cody right from his broomstick.

"He got you good," Ginny murmured, very gently touching his face.

"He C-Crucioed me," Cody growled through clenched teeth, trying not to cry again. He wiped his eyes furiously, wincing as his face began to thaw out and the slash marks began to hurt again. "Twice."

"That bastard," Neville hissed. "I imagine he was thrilled to catch one of us in the act. They've only done it a few times all year." He paused, and then added, "Cody...if you were to stop doing things for the DA, I would totally understand. This...this is a pretty horrible thing to happen."

"No," said Cody at once, and it came of its own accord. The answer was almost instinctive, and it was furious. "No, I'm with you. All the way. I hate them! They can do this a hundred times, and I'll _never_ stop fighting them!"

Neville blinked, and then smiled, giving Cody's shoulders a gentle squeeze. "You're brave, Cody. You definitely belong here in Gryffindor." Cody managed a grateful smile; the words meant more than he could express. "Come on," said Neville. "Let's get into the dorm. It's after one."

Feeling stronger, not so much in shock, Cody was able to stand on his own, leaving the comforter behind. His bed had its own comforter, he didn't need to steal Ginny's. He sat down on his bunk, feeling like he could sleep for about a year, and wishing there was no class the next day. He could just imagine the response if he skived off a whole day of classes. He lit his bedside lamp, throwing the dorm into warm light.

"Lemme clean that a bit for you," said Ginny. She went over to a nearby pitcher of water and took out a cloth, pouring water into her cauldron and dipping the cloth in it. Cody clenched his teeth while she used the wet rag to carefully clean the cuts on his face.

Ginny's gasp startled him, and he frowned. "What? What's wrong?"

A scowl formed over Ginny's eyebrows and she went back to cleaning, looking cross. "That worthless git carved a Dark Mark on your face, Cody," she hissed.

Cody could only gape, staring at Ginny in disbelief. "He did what? That...that--!" A Dark Mark...just fantastic. Now he understood what Carrow's remark meant. He bit his lip as Ginny finished cleaning the blood off and stepped back. Cody gingerly felt the slashes with his fingers. "He said this was to remind me where my loyalties should be," said Cody.

Neville looked disgusted. "Bad enough he carves people up, but to do that, that's just sick."

"I hope it doesn't scar permanently," said Cody unhappily. "You know he won't let me go to Madame Pomfrey and have it healed."

"No, he won't," Ginny sighed. "Try not to worry about it...I'm gonna get some sleep before classes tomorrow."

"Okay," said Cody, climbing into bed and lying down. "Thanks, guys. And don't tell too many people what happened...I don't wanna scare people off."

"All right, kiddo." Ginny slipped out of the boys' dorm.

"What happened?" came Seamus's sleepy voice from the next bed.

"I'll tell him, Cody," said Neville. "You sleep."

Too tired to argue (and he didn't really want to, anyway), Cody nodded and tugged the bed hangings close. He listened to the other boys' murmurs for a few moments, but he couldn't stay awake any longer than that.

---

The next day, Cody put up with a lot of people staring at his face. It wasn't unusual anymore to see someone walking around with gashes in his skin, but Cody supposed he had the only Dark Mark in the school that wasn't on the Death Eaters' arms. He put up with a lot of taunting from the Slytherins, and mock "Crucios" from them, which startled him every time. He stayed away from them whenever possible and sent hexes at them when he thought he could get away with it.

Neville surprised him by handing his broomstick to him over lunch, saying he'd snagged it early in the morning before anyone saw him. Cody thanked him gratefully, and said that next time he did anything in the air, he'd use the school brooms.

Something did afford him some satisfaction, however. Though Filch had gone out early that morning to trash all of the flyers before the students woke up, some of them did survive the purge, and began showing up around the school. Cody remembered the replicating charm the Transfiguration students had done on it, and realized that the one or two Filch missed must have started sprouting, and soon they were all over the place again. Of course this angered the Carrows all over again, so Cody made sure to tread very lightly around them until the charm finally wore off a few days later.

Cody didn't do anything too proactive with the DA until Valentine's Day, when he gave Professor Snape Lupin's little message...a bottle of shampoo in a pink-wrapped gift, along with a card giving Snape instructions on how to use it. He signed the note, "Sincerely, Remus John Lupin".

Snape opened that package in the Great Hall in front of everyone, and though only the DA knew what the note said, everyone saw the big bottle of shampoo Cody had given him. Nearly everyone burst out into laughter, quickly stifled as Snape stood up, his teeth bared, his black eyes nearly blazing in anger. Cody didn't dare meet his gaze.

Dumbledore's Army began to grow, because nearly every one of them hated the Carrows. Many of them had lost family members and friends to Voldemort's followers, and many more had suffered in lesser ways because of the evil git.

Snape started setting patrols around the castle, a duty all teachers were forced to perform, in an attempt to up security in the castle. But he didn't know that Neville's group had the Marauder's Map, and the enchanted Galleons. It made things more difficult, but no means crippled the army's operations.


	102. Y7, C24: Hagrid's Party

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 24: Hagrid's Party**

The DA began practicing Apparition soon after Valentine's Day...this was something that Cody was most eager to learn. Terry Boot and one of the new members who was in McGonagall's seventh-year Transfiguration class taught these lessons, drilling students in "destination, determination, and deliberation." They demonstrated the skill, Apparating from one side of the room to the other, and everyone applauded.

"But how?" asked Cody. "I thought you couldn't do that in the castle!"

Seamus laughed. "It's Neville, DeDannan. He really gets this room. When he thinks of what's needed for the Room of Requirement, he makes sure to include everything. That's why the Carrows and their supporters never get in here. He makes sure those are a part of the conditions. He asked for a place we could practice Apparating safely!"

"Neville, that's awesome!" Neville looked pleased.

At first Apparition was the most boring lesson Cody had ever done in his life. Though he had to have a wand with him, he only had to have it on his person, not to point it. There were no words, no wand movements, only a lot of staring, whirling, and feeling foolish. The Room had provided several wooden hoops that were placed on the opposite side of the room, and they practiced...and practiced.

During the second 'class', a shriek startled everyone, and Cody let out a cry of shock; Ginny Weasley had made it across the room...but she'd left half—_half_—of herself behind! She was pale, shocked-looking, as she looked back at her pelvis across the room, and down at her own self. She couldn't move either way.

"Easy, Weasley," said Terry Boot. "It's all right, just hold on, lemme concentrate a moment. We spent a while learning the enchantment to free a Splinched person."

Everyone was silent as Terry raised his wand, and feeling curious, Cody went over to look at Ginny's pelvis to see if he could see her innards.

"CODY!" snarled Ginny from across the room. "You look and I'll show you my Bat-Bogey Hex up close and personal!"

Blushing furiously, realizing just which body part he'd about to look into, Cody backpedaled several steps, stepping on Neville's toes, as everyone else laughed. Terry Boot spent a couple of second freeing Ginny from her Splinching, and Cody ducked as she aimed a furious slap at his face.

"Hey!" Cody protested. "I get enough of that from the Carrows!"

"You shouldn't have looked, you _pervert!_" Ginny growled, straightening her robes and brushing her hair back with shaking hands.

"It's not like you didn't have clothes on!" exclaimed Cody angrily, his face hotter than ever.

"Whoa, whoa!" called Neville, getting between them with his hands outstretched. "I know it's kind of frustrating, learning this...and we've been working hard today. Let's leave early, huh? We can have a party in the common room to celebrate our first Splinching."

Everyone sort of chuckled, and even Cody smiled a little bit. He supposed they should be lucky that outbursts like this didn't happen more often. But then the DA had a common enemy, and were so busy learning magic and causing trouble for that enemy they didn't have the opportunity to snipe at each other.

After they checked the map to make sure the coast was clear, people began to disperse. Half of Dumbledore's Army dispersed to their individual common rooms, but several Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs, and Graham asked if they could join in the Gryffindor's party. Seeing no reason why not, the whole lot of them traipsed up to Gryffindor Tower and rounded up all the sweets and butterbeer they could find from their trips into Hogsmeade.

Most of Gryffindor house joined in the celebrations, and it was clear everyone needed a break from the fear and the constant worry. Ginny and Cody apologized to one another, and they all stayed up a lot later than they should have. Cody was in a very good mood when he finally went to bed.

The next day, they continued their Apparition.

It wasn't until the end of the week that Cody managed to Splinch himself, also, and he shrieked in alarm when he stopped short, standing on one leg in the hoop he'd been aiming for, one leg and one arm on the other side of the room, unabvle to move either way. He stared in horror, realizing now why Ginny had been so snappish; it was shocking! It didn't hurt, but it felt _wrong._ Nothing should ever feel like that!

"It's all right," Graham said, running over to him. "It's okay, Neville can fix it." Neville and a few others had also learned the incantation to unstick people, and soon had Cody restored. But he was too shaken to try again right away. So Graham sat with him until he was ready to try again.

"Neville's lucky," Cody muttered. "Him and everyone else that can already do it." Cody was one of the last to even manage a Splinching, and he was sure that it was because of his youth. He was the youngest member of the army, and a lot of the magic was difficult for him.

"You'll get it," said Graham. "It _is_ pretty gross."

"Kinda cool, though."

Graham was right, but it didn't happen until the second week of March, while the bitter wind howled loudly enough outside to be heard in all parts of the castle. A late snowstorm had blanketed the castle and its ground with white, and the DA had spent nearly the whole day (Saturday) in the Room of Requirement. Most everyone was practicing, but Cody was the only one who had not yet managed apparition, so their practicing was only review.

Cody had Splinched himself several more times, and it was actually pretty interesting once he had done it a couple of times, and the last time had only been a few fingers, so he was getting close.

Wincing at a particularly eerie howl of wind, Cody stared determinedly at the hoop several yards away, trying not to hate the "D" mantra he heard now even in his sleep. "Destination," he muttered. "Determination. Deliberation." He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, visualized the hoop in front of him...and spun slowly on the spot.

The now-familiar squeeze of space on his body, and a second later he was staggering, falling down on the ground, the wooden hoop digging into his side. He winced, standing up, and realized he _could_ stand up! "I DID IT!" he yelled at the top of his voice, jumping up and down, elation flooding his entire body.

Several people laughed, and a few cheered. Graham laughed and ran over, nearly knocking Cody down congratulating him. "Brilliant, Cody! All right! I told you that you'd get it!"

Cody laughed, not able to wipe the grin from his face. "Thanks! I can't believe it--it only took a WHOLE MONTH!"

Graham laughed, clapping Cody on the back. "C'mon mate, let's take a break."

"It's almost time to get out of here, anyway," said Neville. "Great job, Cody, I'm proud of you!"

Cody grinned at Neville, resisting the urge to keep jumping up and down. He was so happy to have finally succeeded! To celebrate, Cody broke out some Blood Lollipops, offering them around and laughing when most people recoiled in disgust. Most of the others were used to his oddities by then, but it was still fun to spring it on them, without warning. "Your loss," he said with a shrug, and got one out for himself.

His elation lasted all weekend and through Monday, even after being smacked around in Dark Arts.

After that, Apparating wasn't nearly so difficult. He managed it three more times, though he was disappointed that it was just as uncomfortable doing it alone as a Side-Along was.

---

Two days later was Cody's birthday, March thirteenth, and in high spirits he celebrated by nicking a large pudding from the kitchens and waiting in ambush for Graham after the last class (a period Cody had free), and launching it at him.

The pudding hit, and Graham squawked in shocked surprise, staggering backwards, as Cody ran away cackling. Graham chased him down three flights of stairs, to the bewildered looks and laughter of others, and finally managed to tackle Cody in the Entrance Hall and mush what was left of the pudding in his hair, still hollering in outrage.

Professor McGonagall came upon them at a run from the Great Hall and told them off at the top of her voice, how they were being complete fools, and that they'd made a huge mess, and just what had gotten into them. Graham was caught somewhere between irritation and amusement, but Cody couldn't stop giggling, even as he took responsibility for the whole thing. He explained how he'd ambushed Graham with a pudding.

"Oh, DeDannan," said Professor McGonagall in exasperation, her lips thinning. Though Cody suspected that she just might just be trying not to smile, no matter how aggravated she was. "What on Earth is the matter with you?"

Cody didn't have a chance to reply. At that moment, Severus Snape came up from the dungeons, surveying the scene with a cold eye, and everyone went quiet. Cody took a quick breath, giving Snape a rather sick smile, and hoped fervently this wasn't something bad enough to merit being sent to the Carrows.

"What is going on here?" asked Snape.

"I hit Graham with a pudding."

Snape blinked, giving Cody a very strange look; bemusement, exasperation and unwilling amusement all rolled into one. It was a look Cody had seen often on Snape's face, and before it usually amused Cody to no end. Now, however, he wasn't sure how to react.

"I see," Snape finally said, shaking his head. "Well then, since you were so abysmally childish, you may go to bed without supper. You will spend supper cleaning the mess you've made...without magic...and be thankful I'm letting you off so easily."

"Yes, sir," said Cody in relief, taking a deep breath as Snape swept past, into the Great Hall. Cody stood up and shrugged. "Guess I'll see you guys later," he said to McGonagall and Graham.

He didn't much mind missing supper; he had several sweets left from Honeydukes, and it wouldn't be too difficult to get down to the kitchens to snag some food. He used some magic to rid himself of the pudding all over his head and shoulders, then headed for the nearest broom cupboard to get some cleaning supplies. He guessed that since his act hadn't really been rebellion, and he suspected Snape might have been the slightest bit amused seeing Graham subjected to such an indignity, that was why he'd not been more severely reprimanded.

It took a bit to clean up all of the pudding, as Graham had chased him so far before tackling him, but finally it was done, and Cody put away his cleaning supplies. Giggling to himself, he headed back up to Gryffindor Tower.

When Neville and the others got back from supper, they alternated between telling Cody what a prat he was, laughing, and wishing him a happy birthday. "Everyone's right,' said Neville finally. "You're as mad as a March hare. Figures you were born in March...we shoulda known!"

Cody only grinned.

---

At the end of a Friday Care of Magical Creatures class, while Cody was putting away his Monster book of Monsters and trying not to get bitten by it, Hagrid suddenly grinned. "Tomorrow's Saturday," he said. "Yer invited ter a party I'm havin' tomorrow mornin'. After breakfast."

Intrigued, Cody asked him what they were celebrating, but Hagrid wouldn't tell him.

"Jus' come an' see," he said. "Yeh'll like it, trust me. Fer now yeh'd best get on to Carrow's class. An' don't tell anyone yeh don't trust."

When Cody mentioned it to Graham, he said he'd been invited, too, during the fourth-years' Care of Magical Creatures lesson that day. In fact, everyone in the DA had been invited. Cody wondered what Hagrid was cooking up.

When Saturday morning came, Cody was highly amused on arriving at Hagrid's Hut to be greeted with a sign that said "Long Live Harry Potter" on it hoisted to the top of Hagrid's cabin. Graham Pritchard was there, helping to put up the last of the decorations, which had a picture of Harry's head on it, reading "Potter for Minister". There were several people already there, and Hagrid grinned.

"Welcome, Cody!" he exclaimed. "It's a Support Harry Potter party!"

Cody laughed. "You'll be lucky you don't get sacked for this!"

"Ah, don' worry abou' it. The Carrows mostly leave me alone. Beneath their notice, really. So come on in, have some treacle, some tea, pumpkin juice... Some of the first-years got together and went on a food raid, snuck into the kitchen and asked the house elves for food. Glad ter give it o' course, as always."

The party was just what everyone needed. It wasn't really all about showing their support of Harry, either. It was about having fun and being with friends, even in a time and place full of fear and uncertainly. Though having the party right under Snape's nose was fun, too. There was music from a wizarding wireless someone had dug up (not the DA's, since theirs was too big), and people were actually trying to dance in Hagrid's cramped cabin. Some people had spilled out onto the paddock behind the hut.

Cody was sitting in one of Hagrid's huge chairs (sharing with Graham, since they both easily fit), eating something full of sugar when the first shouts came from the paddock. As Cody had become far more paranoid in this year of Hogwarts (finally understanding just a little Mad-Eye's world view), Cody jumped up from his seat and got out his wand. Only a couple of other had heard the shouts until a very loud Stunning Spell got everyone's attention. Justin Finch-Fletchley nearly pounced on the wireless to turn it off, just as Hagrid's front door was nearly yanked off its hinges and someone ran into the cabin.

"OUT!" bellowed Hagrid, but he wasn't yelling at the new people pouring into the already cramped hut from the front, he was hollering at the students, nearly throwing them out the back door. There was an explosion of spells behind them, and everyone in the hut except Hagrid hit the deck. Hagrid yanked open the back door, making it match the front door, and ran out into the grounds.

The attackers had no interest in the kids, it seemed, but at least five of them ran through the cabin after Hagrid.

"They're Death Eaters!" cried Neville, scrambling to his feet.


	103. Y7, C25: Potterwatch

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 25: Potterwatch**

Four or five kids tried to get through the door at once, got stuck, and spent a few seconds extracting themselves before they could spill out onto the frosty grounds. They stood in a rough group, watching in amazement as Hagrid fought off five people at once without using any magic whatsoever. Stunning Spells and all the minor hexes the Death Eaters were shooting at him bounced right off as Hagrid swung his huge fists at them.

Cody laughed in amazement. The last time he'd seen anything like this had been at the end of fifth year, when Umbridge's people tried to arrest Hagrid. This one ended just a little bit differently, however. A great, enraged roar came from the forest, and a gigantic shape, four times Cody's own height, came charging out of the trees like a tank. Cody cheered as he realized who it was: Grawp, Hagrid's giant half-brother. He'd only met the giant once, at Dumbledore's funeral, and he was never so enraged as this!

"HAGGER! LEAVE HAGGER ALONE!" The Death Eaters and several students screamed, retreating from the angry giant, but Grawp grabbed one of Hagrid's attackers and flung him several yards away. He landed in a heap and was still. "RUN!" Grawp bellowed, giving Hagrid a "gentle" push that sent him sprawling onto the ground, too. It was terrifying, watching someone who could shove Hagrid around, even without meaning to.

"Good Grawpy!" called Hagrid, looking backwards worriedly as he sprinted for the gate. "Get back under cover!"

Grawp bellowed angrily at the retreating Death Eaters before running after Hagrid, watching Hagrid Disapparate with Fang as soon as he got past the wrought-iron gate. The giant looked at the stunned witnesses before grunting and lumbering back into the trees, knocking one over as he went.

"What the bloody _hell?" _asked one of the fourth-years, staring at where Hagrid had disappeared, then at the great rumblings coming from the forest where Grawp had retreated.

"Er, a friend of Hagrid's," said Cody shakily.

"Careful," Neville murmured. He was not watching where Hagrid had disappeared, but the castle itself. Bad news was coming out in the form of the Carrows. Most of the students had scattered, but those left instinctively moved closer together, crowding towards the hut. Cody hadn't had a major run-in with them since he was caught on the Astronomy tower, and he found he was having to fight panic.

But the Carrows didn't even look at them, only ran out to their comrades, who were reviving those that Hagrid had knocked out cold. The one Grawp had flung seemed to be alive, but badly injured. The Carrows talked with the Death Eaters, a couple of whom Cody recognized not by name, but by sight, for several moments.

One of the Death Eaters nodded, and the five of them left the same way Hagrid did. Then the Carrows turned to the students still assembled outside of Hagrid's cabin. "All right, you lot, clear out!" hollered Alecto. "And know this! Rubeus Hagrid's now a fugitive from justice!"

"'Justice', right," muttered a Ravenclaw girl, but fortunately was not heard.

"That's right!" called Amycus. "That means ANYONE caught contacting him by any means will be considered an accomplice and brought to Azkaban! For now, get back inside the castle!"

Everyone seemed relieved not to be dragged off at that minute, and no one wasted any time hastening back to the castle. But the main core group of Dumbledore's Army were grim. "More and more people," muttered Neville as they made their way up the stairs. "If they sent full-fledged Death Eaters to arrest Hagrid for holding a Support Harry Potter party..."

"He's 'Undesirable Number One,' said Graham disgustedly as they slipped into the Great Hall, letting the others go past them. "Harry, I mean."

"Meeting. Tonight," said Neville. "After dinner."

"All right," said Cody. "I'll see you then, then." Neville nodded, and joined the others, but Cody held Graham back. He wanted to repair Hagrid's doors, and check to see what creatures he might have there, especially the half-grown Lethifold. There was no one around when the two boys got outside, and Cody was glad to be alone as he and Graham went around the hut using _reparo_ on the doors and one window.

"I think I'll stay outside while you check the Living Shroud," said Graham. "No offense, but without Hagrid here...and that thing's a lot bigger, now!"

Cody actually laughed, shaking his head. "What a weenie." Leaving Graham sputtering in indignation, Cody went inside and shut the newly-repaired doors. He knew that Hagrid had a Knarl in there somewhere he'd been using in his younger classes, and peered in the cage. He seemed all right; in any case he hissed at Cody when he peered into the cage.

There was a cage full of bowtruckles that Hagrid had been tending, and the Lethifold's cage.

Cody opened this, and the creature slithered out, happily curling around Cody's feet, nearly tripping him. "Hey," said Cody quietly, bending to stroke the creature. "You all right? Things got creepy in here, huh?"

The lethifold reared up, but Cody wasn't alarmed; he knew that he only wanted to reach up to Cody's height so he could lift him up. He did, with difficulty; the creature was longer now than Cody was tall. Not full grown, but getting there.

"You're heavy. But you seem okay. I'll ask who's gonna feed you now, okay? Prob'ly Professor Grubbly-Plank." He visited with the creature for a few moments before putting him back into his cage and coming back out to see Graham. "He's fine. The others, too."

"I dunno whether to be glad or afraid."

Cody snorted. "Don't worry, I'll protect you from the big, bad lethifold."

When Cody got in the door, lunch had begun, and he headed to the Gryffindor table to eat. Everyone was talking about Hagrid's near-arrest, and speculated whether they'd caught him or not. Cody hoped not, but he wasn't sure. The Death Eaters didn't like it when their quarry escaped from them.

When lunch was over, Cody was startled to see Snape heading their way. "Gregor," he said quietly. "Report to my office. Now."

Cody bit his lip as Snape swept away, and exchanged a nervous glance with Graham. "Um."

"You think he's caught you at something?" Graham asked. "Or is after you because you were at the party?"

"I dunno...plenty of others were, too. Well...guess I'll see you later," said Cody, and hurried out of the Great Hall. What could Snape possibly have against him at that moment? He hadn't done anything wrong! Not that they could prove, anyway.

The gargoyle was still to one side when Cody got to Snape's office, and he rode the moving spiral staircase up and knocked on the door.

"Enter."

Taking a big breath, trying not to look afraid, Cody stepped into the office. It looked much the same as ever, except for Dumbledore's portrait above the desk. Dumbledore was awake, and it gave Cody a pang to look at him. The old headmaster smiled sadly at Cody, but there was a twinkle in his eyes all the same.

Cody turned his gaze to Snape, who finally turned to look at him. "Did the Carrows say you could go back out onto the grounds?"

Cody blinked, resisting the urge to take a step back. "Uh...w-well, they didn't say I _couldn't..."_

Snape considered Cody for several moments, making Cody very uncomfortable. He had never met anyone except for Hagrid and Snape who had black eyes, and Snape's were creepy. Finally he simply nodded, dropping the subject. "Hagrid won't be back," he said bluntly. Cody, who had expected as much, did not say anything. "And I see no reason to keep his subject here at this school."

No reason? Well, he supposed that Death Eaters didn't care much about animals, but...still! Maybe they didn't want to risk bringing in another Dumbledore supporter? Just one more measure of control in the school?

And why on Earth was he telling Cody this? "I...er...what's this got to do with me?"

"Our thestral herd needs tending. Feeding, mostly, though someone will need to keep track of them and make sure they are healthy. I am appointing this task to you."

_"Me?" _Cody could only stare at Snape, his mouth hanging open. "Me—b-but—I—Professor, I can't even _see_ them!" he sputtered in disbelief. Snape only looked coldly at him, and Cody shook his head. "The centaurs'll never let me in there, they attacked us last time!"

"It is not open to negotiations!" Snape snarled, leaning forward over the desk and baring his yellow teeth. Cody recoiled. "I cannot send an adult in there for the very reason you say, the centaurs of the forest have become dangerously anti-human, and the job needs to be done. I suggest you find a solution to the problem!"

Cody frowned, not knowing whether he still wanted to protest or not. Snape did have a point...what adult _could_ he send in there? Hagrid was big enough to handle a bunch of irritated centaurs, but anyone else? Still, Cody had enough danger to deal with without _looking _for it!

"I—okay, I guess I get that...but why me?"

"Because quite frankly, Mr. DeDannan, the Carrows wouldn't mind seeing you with a dozen arrows in your hide," said Snape disgustedly. "Besides that...you are most suited for the job. You're young enough that they _may_ not attack you, you have dealt with the creatures before, and are the only seventh year who took enough of Care of Magical Creatures to have a chance of doing it halfway competently."

The idea of being filled with arrows wasn't a happy one, and Cody wasn't sure whether or not to feel insulted or not. Snape had used his preferred name, but had also said that there was real danger of being filled full of holes. Obviously Cody was the most expendable person available to do the job. "Um. And if I don't do it?"

"Then you don't do it," said Snape nastily. "And you will report to Amycus Carrow and tell him so."

The threat was effective. Cody swallowed with difficulty and nodded. "'Kay. I get the point. Um. I'll...I'll need to know where the food for them's kept...and all."

Snape nodded curtly. "The information will be given to you tomorrow. They are fed twice a week, starting tomorrow. As they're a tame herd, they do still hunt, but expect to be given the main part of their diet. Oh, and there will also be sufficient for that cloak beast you've taken such a liking to. I shouldn't, considering how much trouble you've been..."

Again, Cody was taken by surprise. He hadn't expected Snape to let him keep the Lethifold, nor to even notice he liked the animal. Feeling very confused, he glanced up again at Dumbledore, who nodded his head, his smile warm. He looked back to Snape and sighed. "You know we can't stop fighting...you know that...right?"

Snape's lip curled up and he gazed at Cody with acute dislike. "And I will do what I must to curb you!" he hissed furiously.

Cody was intimidated, but he made himself keep meeting Snape's eyes. "Understood, sir," he said a little shakily.

Snape's brow furrowed for a second, then he stood up straight again, nodding a little. "McGonagall will give you a list of instructions tomorrow night. Dismissed."

Happy to get out of the repressive office and away from Snape's gaze, Cody left as quickly as he could without running. Once outside, he leaned against the wall and took deep breaths. He wondered if he'd ever get the hang of verbal confrontations with people who scared him. Still, he thought he'd done all right.

Graham nearly pounced him at supper, when Cody next saw him. Cody briefly told him what that had all been about, and Graham seemed to be of the opinion that either Snape or Cody was completely insane. Cody wasn't sure which it was, himself.

At their DA meeting, Neville said that he had planned on an Apparition review, and to help some of the newer and younger members begin learning. But before they had even begun, Seamus cut it short. "It's Potterwatch!" he exclaimed from where he stood by the radio.

Everyone ran over at those words, exclaiming happily, and nudging one another. It had been a very long time since they'd found Potterwatch, and people had begun to wonder if maybe they'd gotten caught broadcasting. As it was, that was almost true.

"And now, the show you've all been waiting for...for a long time...Potterwatch!" Lee Jordan exclaimed, and the DA all cheered. "We apologize for our temporary absence from the airwaves, which was due to a number of house calls in our area by those charming Death Eaters."

A general snicker rose from the assembled listeners, as Lee went on to explain they'd found a new, secure location, and that he had two of their regular contributers there with them, "Royal" and "Romulus."

"Yes!" Cody exclaimed. Romulus was Remus, he knew, and Royal was Kingsley...they'd heard from them several times in the past months.

"But before we hear from Royal and Romulus, let's take a moment to report those deaths that the Wizarding Wireless Network news and Daily Prophet don't think important enough to mention. It is with great regret that we inform our listeners of the murders of Ted Tonks and Dirk Cresswell."

_"What?_" Cody exclaimed, clapping his hands over his mouth in horror. "Is he—is that Tonks's _father?_"

"...believed that Muggle-born Dean Thomas..."

"Shh!" hissed Seamus frantically, nearly shoving Ernie MacMillan on the floor in his eagerness to plaster his ear to the wireless.

"...and a second goblin, both believed to have been traveling with Tonks, Cresswell, and Gornuk, may have escaped. If Dean is listening, or if anyone has knowledge of his whereabouts, his parents and sisters are desperate for news."

"N-not to mention us," said Cody shakily.

There were more murders, though no one that Cody had personally met. It didn't make him grieve any less, though. A whole Muggle family had been discovered dead from the Killing Curse, and a woman named Bathilda Bagshot dead of Dark magic as well. Cody knew she had been the author of one of his schoolbooks.

"Listeners," said Lee's voice sadly, "I'd like to invite you now to join us in a minute's silence in memory of Ted Tonks, Dirk Cresswell, Bathilda Bagshot, Gornuk, and the unnamed but no less regretted Muggles murdered by the Death Eaters.

Cody clenched his teeth hard, trying not to cry, but didn't succeed very well as Dumbledore's Army fell silent, honoring the dead. But he wasn't the only one. Graham looked close to tears himself, and Lavender Brown was crying, too.

"Thank you," said Lee after a moment. "And now we turn to regular contributer Royal, for an update on how the new Wizarding order is affecting the Muggle world."

Cody shivered, seemingly unable to stop, as Kinglsey Shacklebolt got on the air. "Wizarding order." It was probably the most frightening thing Cody had ever heard. And Kingsley's report wasn't any better. Muggles were suffering, now that the Death Eaters had free reign. But Kingsley also told of stories of wizards and witches who had risked their lives to save Muggles in their neighborhoods and towns, and urged everyone to follow their lead. Cody clenched his fists, saying a silent thank you to whoever those protectors were.

"And what would you say, Royal, to those listeners who reply that in these dangerous times it should be 'wizards first'?" Lee asked.

"Tell 'em to piss off!" shouted Justin Finch-Fletchley.

"Shh!" hissed Graham as several others laughed.

"I'd say," said Kingsley, "that it's one short step from 'wizards first' to 'purebloods first' then to 'Death Eaters.' We're all human, aren't we? Every human life is worth the same, and worth saving."

Dumbledore's Army sent up a cheer, and Lee proclaimed that Kingsley would have his vote for Minister for Magic. "And now," Lee said, "Over to Romulus for our popular feature, 'Pals of Potter'."

"Thanks, River," came Lupin's voice, and again everyone cheered.

"Hi, Remus!" called Cody with a grin. Too bad the radio wasn't two-way.

Lee was asking Remus if he thought Harry was still alive. Of course Remus said that he still believed that Harry was very much alive. "There is no doubt," said Remus, "that his death would be proclaimed as widely as possible by the Death Eaters if it had happened, because it would strike a deadly blow at the morale of those resisting the new regime. 'The boy Who Lived' remains a symbol of everything for which we are fighting: the triumph of good, the power of innocence, the need to keep resisting."

Another cheer from the DA.

"And what would you say to Harry if you knew he was listening, Romulus?"

"I'd tell him we're with him in spirit. And I'd tell him to follow his instincts, which are good and nearly always right."

"And our usual update on those friends of Harry Potter's who are suffering for their allegiance?"

"Well, as our regular listeners will know, several of the more outspoken supporters of Harry Potter have now been imprisoned, including Xenophilius Lovegood, erstwhile editor of the Quibbler."

The members of the DA exchanged grim, knowing looks with each other; after Luna was kidnapped from the Hogwarts Express, this was no surprise to anyone.

"We have also heard within the last few hours that Rubeus Hagrid, well-known gamekeeper at Hogwarts School, has narrowly escaped arrest within the grounds of Hogwarts of Hogwarts, where he is rumored to have hosted a 'Support Harry Potter' party in his house. However, Hagrid was not taken into custody, and is, we believe, on the run."

A great shout of laughter from the listeners, clenched fists and sounds of triumph. Hagrid had flaunted his allegiance, and he'd escaped arrest! The cheering didn't die down much as Lee encouraged people not to follow Hagrid's lead, and warning everyone how dangerous it was to pull that kind of stunt. It was scary, how people's personal freedoms were being so horribly violated, but it was still easy to laugh when they imagined the looks on the Death Eaters' faces when Hagrid escaped, especially when Grawp had come out of the forest like that.

"...like to refer to him as the Chief Death Eater," Lee was saying when they could hear him again, and Cody sputtered laugher.

_"_The _'Chief Death Eater?'"_

"...and here to give his views on some of the more insane rumors circulating about him, I'd like to introduce a new correspondent: Rodent."

"Rodent?" repeated a very familiar voice in disbelief.

"It's Fred!" cried Ginny delightedly. "Brilliant!"

"I'm not being Rodent," Fred protested to general laughter from the DA. "No way! I told you I wanted to be Rapier."

"Oh, all right then," said Lee. "Rapier. Could you please give us your take on the various stories we've been hearing about the Chief Death Eater?"

"Yes, River, I can..."

Fred's report was no surprise. People all over the place had been reporting sightings of You-Know-Who, out of sheer panic, just like when he was first reported to be at large once more. Kingsley rather thought You-know-Who liked the panic his absence was creating, and he was right.

"So," said Fred, "let's calm down, people, okay? Things are bad enough without inventing stuff as well. For instance, this new idea that You-know-Who can kill with a single glance from his eyes. That's a basilisk, listeners." Cody began to laugh. "One simple test: check whether the thing that's glaring at you has got legs. It is has, it's safe to look into its eyes."

Everyone else was starting to laugh, too, no matter how horrible things were, because Fred just had that ability. It was so stupid, what else was there to do but laugh?"

"...although if it really is You-know-Who, that's still likely to be the last thing you do."

"Booo!" Graham called, but he was still laughing.

"Fred, you're a dork!" called Cody gleefully.

The next thing Cody heard was Fred's continuing report. "...thinking he's out of the country. Maybe he is, maybe he isn't, but the fact remains he can move faster than Severus Snape confronted with shampoo--"

Several people had to stifle shouts of laughter at that...

"—when he wants to, so don't count on him being a long was away if you're planning on taking any risks. I never thought I'd hear myself say it, but safety first."

"Thank you very much for those wise words, Rapier," said Lee. "Listeners, that brings us to the end of another Potterwatch. We don't know when it will be possible to broadcast again, but you can be sure we'll be back. Keep twiddling those dials: the next password will be 'Mad-Eye'. Keep each other safe; keep faith. Good night."

As always, Dumbledore's Army cheered as the lights on the wireless dimmed.

"The twins rock," said Cody. "Making people laugh, well it's good they got Fred on Potterwatch."

"Definitely," said Graham with a laugh. "So let's get some practicing in, we've still got time before bed!"


	104. Y7, C26: Thestrals and Spring Break

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 26: Thestrals and Spring Break**

Cody was woken several hours later by the Galleon heating up in his pajama pocket. Confused, he threw back the curtains of his four-poster, letting the feeble rays of dawn fall on him. Neville and Seamus had been roused, too, and Cody wondered who was using the Galleons. They'd been using the coins now for a while to communicate with the outside world, with the DA members who'd graduated from school, was it one of them?

Cody squinted sleepily at the rim of the coin, at the words etching themselves there, and suddenly he let out a yell of elation. "LUNA!" he shouted.

_I am all right. Harry came and found us. We are okay. –Luna._

Neville and Seamus, also having read the message, both exchanged a high-five (Cody wondered briefly if they'd gotten that from him), and Cody looked back down at the Galleon. He'd been worried about Luna, even with everything that was going on, during the long months since December. And now...

"Harry IS alive!" laughed Seamus. "I wonder where they are!"

"Let's ask," Cody suggested.

"No way," said Neville. "We don't want to risk anyone else finding them. Especially Harry! Hold on, though. I'll see if Ron and the others are okay, too, gimme a second."

"Okay." Seamus and Cody exchanged a grin as Neville got out his wand and began etching a message back to Luna. Cody heard a faint shriek from the girls' dorms that told him they'd gotten the message, too.

_Is Ron all right, too? Is Hermione? _Neville etched.

Seamus leaned against the window beside his bed, as Neville communicated, gazing out into the grounds.

_Yes,_ etched Luna back. _And Dean Thomas. And Griphook. And Mr. Ollivander._

Another shout of glee from Neville, Seamus, and Cody, and another faint yell from the girls' dorms. Cody knew that the DA members in other houses were also getting the messages.

"He's all right!" cried Seamus, his voice shaky with relief. "God, I've been worried about him, me best mate!"

Cody came over, grinning, and sat on the windowsill. "Talk about a victory for our side! Rescuing some of their prisoners, I wonder where they were!"

_What happened? _wrote Neville.

_We escaped from Malfoy Manor. They caught Harry and the others and brought them there. But we all got out._

Cody clenched his fist in the air, laughing gleefully. That'd teach them, the worthless gits! Never mess with kids! "Bet the ol' Chief Death Eater's ticked off!" said Cody gleefully.

"Let's get down to the common room!" exclaimed Seamus.

Half the DA was already there, it seemed, all wide awake and in their pajamas. Those who hadn't had their Galleons with them had been told about the escape, and were celebrating along with everyone else. The Galleons were hot with gleeful messages from other members of the DA and Luna, so quick that Cody could barely catch everything that was being said. Some of the non-DA Gryffindors still awake seemed to think the whole group had gone mad, but that was okay. The whole world had gone mad, why not them, too? It was nice to have good news amid everything else.

As the day wore on, Cody began to get a little nervous. He had a new task that day: he had to go into the forest and feed the thestral herd. McGonagall came up to him that evening with a long parchment, looking extremely worried. "Now, here are the instructions for feeding the herd," said McGonagall. "Nothing too difficult really, you just bring the meat into the forest where they den. I know that you went there with Hagrid at least once, so they should, I hope, know you. And you'll have food, so you should be all right."

"It's okay, ma'am," said Cody, smiling a little. "I've met them a few times. They're pretty gentle. The only problem is, I can't see them. How am I supposed to know if one needs medical attention or not?"

McGonagall frowned. "That is a problem, isn't it?" she mused quietly. "Well, for now, just tend to their feeding. I'll see if I can't have Professor Flitwick teach you a charm that'll help you count them and ensure that they're in good health."

"Thanks," said Cody, taking a big breath. "Well...I guess I'll do that around supper. That's when Hagrid did it, right? And it's best to do it at the same time?"

Professor McGonagall smiled, patting Cody's shoulder. "That's exactly right. Now, make sure you take your wand...and be careful, Cody. Be very careful. I know the centaurs won't bother you because of your youth, but there are other beasts in there. Hagrid's three-headed dog, for one."

Cody blinked; that was a bit of unpleasant news! "Um...Fluffy's in there?"

McGonagall chuckled a bit. "Yes, Fluffy. Well, you're in the choir, just sing to him, he'll go to sleep. And keep your Defense Against the Dark Arts skills in mind!"

Cody surprised both himself and Professor McGonagall by laughing. "I will, ma'am. I'll be okay." He found he was actually a little excited about the trip...after all, he had plotted several times in his first years at Hogwarts to sneak into the forest, intrigued by its mystery. After going in there a few times, and with all of the excitement and events of the following years, he forgot about this ambition. But now he was going to get to do it, and with full permission of the staff! Insistence, even, by one of them.

He just hoped the Carrows didn't get their wish. He had no desire to be turned into a pincushion.

That evening McGonagall accompanied him down to a supply room off the main kitchen, smiling distractedly at the various house elves that scrambled up to them to greet them, asking how they could help. McGonagall said she was just there for meat to feed the thestrals, and a group of half a dozen of them insisted on getting it out for them.

"Now, Snape said something about a Lethifold?" said McGonagall.

"It's okay, he only eats every month or so," said Cody. "And he's only just started eating meat, and Hagrid fed him only a few days ago. He doesn't need to eat, yet."

"I see," said McGonagall as several house-elves came out of the pantry, carrying what looked like an entire cow, skinned and preserved as uncut steaks. He remembered Hagrid carrying such over his shoulder once when they first met the thestrals in fifth year.

"Here you is, sir, ma'am!" squeaked one of the elves.

"Thanks," said Cody, smiling at the creature, and looking at the carcass. He shrugged, then pointed his wand at it. "Wingardium Leviosa!" The meat rose in the air obediently, and Cody nodded in satisfaction. He couldn't very well carry the thing, it weighed more than probably three of him put together.

"Be careful, Mr. DeDannan," repeated McGonagall.

"I will, Professor." Cody sent a grin her way before towing the carcass out of the kitchen and out onto the grounds. He got a lot of very strange looks from some first-year Herbology students as he passed them heading in from their last class.

He stopped on the edge, peering in. The edge of the forest had always been a sort of boundary for him, a place he should never go alone. He had done so, once, looking for Harry and the others, but this seemed different, somehow. He felt a lot more alone, and a lot more vulnerable. He glanced upward, where he knew the Headmaster's office was, torn between waving excitedly, and shaking his fist.

"Well," he said to himself. "Now or never!" Taking a big breath, he stepped in.

He had always found that once you took the first step in anything, it was far easier after that, and the same was true here. No thunderbolt hurled itself from the heavens to strike him down, no magical booby-trap sprang out to kill him. Not that he expected either of those things to happen, but his over-active imagination was not being kind to him!

The only thing he disliked about the forest was that it was so bloody dark. He would have to start bringing a lantern. For now, there was enough light filtering in through the branches for him to see, but still.

Cody paused to bring out the Marauder's Map, having to set the carcass down to activate it, and look at the forest drawn to one side. He was very lucky to have the use of this map, because Lupin and his friends had done a whole lot they shouldn't, and even had the areas in the forest mapped out to a degree. Most of the known paths were there, for certain, and the thestrals' nesting area was there, too.

Cody spied the path that led there and followed it.

When Cody reached the clearing indicated on the map, he stopped, closing his eyes and listening closely. Shuffling noises, and hooves...exactly as it had been when they had been sent by Snape on that full-moon detention.

A sudden touch at Cody's shoulder startled him, and he jumped. Setting the carcass down and turning around, Cody very carefully put out a hand, banishing a sudden thought that the thestral that had just startled him might just decided to bite it off. But it didn't. Instead, Cody felt a snout beneath his hand, and he laughed, stroking the invisible creature.

"So weird," Cody murmured. "You know, you guys helped us out a couple of years ago, getting us to the Ministry. Thanks for that." The beast gave an eerie, keening cry that sent the hairs on the back of Cody's neck to attention, but he liked it, too. He tried to imitate it, but broke into laughter when he sounded like a sick rat. "I'll work on that," he said.

He looked over at the carcass, which was in the process of being stripped of its flesh, and Cody grimaced. He wondered if Hagrid brought the bones out afterwards or not, but his mental question was answered a moment later when a loud crunch told Cody they apparently devoured the bones, too.

A familiar figure approached Cody; at first he thought it was a centaur, but he laughed when he saw that it was Buckbeak the hippogriff, who obviously lived here with the thestrals. Cody bowed low to the beast, who bowed back, and Cody went over to pat him. "Good boy," he murmured.

Buckbeak closed his eyes and nudged Cody's face with his beak. Cody gave the beast a hug, then let go and backed away. Buckbeak joined the invisible thestrals in their feast.

"Well...enjoy," said Cody. He gave Buckbeak one last pat, and ducked out of the clearing, feeling pleased with himself.

He made it out of the forest without being bothered by anything, beast or being, and finally put his wand away when he reached Hagrid's cabin. He caught sight of Professor McGonagall at the doors of the castle, her hand on her chest, and waved. She waved back, and he saw her smile as she went back inside.

From then on, Cody's task was not a difficult one. He only met centaurs once or twice, and they did not bother him, except for to ask why he was in there and what his business was. Once he told them he'd taken over Hagrid's job and was feeding the thestrals and taking care of Hagrid's creatures, they seemed quite willing enough to let him get on with the work. Cody remembered Hagrid telling him once that the centaurs respected humans who cared for nature and the creatures of the forest, so Cody supposed he shouldn't be too surprised.

---

As the weather began to warm up and Easter break approached, the DA stepped up their efforts to annoy the Carrows. The warmer weather meant that they could do more things outside, like sneaking into the Greenhouses and letting lose all the bouncing bulbs, or collecting underpants from as many students as possible, multiplying them, and decorating all the trees in the grounds. The new pranks were a little more playful than in the past, but they still annoyed the Death Eaters.

With one exception. Cody still has a score to settle with Filch and his cat for reporting his flyer campaign. He sought out Mrs. Norris when the Marauder's Map indicated Filch was nowhere nearby. He gave the miserable, old tattle-tale cat a good, solid kick in the hind end, then ran before Filch responded to the cat's outraged yowls. Filch never did find out who did it, either, though it was a near thing. The old git could be fast when he wanted to be!

That evening after supper, he set up a Dungbomb booby trap above Filch's office, hiding behind a large suit of armor until Filch came back and opened the door. His howl of fury and the stench that filled the air made Cody feel at least somewhat avenged.

As spring wore on, the Carrows became more and more severe in their punishments, and most of the members of the DA had felt the Cruciatus Curse more than once. Cody faced it twice again in detentions before Easter break, from students practicing the curse for the Dark Arts classes. It was a horror, as it had been before, but the fear wasn't as great...and Cody wasn't sure whether the students' curses were less powerful, or Cody was getting used to it, but it didn't seem as horrific as it had on the Astronomy Tower.

Still, come April tenth, Easter break was a very welcome reprieve, and Cody enjoyed the entire trip on the Hogwarts Express. Professor Flitwick had helped Cody to rig a sort of time-release method of keeping the thestrals fed during Cody's absence, a charm that revealed each days' food when the sun rose. It wasn't the most ideal situation, but all that they could come up with. If only the centaurs didn't hate the adults so much...

He'd also fed the Lethifold, made sure he had enough water for the week, and left him in Hagrid's cabin. Professor McGonagall assured him that she would check on the beast every once in a while.

Cody got a shock at King's Cross Station, when Remus Lupin, mostly covered by a dark cloak, grabbed Ginny and Cody the second they got off the train. Cody had no time to say good-bye to Graham or Neville, before he'd whirled on the spot and Disapparated with the pair of them.

When he landed hard on soft carpet, he felt horribly confused, particularly at a loud, happy shout.

"Hey, you two!"

"Nice landing! Why couldn't you stay on your feet, like Remus?" The Weasley twins stood there, grinning down on them both.

"Bugger off," Ginny invited, standing up dazedly, and looking around her. They were in a kitchen Cody very vaguely recognized, with what looked like most the Weasley family standing all around the room. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley hugged Ginny, while Lupin helped Cody to his feet.

Charlie Weasley and a very large-stomached Tonks were going about the kitchen, casting up protective charms, presumably to keep people arriving the same way that Lupin, Ginny, and Cody had. "Wotcher, Cody," said Tonks with a tired smile.

"What was that all about?" Cody sputtered.

"Sorry, Cody," said Lupin. "Andromeda Tonks is going to bring your things along, she's bringing them to her house. We had to grab you quickly, before you were seen."

"B-but why?" asked Ginny in bewilderment, as Mrs. Weasley gave Cody a hug, and Charlie came over and did the same.

"Let's all sit down," said Lupin. "And we'll explain.

It seemed that due to the incident that had resulted in the escape of Luna and several others, the Weasleys had had to go into hiding. The Death Eaters knew now that at least one Weasley--Ron--was with Harry, and that the Weasleys could be used against them.

"Bill's got his own protections at his place," said Charlie. "And the rest of us have been staying here with Auntie Muriel. Fred and George have been running their joke shop through mail-order again until they can return to their premises. We only just ran for it, you know, they didn't come after us right away. We were able to make preparations."

"We figured they might try and grab Ginny from the train, but we couldn't get her out of there before she got to King's Cross," Mr. Weasley added. "We were lucky."

Cody felt stunned. "What a bunch of jerks! You know it's really low to go after family; that's just..." He bit his lip, looking at Lupin. "It sucks."

"It does," said Lupin. "It does."

Cody took a big breath, nodding, but he didn't feel much better. Everyone who could possibly help against You-Know-Who was being driven under cover. It would only be a matter of time before the entirety of Great Britain was under Voldemort's control. And then what?

"We'll be going back to Tonks's mother's house tonight, Cody," said Lupin. "Soon. But I had to drop Ginny off here."

"I'll notify Graham and the others what happened," said Ginny. "Just in case they don't realize it was Lupin that grabbed us."

Cody frowned. "But the Trace!"

"Damn," Ginny hissed. "I forgot. Okay, I'll get Fred and George to do it."

"Okay," said Cody, still feeling rather dazed. "For a minute I thought I was being attacked, you know."

"Sorry about that," said Lupin, chuckling a bit as he looked down at Cody. "But time was of th—" Remus stopped short, staring at Cody's face. "Cody—who did that?" His voice was calm, but he looked furious.

Cody stared blankly, having forgotten about the scar on the side of his face, before putting a hand to his cheek and feeling the faint, raised lines. "Oh!" he said, his eyes widening. "That. I forgot about it...it's been a few weeks." He had not contacted Lupin for quite a while, not wanting to get him into trouble, or compromise the security around him. So Remus didn't know about all the things that had happened.

"Blimey, Cody," said George Weasley, wincing. "Isn't that supposed to be on your arm?"

"Yeah," said Fred. "Whoever inducted you had lousy aim!"

Cody began to laugh; he couldn't help it. Even as Mrs. Weasley furiously told the twins off for their tasteless joke, even as Lupin stared unhappily at the scarring, he laughed. "Wow," said Cody finally, slumping back in his chair. "Inducted me. Jeez. You know...Ginny and me've got a lot to tell you guys."


	105. Y7, C27: Reasons to Fight

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 27: Reasons to Fight**

Cody and Remus stayed long enough to exchange stories with the Weasleys, for Cody to tell them about how he'd been caught distributing flyers, and what Amycus had done in retaliation. Ginny told them how the Carrows were getting more and brutal with their punishments, and some of the things the DA had been doing to fight back.

The adults didn't look entirely thrilled. The Weasleys' Auntie Muriel had come back and was frowning thunderously, and Mrs. Weasley looked like she was about to cry. Cody found, to his amazement, that he was getting annoyed with all of them. He knew they didn't like hearing that the kids were suffering...he knew that they wished the DA would stop rebelling. And he understood what it was like to worry for a loved one; Cody worried all the time that Remus was going to make the wrong move, or that one of the Weasleys would be caught and imprisoned just for being a blood traitor, or that his Muggle sister would come to harm.

But sometimes adults lost sight of certain things when kids were involved. Not a damned one of _them_ would tolerate what the Carrows were doing without a fight. They wouldn't listen to Amycus doing her best to teach the young generations of wizards that Muggles were filthy animals, or let Amycus teach children the very Dark arts themselves. The adults risked their lives, their safety, for what they believed in, for the things that were important to them, to the core of their spirit.

Adults sometimes forgot that kids had spirits, too. And that they believed in things just as much.

Cody thought a moment during the tense silence, then nodded a little and looked back up. "Last class, I had to hand in a homework assignment," he said. Everyone looked at him, which made Cody blush; he wasn't used to talking in front of people, but he went on anyway. "It was for 'Professor' Carrow...Alecto, the sister. She teaches Muggle Studies."

Ginny snorted; she knew full well that whatever Alecto was teaching it couldn't really be properly called "Muggle Studies".

"That was random," said George, looking taken aback. Fred laughed, but most people were looking at Cody a little oddly. He thought Ginny might know what he was getting at.

"It was an essay," said Cody. "A foot of parchment on Muggles, and why they deserved to be hunted down in the street." Auntie Muriel let out a sort of caw of indignation. "Yeah. And why wizards were more superior. Why wizards should lord over them, rule over them, punish them when they're bad, and reward them when they're good little beasts."

Ginny nodded solemnly. "Yeah...the sixth-years got that assignment, too. Yesterday, Amycus punched me for refusing to do _his_ assignment."

"He _what?" _demanded Mrs. Weasley, getting to her feet.

"Yeah," said Ginny. "You wouldn't have done it either, Mum. Not even to keep from getting hit."

"W-well why on Earth not?"

"My assignment was to practice a spell. The Cruciatus Curse, in fact. On a first year who got caught throwing a mudball at one of the Slytherins in his year."

There was silence again, but the silence wasn't tense anymore, wasn't uncomfortable. It was horrified. Everyone, even Auntie Muriel, looked aghast.

"I heard some second-years talking," said Cody, "about Muggles. Of how a lot of things that Amycus said made sense, even if she is a mad old bat."

"I've heard some of that, too," said Ginny. "People are beginning to believe the Carrows' teachings. People's kids are being taught that it's okay to abuse and kill Muggles. Some of them are even starting to like the Dark Arts they've been teaching. We're not talking things like the Jelly-Legs Jinx, or 'Tarantallegra'. One of the girls in my year, a Ravenclaw, performed the Sectumsempra Curse correctly on some kid who'd earned detention, and she downright beamed when Amycus praised her and gave her ten points for Ravenclaw."

"I've written so much rubbish about Muggles that I have to remind myself on purpose that it _is_ rubbish," said Cody. "It goes on long enough, people are going to start believing the Carrows."

"Yeah, bunch of kids, with virtually no contact with home," said Ginny, "they're gonna start believing the things they're drilling in our heads and forgetting what's truth and what's not. Unless someone tells them differently. The other teachers can't, they'd be imprisoned or killed."

"But..." said Mrs. Weasley weakly. "But you're only kids! You can't...you can't risk yourself like this!"

"Then who?" Ginny demanded angrily. "Who? You? You can't! They'd never let anyone in the Order on the grounds, let alone in the castle! The Carrows are _Death Eaters._ They have the Dark Mark _burned_ on their arm. And they're teaching people's kids! _Your_ kids! You're telling me that when you were kids, you'd stand for this? No way, Mum. I know you way too well."

"When we rebel," said Cody, "people notice. Neville said it gives people hope, and it shows them that they _can_ be fought. None of the Order would just stand by while other people were getting hurt. Neither will we."

No one said a word for a very long time. Cody was glad Ginny had spoken up, because he wasn't as good with words, and she'd made some very strong points. He didn't like the look of horror on Mrs. Weasley's face when she learned her daughter had been expected to torture another student, but Cody felt it made the best impression. He almost wished they _could_ attend the school for just one week. They'd see why Dumbledore's Army was fighting the people who'd taken over and sullied their beloved Hogwarts.

"So, said George Weasley. "How about those Cannons, eh?"

Nearly everyone laughed, and Cody sighed, rolling his eyes to the heavens.

Nothing more was said that night of Dumbledore's Army or of Hogwarts, but Cody felt he and Ginny had given the adults something to think about. When Cody, Remus, and Tonks were ready to go, Cody hugged all of the Weasleys, sorry to say good-bye. Remus promised that they would visit often during Easter break, which was some good news at least.

When they arrived at Tonks's parents' house, Cody was nearly attacked by Samantha, who shrieked and ran at him, flinging her arms around him. He laughed, squeezing her back, only then realizing how much he'd missed her. It had only been a little over three months, but that was a long time!

"I missed you!" Samantha exclaimed.

"I missed you too, shorty," said Cody with a grin.

Samantha put her hands on her hips and gave Cody a very indignant look. He was amused to see she was wearing a set of purple robes, and wondered where she'd got them from.

"Cody," said Remus, "this is Andromeda Tonks. Andromeda, Cody DeDannan."

"Nice to meet you, dear," said Andromeda, smiling wanly, and Cody shook her hand.

"Good to meet you, too," said Cody. "I like your name. I know it from Astronomy."

The woman chuckled tiredly, nodding her head. "The Blacks had a habit of naming their children for stars and constellations."

"I know," said Cody. "There's a family tree in Grimm—" He shot Lupin a questioning look, not sure if he was allowed to say the name aloud now, but he nodded. "Grimmauld Place. Er, well, you probably already know that, huh? Anyways, it's got all kinds of stars and stuff. Astronomy's my favorite."

"Merlin is upstairs, Cody," said Lupin. "As are yours and Ginny's things. I'll have to bring them to her tomorrow." He sighed, rubbing his temples. "Damn it, anyway. Ginny won't be going back to Hogwarts, you know."

Startled, Cody looked at Lupin, about to ask why, but realized he didn't need to. With the Weasleys in hiding, branded as blood traitors, Ginny _couldn't_ go back to Hogwarts. Not safely. Cody scowled thunderously.

"I know," said Tonks, coming over to Lupin and rubbing his temples. "I don't think she's thrilled, either. Remus and I, well, we considered keeping you away from there, too. But I think you'll be safe if you want to go back. They've not come after either of us specifically yet."

It just wasn't fair! Pretty soon everyone was going to have to hide or run for it, and then who would fight Voldemort? 'I hope you find those horcruxes soon,' thought Cody to Harry, wherever he was.

"Are you really fighting bad guys at school?" asked Samantha.

Cody laughed, both surprised and delighted with the question. "Yeah," he said. "Bunch of jerks, too. Oh...I gave Snape your, er, gift, Remus. Right in the Great Hall. For Valentine's Day."

Remus looked confused for a moment before he also laughed, leaning his head back against Tonks. "I forgot about that."

"He wasn't very appreciative of it," said Cody with a smirk. "Oddly enough."

"I can't imagine he was."

"So...you're thirteen now, Cody, aren't you?" asked Tonks.

Cody blinked, staring at her for a few seconds. Yes, he had remembered his birthday, and yes, he had celebrated by throwing food at Graham...but he had never stopped to think that he'd also turned yet another year older. Thirteen...he was a teenager! "Holy cow."

"Whoa," said Tonks in alarm, moving from behind Remus to grasp Cody's arm. "You gonna be all right, kid? You look like you're about to faint."

"Er, yeah. Just, I didn't realize. It's...well, it's kinda weird. I never wanted to be a teenager."

"Really? Why not?"

"Well...because I...well, I don't really want to grow up much. I always thought I was gonna find a magical way to stop me becoming an adult." He looked up uncertainly, wondering whether Tonks was going to be amused, but she only looked thoughtful.

"That's interesting," she said quietly, walking over to a comfortable looking chair and sitting down. "I could never wait to grow up so that I could do all the things adults did."

Cody shrugged. "There's not much an adult can do that a child can't," he said. "People forget that. I mean except drive and stuff, but only because it's illegal. Not because kids aren't able to do it. So I never figuring growing up was a requirement to doing the stuff I want."

"You've got a point, Cody," said Lupin. "Adults...well they like to protect children. It's an instinct...and the right thing to do. They sometimes forget when it's all right to let a child find his own way. But there are certain things that destroy innocence sooner than later. For people who have lost so much innocence already, and regret it...we don't want to see it happen to others."

That was something for Cody to think about! Had he lost innocence? He supposed he had. When he was seven, he was always happy. He was happy to run in the sun, pretending to be a warrior, or going to the pool and playing all day in the water. He never thought anything bad would happen.

Now, he had seen his mother brutally attacked and murdered, he had been tortured, he had fought in battle, he had lost people he loved to a war, and he had heard of horrible things he never could have even imagined when he was seven. He couldn't remember the last time he had played pretend, and it kind of scared him! It had happened so gradually that he didn't even notice it.

He looked up at Lupin, who put an arm around him. "You understand now, a little?" he asked softly.

"Y-yeah..." said Cody. "I do." He laughed a little, and shrugged, leaning against Remus. "Well...I'm doing now what I always used to dream of, I guess. Fighting evil. Not many people can say that, right?"

"That's true. And I know you won't stop fighting, and I won't try to convince you to." He smiled. "I would not have given you that dagger if I felt that way."

Oh yeah...the dagger! Cody had almost forgotten about that. He'd left it with Remus, not wanting to risk losing it at Hogwarts. He grinned as he remembered it. "I know."

Remus smiled, giving Cody a squeeze before releasing him.

Andromeda told the group that supper would be ready in about a half hour if they wanted to wash up and get ready. Cody took the opportunity to go say hello to Merlin, who was as happy to see Cody as he was to see Merlin.

Supper wasn't as good as Mrs. Weasley's meals were, but there were not many people who could manage that feat. The roast was quite good enough for Cody, and he noticed also that his portion of meat was hardly cooked. He glanced at Lupin, who smiled tightly at Cody, and figured he must have told Andromeda that Cody had been attacked by Greyback. Like Bill, Cody had found the idea of cooked meat was now nauseating to him, so he'd been avoiding it whenever possible. He also found he liked his Blood Lollipops a lot more, but he hadn't told anyone that; he thought they might be uneasy. Cody was kind of uneasy himself.

"Mm," he said appreciatively as he grabbed the meat and bit into it.

"Cody!" exclaimed Remus with a frown. "Since when do you eat roast with your hands?"

Blushing, Cody set the meat down and wiped his hands with a napkin. "Sorry. I was hungry and I usually just eat chicken legs at Hogwarts...they cook beef and pork too much."

Lupin shook his head despairingly. "Do try to remember you're a civilized wizard?"

"Since when?" said Cody with a grin, and Remus rolled his eyes to the ceiling. Why was it okay to eat greasy chicken legs with your hands but not other meat, anyway? It didn't make any sense.

After that, there wasn't much talk during the meal, and at first Cody wondered why everyone was so upset. Was it because of the Weasleys' predicament? The goings-on at Hogwarts? The "new wizarding order"? It wasn't until Andromeda began to cry silently at the table that Cody finally understood. How could he have forgotten? Ted Tonks was Andromeda's husband, and Tonks's father, and he had been murdered. They had only just heard of it last month.

Cody clapped his hands to his mouth, his own eyes burning, as he watched Andromeda stand quietly up and leave the table.

"I forgot," Cody whispered, turning to Tonks, who was not crying yet but looked thoroughly miserable. "I'm so sorry, Tonks...I...we heard about it on Potterwatch..."

"Its all right, thanks, kiddo," Tonks said quietly, running her hand tiredly through her hair, which was a very normal brown color.

"Why don't you take Samantha upstairs?" said Remus, standing up from his meal.

"Okay. Come on, shorty," said Cody, wiping his eyes. "Let's go up and play a game, huh?"

Looking upset, Samantha nodded, and followed Cody up to the guest room they were to share that night. He heard Lupin and Tonks talking, and was vaguely tempted to eavesdrop using his new Extendable Ear, but ultimately decided against it. Instead he concentrated on beating Samantha at UNO.

The next day, Cody tried to be really nice to Tonks and her mother. He didn't know if they noticed or not, but Lupin did, and thanked Cody for the effort. Cody said that he wanted to try and cook supper that night so Andromeda didn't have to, and Lupin laughed and said he'd help. It was actually kind of fun, cooking. Cody wouldn't want to do it all the time (at least not until he could use magic outside of school without being detected by a bunch of jerks) but it was fun to do once in a while. The baked chicken didn't turn out too badly, either!

He tried to think of all the positive or funny things that happened at Hogwarts, and told them those stories. He told Remus how he could Apparate, of how he'd practiced and practiced...the last of the group to succeed, but finally managing it!

"That's amazing," said Lupin proudly. "Not entirely legal, but then...what is, anymore?"

Cody laughed, nodding his head in agreement. "Man, if Snape knew! Being Splinched is really weird though. It feels creepy. But at least it doesn't hurt."

"I think everyone Splinches themselves before succeeding at Apparition," said Lupin. "I did."

---

Three days into Easter break, things got very interesting. About an hour after lunch, Cody was alarmed by a cry of pain from Tonks, and he grabbed his wand from his bed, hissing at Samantha to hide in the closet, before throwing the door open and running downstairs.

What he saw there puzzled him. There was no one attacked, but Tonks lying on the couch, pale as a sheet with Remus kneeling next to her—she was either sick, or... Cody's eyes widened as he looked at her very large belly.

"Get Andromeda, Cody!" Lupin called. "Tonks is in labor!"


	106. Y7, C28: The Birth of Teddy Lupin

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 28: The Birth of Teddy Lupin**

"She's _what?"_

Cody ran back up the stairs, but Andromeda had already heard, and was on her way down, towels in her hand. Cody followed her back down, his wand still in his hand, forgotten. "Are we taking her to the hospital?" Cody asked worriedly, hovering around the foot of the stairs, looking at the scene from behind.

"Are you crazy?" gasped Tonks, squeezing her eyes shut. "You-Know-Who's got control of St. Mungo's by now!"

Cody winced as Tonks let another cry of pain, not liking the sound of it. Was this normal for babies? "Can I help?" he asked, biting his lip as Andromeda used her wand to conjure a blanket over Tonks's knees, and Lupin used a bit of magic to move the couch away from the wall and temporarily flatten the back and arms so Andromeda could reach Tonks better. Samantha came down the steps, looking curious, but not nearly as worried as Cody.

"Yes," said Andromeda tensely. "Get a big basin of water."

Cody nodded, running into the kitchen and trying not to look at Tonks as he passed. Tonks's knees were up, and although a blanket was over them so only Andromeda could see certain parts, Cody still felt like it would be wrong to look at Tonks. Were non-husbands supposed to look at babies being born?

Cody only remembered he was holding his wand when he tried to open a cabinet and found it was still clutched in his hand. He tossed it on the counter and climbed up, reaching for a big, glass bowl, and sticking it in the sink. He turned the taps on full blast, feeling a little shaky, as Tonks cried out again from the living room.

Cody didn't know very much about childbirth; his mother had never gotten a chance to teach Cody much about it. What Cody knew was mostly from books and other kids (some at Hogwarts). Was it dangerous? Did it hurt? Tonks sounded like she was in pain, was that normal? How did a baby fit out of..._there?_

He grimaced, trying not to imagine too vividly, as the bowl filled almost with water, then he very carefully lifted the whole thing, wishing he could use magic—the thing was heavy! He had to concentrate on not spilling it all over the place as he staggered back into the living room, setting the heavy bowl down. Samantha had come in also, watching from the armchair, a look of acute interest on her face. How could she be so calm, anyway?

"Thank you," said Andromeda quietly, peering under the blanket. Cody snuck a look at Tonks's face, which was white and covered in sweat. The couch beneath her legs was wet, and Cody did not want to know why.

"I-is she gonna be okay?" asked Cody.

"She'll be fine, Cody," said Lupin, actually managing a chuckle. "It's just there's no magical way to ease the pain of childbirth. There are potions, but we haven't got access to them. A disadvantage to having to stay hidden as much as possible."

"I-I should...er...should I go?" asked Cody. "It's kinda...weird."

""Don't—have to," Tonks gasped, taking in a big breath and holding it.

"Breathe, 'Dora," said Andromeda softly, patting Tonks's knee. "Breathe, like I taught you."

Tonks let out her breath in a strange, choppy way, and Cody retreated back with Samantha on the couch. His initial alarm was fading, and he watched the scene with a mixture of interest and bemusement. It was a really weird thing, childbirth. It sounded weird, it looked weird...it probably felt weird, too.

As time passed, Cody's fear faded completely, and he began to feel very sorry for Tonks. She looked absolutely exhausted, and it was clear the birth wasn't any fun. Cody rather thought after a while the Cruciatus Curse was probably not a whole lot worse!

Andromeda had Cody act as messenger boy the entire time, getting clean towels, getting the old ones out of the way, and fetching various potions and things from Andromeda's bedroom. Lupin stayed right by Tonks, encouraging her, holding her the whole time.

When the water in the bowl got dirty, Andromeda asked Cody to refill it; she was quite busy coaching Tonks through the birth, keeping an eye, making sure that things didn't go wrong.

"Go ahead and use magic," said Remus tensely. "The Trace detects magic around you as well as your own, and we've been doing plenty...for this once, go ahead and use it."

Oh, well in that case--! Cody ran for his wand in the kitchen, coming back and Vanishing the dirty water in the bowl, refilling it with fresh. He knew the Aguamenti Charm very well, because he used it often to unleash it on people at school.

An hour into the whole ordeal, Cody had decided that labor took _way_ too long! When Lupin said some women's labor lasted a whole twenty-four hours, he didn't believe him at first. It was ludicrous that having a baby could take so long!

Three hours into the ordeal, he could believe it a lot more easily.

The wind had begun to howl outside, and rain began to patter the windows when Tonks let out a howl, and Andromeda gasped. "It's crowning!"

"Crowning?" asked Cody, his eyes widening, as he jumped to his feet. He'd not had too much to do for the last couple of hours, and had been half dozing on the chair with Samantha, but now they were both wide awake. "What's that mean? Is it all right?"

"Yes," said Andromeda, laughing. "That's it, baby, push! Push now, 'Dora! Come on, you can do it!"

Cody winced as Tonks screwed her face into a strained grimace, letting a loud cry as she fought to birth her child, and Andromeda bent over the blanket, her hands beneath.

"This is so cool!" Samantha exclaimed, surprising Cody into a laugh. Lupin held Tonks's hand, wincing slightly as she squeezed it hard enough to hurt, and Andromeda suddenly straightened, something very small in her hands. She grabbed her wand, letting a cold puff of wind hit the infant's face, startling it into taking a breath. Everyone in the room laughed at a very small, but outraged wail from the new life in Andromeda's hands.

Tonks fell back onto the couch, panting for breath, as Andromeda moved back a little and laid the infant on a clean towel.

"Cody...some more washcloths, please," she said, and Cody ran to get them, setting them down beside Andromeda as Samantha came over to look.

The baby was very small, the smallest (and youngest) baby Cody had ever seen. It was covered in what looked startlingly like blood (Remus said later that it was), its skin was grayish, and it was soaking wet. There was something sticking out of its belly button that Cody vaguely knew was supposed to be there, but he had no idea why. His first impression, even as Samantha cooed over how adorable it was, was that newborns were ugly buggers!

The two of them watched Andromeda dunk the clean cloths in the water (Cody quickly changed it again for fresh) and begin washing the bawling infant clean. It was a boy, that was evident, and Samantha giggled as she caught sight of the obvious. Cody rolled his eyes, looking to Remus and Tonks, both of whom looked happier than Cody had seen them in a very long time.

"That was all kinds of bizarre," Cody finally blurted out.

Both of them laughed. "Childbirth isn't for the faint-hearted," said Lupin.

"Every second's worth it," added Tonks.

"Help sit her up, Remus," said Andromeda softly, and Remus did so, quickly magicking up several pillows beneath Tonks's back and settling her comfortably in. Andromeda swaddled the newborn in a clean towel and brought him over to Tonks, settling him into Tonks's reaching arms. Tonks smiled at the baby, as if it were the best thing in the entire world. Lupin looked almost like a child himself, watching the baby with a look of awe, gently stroking the infant's black, spiky-looking hair.

"He looks like you," said Cody with a grin, peering at the baby. He was no longer bawling, but calming down, hiccupping as Tonks gently rocked him. "Er...can I touch him?"

"Yes, of course," Tonks laughed, not taking her eyes from the baby, but moving him slightly so that Cody could reach. Gingerly, almost afraid to, Cody ran a finger along the baby's damp hair. It was soft, even softer than a kitten. Cody blinked, breaking into a smile of his own, as he stroked the baby's cheek.

"He's soft."

"Yes," Lupin chuckled. "Babies are like that."

Andromeda was making quick work of the mess all over the living room with her wand, and spent a few moments cleaning and drying Tonks's bottom half, covering her with a fresh blanket. Then she came over and gave a surprised Cody a hug. "Thank you, Cody," she said, "for assisting me. You were a great help."

Cody grinned and hugged the woman back. "You're welcome, ma'am."

"Oh, none of that. The boy who helped me deliver my grandson shouldn't call me ma'am. Andromeda. I insist."

"Okay," said Cody with a laugh. "Like I said...I like that name!"

"I wanna do that someday," said Samantha decisively, and Cody nearly swallowed his whole face.

"Have a baby?" he exclaimed, spinning around to look at her in disbelief. "Are you nuts? You can't have a baby, you're my sister!"

Tonks, Remus, and Andromeda all burst into quiet laughter, while Samantha gave Cody a look of disgust. "Not _have_ babies, dummy!" she said. "Help _other_ people have babies!"

Cody calmed considerably at that clarification, but gave Samantha a dirty look for calling him a dummy. He sat down on the chair, feeling sulky.

"Aw, cheer up, Cody," Andromeda chuckled, coming over to ruffle his hair. "I'm glad you're so protective of Samantha. She's pretty lucky to have a brother like you. Even if she won't admit it." She winked at Samantha then gathered up the used pile of towels in her arms and carried them out of the room.

"I'm going to go outside and make sure the protective charms are still around the house," said Remus. "Then I'll be back."

Tonks smiled wearily, and Lupin went outside, where Cody watched him from the window. He saw a couple of glowy flashes from Remus's wand, and then he came back inside, looking satisfied.

"Okay?" asked Tonks.

"Yes, they're fine."

For a while, no one said anything. Remus and Lupin gazed at their new baby, Samantha got bored and went upstairs to play, and Cody sprawled out tiredly on the floor. He'd gotten tired just helping; he could only imagine how exhausted Tonks was! He stared up at the ceiling, amazed at what he had just witnessed...a new life! A brand new person, out of nowhere! It was...weird!

"Is it me," said Lupin after a while, "or is his hair a lot lighter than it was a half hour ago?"

Curious, Cody stood up to look; Remus was holding the infant now, and his hair did look a whole lot lighter. "Maybe it's dry now," said Cody. "What's his name?"

"Ted," said Lupin quietly. "We've decided to call him Ted...Teddy...after Tonks's father."

Cody blinked, and then smiled, nodding his head. "I like that," he said. "Teddy Lupin."

"Teddy _Remus_ Lupin," corrected Tonks with a wink. "I think he should have a bit of his father in him, don't you?"

"Definitely," agreed Cody. "Can I hold him?"

"Absolutely," said Remus, standing up.

Cody also stood as Remus came over with the baby, and Cody felt a momentary panic. How did a person hold a baby, anyway? He'd never done it before. What if he dropped him? What if he hurt him somehow?

Lupin seemed to know what he was thinking. "Don't look so nervous, Cody," he said with a warm smile. "Babies aren't made of fine crystal. You have to be careful with them, but they won't shatter at a stray look."

Cody laughed at the comment, and held out his arms. He was still nervous, but he supposed Remus had a point. As Remus gently set the baby into Cody's arms, made sure Cody had a hold of him, and then let go, Cody gazed on the infant in fascination. It was a warm, bundled weight in his arms, sleeping now, breathing evenly in and out. A tiny person in his arms. He laughed quietly as the baby stirred slightly, waving a very small hand in front of Cody's face. "Wow..."

"It's something, isn't it?" asked Remus softly, going back to put an arm around Tonks.

Very carefully, Cody walked over to them and sat down on the floor. "Yeah...it is," he said. He adjusted Teddy so that he was half in Cody's lap, freeing one hand. He held Teddy's tiny hand with three of his fingers, laughing again at how little it was. So weird, to see a real hand so small!

"I was thinking of asking Harry to be the godfather," said Remus, looking at Tonks. "What did you think?"

Tonks smiled brightly at the idea, nodding her head. "I think that's a wonderful idea. I'd like no other to be Teddy's godfather."

"That's all weird," said Cody with a bemused laugh. "Teddy's...well he's like my brother, isn't he?"

"He is," said Lupin.

"So if he's my brother, and Harry's his godfather, that'd kinda make Harry my godfather too." Cody snickered. "That's too weird. You can't be someone's godfather when they go to the same school as you!"

Tonks laughed. "And why not? Harry's full grown. And a godfather's not quite like a father. So it's indeed quite possible."

"I guess," said Cody, looking back down at Teddy. "But it's still weird."

"It should be right down your alley," teased Lupin.

Cody snorted, but didn't reply. Still, he thought it was a bit rich for anyone who turned into a wolf twelve or thirteen times a year to call anyone else weird!

After about twenty minutes, Cody said he was done holding the baby, and gladly gave Teddy back to Lupin. Cody had sat still quite enough! Andromeda came back in then and sat near her daughter and new grandbaby.

"I'm gonna go spread the news," said Lupin happily. "I could send owls, but I want to tell people in person. I know Molly for sure will be happy about it, as eager as she was for us to be together in the first place." He winked at Tonks, who laughed softly. "I'll be back soon, then. I'm also going to go tell Bill and company. And their...guests."

"Aw, I wanna go!" said Cody. "I haven't seen Bill for ages!"

"No," said Lupin, giving Teddy back to his mother and standing up. "I'd rather not. You see..." He sighed and bent low so that he could whisper. "Bill's guests are Harry and the others."

Cody's eyes widened. "Aw, no way! I _gotta_ go, now!"

"If you were seventeen, I would let you," said Lupin. "I can't possibly risk the Trace activating when I do magic around you, though...not when I'm with them. That would, I think, be disastrous."

That wasn't fair! Cody _hated_ that stupid Trace! He scowled angrily, but he didn't argue; he knew Lupin was right. The last thing Harry needed was to be tracked down because of Cody. But he still didn't like it!

"I'll send a message along if you like," said Lupin, pulling on his ragged traveling cloak.

Cody huffed. "Okay. Well...ask them how their mission's going, and tell Ron he's a dork from me, and...well...that I miss 'em. It's not the same without them at Hogwarts."

Lupin smiled, putting a hand briefly on Cody's head. "I will do so," he said. "All right. Be careful, you three. And I will be back." Lupin kissed Tonks and then Teddy, and went to the door, letting in a damp, chilly blast of wind.

Cody yawned, and curled up in the nearby armchair, feeling suddenly sleepy. He wanted to stay up until Remus got back, but wasn't entirely sure it was going to be possible. Without meaning to, or even wanting to, he slowly closed his eyes.


	107. Y7, C29: The Broadcast

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 29: The Broadcast**

The next thing Cody knew, he was lying down on his borrowed bed, feeling confused--someone must have brought him up. Samantha wasn't there, and voices were coming up from the kitchen, so he slipped out of bed, rubbing his eyes.

Everyone was in the kitchen when he got down there. Remus was holding Teddy, giving him a bottle of milk or formula or something, and Tonks was sitting in a chair next to him, watching with a smile stuck on her face that Cody didn't think was going away too soon. Samantha was sitting on her knees on the chair.

"Morning," said Andromeda, smiling at Cody. She stood at the kitchen, flipping bacon with her wand.

"Well, Teddy has a brand-new godfather," chuckled Lupin. "He was quite happy to agree."

"Awesome," said Cody.

Andromeda began levitating bacon onto plates, and made both Cody and Samantha laugh by shaping three of them into weird shapes in the air.

"You're fun," said Samantha.

"Why thank you, dear," said Andromeda, chuckling. "No reason breakfast has to be boring."

The day wasn't a terribly exciting one. They were visited by Charlie and Ginny Weasley, and Ginny told Cody she'd already given Neville the message that they were okay. Cody said he already knew that, since he'd felt the Galleon get warm and watched the message sketch itself on the rim.

Bill and Fleur came over the day after, and after cooing over the baby, Bill spent a while roughhousing with Cody. In fact throughout the whole day, most of the Weasleys and half the Order, it seemed, came to visit Lupin and Tonks and their new baby. The remainder of the week went much the same way.

---

The day before Cody was due to go back to Hogwarts, Remus got an owl from Lee Jordan. Cody never knew you could do protective charms on an owl until the creature tapped on the window, and Cody couldn't see it, or the letter it held. Not only was the owl Disillusioned, he'd been made Unplottable according to Remus, so that his location was not chartable, and there were Repelling Charms on him so that no one wanted to approach it. The owl seemed annoyed.

Remus seemed to take the whole thing in stride, which meant he was used to this form of communication. "Ah, he's broadcasting again," murmured Remus. "I'll have to meet with him. Do you want to come with us, Cody? We'll be going by broomstick...we don't want to attract attention by using Apparition or Portkeys."

"Yeah!" exclaimed Cody excitedly. "Are we going today?"

"Yes," Lupin chuckled. "This afternoon. I'll send 'River' back a message, then. But first, read the letter. Lee's Secret Keeper for all broadcasting locations, so you must read the address by his own writing."

Cody nodded his head and quickly scanned the letter, which showed the location of Lee's temporary studio and the password he was using to let people in, then handed the parchment back. As Remus scribbled his answer on the back of the letter, Cody hovered over his shoulder. "How come all of the code names begin with R, anyway? River and Romulus, and Rapier..."

"I'm not sure, actually," said Remus. "Perhaps it stands for 'rebellion'." He finished up his reply, casting his own Disillusionment Charm on it, before sending it back with the nearly invisible owl.

"I like that," said Cody. "I wish I could be on his show, but everyone'd know my name, and I gotta go back to Hogwarts! Still...maybe you could remind people what the Carrows are doing to their kids at Hogwarts." Cody grinned. "Like Ginny did in the Quibbler."

"Not a bad idea," said Remus. "Perhaps you can write down a few of the worst things they've done to people, and what you're learning in those classes."

"Awesome, I'll do that now!" Cody ran upstairs to find his ink and quill, and scrounged up a piece of blank parchment. Samantha came over to watch as he began to write.

First on the list: Muggle Studies. He wrote down the nasty, horrible things Alecto Carrow had been telling her classes about Muggles, and how some people were beginning to believe it. Then he wrote down the curses and Dark magic they were learning in Dark Arts; the seventh-years were expected to do the worst things, from the Cruciatus Curse to blood magic. Cody wondered what Amycus would do if Cody demonstrated his Dark magic skills on him instead of students.

He wrote down the punishments that kids were getting for everything from late arrival in class to defiance towards the headmaster. Cody couldn't imagine even the strictest parents being okay with the fact that their kids were being tortured and chained up.

He was just finishing a very insulting picture of Alecto Carrow when Remus came up to his doorway and knocked on the frame. "Finished?"

"Just now," said Cody, displaying his picture. Samantha snickered, and Lupin shook his head, amused.

"Lovely. Charming woman, isn't she?"

"Right," snorted Cody. "Lovely. Not."

"Well, I thought we should get some lunch before we head off to Lee's new location. They've been moving after every broadcast just as a precaution. They've been having a bit of difficulty with the Death Eaters. With Xenophilius Lovegood in Azkaban, they're the one and only source of information that's not controlled by You-Know-Who. As you might imagine, the Death Eaters aren't too happy about that."

"Good!" Cody exclaimed, waving his parchment so that the ink dried.

"You're not going anywhere really dangerous, are you?" asked Samantha as they all headed back down to the kitchen.

"Nah," said Cody. "Just to see Lee Jordan."

"I never met any of these people you always talk about," grouched Samantha. "'Cept the Weasleys!"

"Sure you have," said Cody. "You met Remus and Tonks, didn't you? And they're in the Order! And Andromeda. You met Kingsley Shacklebolt and Dedalus Diggle at the Weasley's, and Harry and Hermione, and Kathy you already know, and Graham, and Kyle--"

By the time, Samantha was laughing, holding up her hands in a gesture of surrender. "Okay, okay, I met those ones! I wanna meet the other ones someday, too."

"That can be arranged," said Cody, taking a seat in the kitchen. "If we ever get out of this stupid mess, I'll see if I can bring you to Hogwarts! Then you can meet all the teachers and portraits and stuff. I probably'll have to come back for my seventh year again. I won't pass my N.E.W.T.s at this rate! Especially not Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"You'll be fine, Cody," said Lupin. "The DA helped you pass your Defense O.W.L., it'll do the same with your N.E.W.T.."

Lunch turned out to be a quick, do-it-yourself meal of sandwiches and fruit. Cody didn't mind; he liked sandwiches. He gobbled down a sandwich and a banana, then asked Tonks if he could hold Teddy while Remus finished up. He'd been holding the baby a lot during Easter break, more and more fascinated with the child. It was amazing to him, to hold a baby. He'd also fed him often as well, giving him a bottle while Tonks watched, smiling.

Teddy's hair was blond today. They'd discovered shortly after the boy's birth that he was probably a Metamorphmagus like his mother...his hair color kept changing by itself. Cody found this entirely too entertaining.

Teddy cooed happily and waved his hands in the air. Cody, far more comfortable holding him than he had been that first time, carefully adjusted his hold on the baby and caught his fist, gently shaking it back and forth. Teddy made a laugh sort of sound...he had already begun laughing and smiling, which Tonks said was a bit earlier than Muggle children.

Ten minutes later, after saying good-bye to the girls, Cody and Lupin were in the air, invisible, flying westwards. Cody was just was thrilled to be doing something away from the house! He loved Andromeda and Tonks, but he wasn't used to being so cooped up. At least at Hogwarts there was a whole castle to roam, and trouble to cause, and at the Weasley's there was loads of land and a lot of people to play with.

Their destination was a run down shack somewhere in a poor section of town. Which town, Cody didn't know, and he didn't much care. By the time they got there, he was thoroughly freezing. As it was April, and so not too chilly outside, Cody hadn't thought to dress warmly for flight. "You'd think I'd remember for once," he grumbled.

Lupin chuckled. "I suppose you'll remember next time," he said. "But for now, we're here."

"It looks like the Shrieking Shack," said Cody with a laugh as he and Lupin dismounted in front of the little house. "Bet it's creepy inside."

"You mean you haven't had enough 'creepy' to last you a lifetime?" asked Remus. "you're unique, Cody. That's for sure."

He walked up to the door and knocked three times. From within, a voice demanded, "Password!"

"Puddlemere United." That figured!

The door was opened by George Weasley, who grinned at Lupin and Cody as he stepped back from the door. "In, quick!' he said. "Hey, short-round, I didn't know Remus was bringing you!"

"Yeah!" said Cody delightedly. "I was getting _really_ bored."

"Blimey, that's new and different," said George in a mock-astonished voice. Cody rolled his eyes and smacked the twin in the side.

George led them through to the sitting room of the house, where three people were waiting: Fred Weasley, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Lee Jordan. "Lee!" Cody exclaimed. "Hi!"

Lee had not gotten much taller since the last time Cody had seen him, but still looked rather older, somehow. He had a tired, sort of world-weary look about him, and he was a bit unkempt, as if he'd not had time or resources to groom himself properly. Still, the young man gave Cody a smirk. "Hey, snake-boy," he said.

"Hey!" Cody protested. "I'm not! Besides, Slytherins rule. It's just the dumb gits that give us all a bad name. You gotta go by the awesome ones like me."

Everyone laughed, and Lee shook his head. "Ego the size of Wales," he said. "You really oughta do something about him, Remus."

Cody snorted, and Fred spoke up. "He gets it from us. We taught him well."

"That's right," said George. "We're so proud."

Cody snickered, and looked around the room. It looked older than the hills, with sagging, ripped sofas and a broken chair that looked like it would send splinters into the hind end of anyone foolish enough to sit in it. There was a fire in the cracked, filthy fireplace. On a scratched coffee table in the middle of the room sat a small wireless radio and a strange-looking control panel sort of thing that reminded Cody of the old-fashioned radio equipment from the old movies. There was a contraption that looked just like the device Lee and then Cody had used to commentate the Quidditch matches.

And thinking of that... "I got the commentating job at Hogwarts after you left," said Cody. "It was fun! But this year Snape said I couldn't be it anymore...what a jerk."

"You? Take _my_ job?" said Lee in mock horror. "I'm so ashamed!" He grinned while Cody gave him a filthy look. "Eh, I suppose you probably did all right," Lee finally said. "But for now, have a seat. We're about to broadcast yet another episode of Potterwatch!"

Cody eagerly took a seat on the floor next to the fire, not trusting the furniture, and watched.

At first all everyone did was take out parchments, comparing notes and murmuring about how they wanted to organize the show. Apparently Ginny had given the twins a list similar to the one Cody had made for Lupin, so the three of them condensed all their notes into one.

And then Lee picked up the magical microphone, turned on the wireless, and gave both a smart rap with his wand. He muttered "Transmissio!" and the wireless blazed with light, the dial sliding nearly all the way to the left. "Well!" Lee said into his microphone. "Here we are again, at Potterwatch! River here, with the latest information on the wizarding world. First of all, our death report—we have gotten no reports yet of any more wizards who've died in Great Britain, but we deeply regret that we can no longer give a full list of Muggles who are dying in this war...there are just too many. These are human beings that are dying, people...men, women, and children. This slaughter is the legacy our dear Chief Death Eater has created for us."

The sarcasm in Lee's voice was bitter and disgusted. George muttered something in a dark tone.

"So, as always," said Lee, "a moment of silence for those who have suffered under the new regime."

Everyone in the house was silent, and Cody felt a cold chill run its finger down his back. In that moment, as he knew decent wizards all over the country listening to Lee's broadcast were bowing their heads in silence, Cody could almost feel a tangible connection with them. He felt in that moment that they were all one. He smiled, biting his lip to keep from crying, too.

"Thank you," said Lee quietly. "Now...for the good news. We have it from a _very_ reliable source that Mr. Harry Potter, the man with the lightning scar, the elusive wizard champion of the modern world is alive and well! Of course we can't reveal our source or how he comes by his information, but take it from me, listeners, we haven't seen the last of Harry Potter!"

Cody gave Lee a big grin and a thumbs-up.

"So...let's have a word or three from Royal, our source for all your Ministry news needs."

It was strange, watching a Pottercast broadcast instead of listening to it on the radio in the Room of Requirement or in Rosmerta's pub...but it was a lot more fun! Cody could see the passion with which Lee made his announcements, watch the twins made horrible faces when a name they didn't like was mentioned, and watch Lee's microphone glow with every word.

"Royal" gave his information about how the Ministry was faring, which was highly depressing. What with Umbridge running in every Muggle-born she could find and the Death Eaters running the whole show, how could the news be anything _but_ depressing?

"And remember," said Kingsley, his deep voice serious, "if you are Muggle-born and cannot prove you have a close wizarding relative, you _must_ flee to safety with your family. The Ministry are stepping up their methods of tracking you down. The Snatchers are more numerous than ever, and the bounty on Muggle-borns has doubled since our last broadcast."

"And for those who don't yet know what Snatchers are?" asked Lee.

"Gangs," said Kingsley in disgust. "Gangs of bounty-hunters who track down the Ministry's 'undesireables.' Muggle-borns, blood traitors, under-seventeens who did not report to Hogwarts. And of course our friend Harry Potter. So be careful. And remember again that You-Know-Who's name has been Tabooed."

"Thanks, Royal, for that reminder," said Lee. "You heard him, everyone...be careful out there. And now our friends Rapier and Rodent are here with a little report on what's happening in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You may have read a Quibbler article some months ago about Hogwarts School and the, er, unusual methods of teaching that are being employed there, now here's a man who has first-hand accounts."

Cody had to muffle himself with the sleeve of his robe. Looked like George had been stuck with "Rodent" after his brother had refused it!

As Fred and George began to tell Lee's listeners all about Hogwarts, Lupin whispered in a very low voice, "I didn't want to make the report myself. I didn't want my voice recognized and have Snape or the Carrows thinking you gave me the information. Let them think Ginny was the main informer, and that she told her brothers, since she won't be going back to Hogwarts."

Now that was a good idea! Cody nodded his agreement as the twins took turns listing various methods of punishment used on the students. Cody winced; it sounded absolutely horrible to hear it said aloud!

Lupin's report was a general synopsis on the wizarding world in general, and how many people were being driven into hiding. He told of how Muggle-borns lucky enough to escape with their lives had been scarred and injured, and many forced to beg in the streets to stay alive. He told of how people had been forced to flee their homes for fear of being arrested or killed, and how fear was slowly taking over Great Britain.

"We cannot let this go on," he said quietly. "It is spreading. From England and Wales, to Scotland and Ireland...once we let them get their feet firmly planted in the United Kingdom, what's to stop them spreading? What's to stop them taking the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium...? What next, all of Europe? It's not just us here. This is a threat to wizarding kind everywhere. Anyone thinking that the Death Eaters might have a good point, or that You-know-Who is right in his philosophies just think of what you've heard here today. All of these deaths, all of these torturings and misery…any one of these victims could be you, your wife, your children…this 'regime' is not right."

"Well said, Romulus," said Lee, nodding his head grimly. "This isn't something that can continue. It's not just a war between Harry Potter and the Chief Death Eater. It involves every single one of you, and we've _all_ got something at risk."

Kingsley waved a hand to get Lee's attention, and pointed to the gold pocketwatch he was holding in his hand.

Lee nodded. "All right!" said he. "That's all we've got time for today. So, keep an ear out for us--"

"If you've got an ear to spare," called George Weasley in the background, and Cody smacked his forehead in disbelief. Even now with the ear jokes!

"At any rate," said Lee loudly over the twins' laughter, "keep a listen out for us! The next password is 'bludger'. '_Bludger'_, in case you didn't hear it over the sound of the laughing hyenas behind me. Keep safe, and have hope. Good night." Lee tapped his microphone and the wireless with his wand, and they turned off immediately. Then he rounded on the twins, scowling. "You two are bloody idiots!"

Everyone laughed, the twins hardest of all. They both looked inordinately pleased with themselves. "That's why we're best mates, Lee," said George.

"Birds of a feather, you know," Fred added.

Lee finally laughed, heaving a great sigh. "Yeah, I suppose that's right, isn't it?" He began to pack up his equipment, muttering something about Weasleys, and Cody couldn't stop giggling.

"How many people know you're missing an ear?" asked Cody.

"Loads," said Fred. "We broadcasted it in January sometimes as an example of what happens to people who fight You-know-Who."

"I musta missed that one," laughed Cody. "You should get a fake ear..."

"What?" said George in mock horror. "And look normal again? Why would I want to do that? You've got that nice design on your cheek, I want something distinctive, too."

Cody laughed again, leaning back against the wall and covering his face with one hand…he should have known! He thought he should be upset the way the twins joked about the ugly scar on the side of his face, the Dark Mark Carrow had carved there, but he wasn't. Cody himself had thought once that the Dark Mark was kind of cool looking, and now he had come to think of it as a battle scar...a sort of badge of courage.

Besides, it was tough to be upset with the twins, even when they made the most horrible jokes. And if George could joke about missing an entire ear, Cody could stand a joke or two about his own mark.

"Lee's right," said Cody finally. "You're an idiot!"

George didn't get a chance to answer. A loud sizzling noise from outside made everyone stop and stare at the windows.

Lee swore loudly. "Our alarm! They're here, damn it, Disapparate before they tear down our protections!" He grabbed the large case containing his magical broadcasting equipment and spun on the spot, disappearing with a loud crack.


	108. Y7,C30: Apparition and the Killing Curse

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 30: Apparition and the Killing Curse**

The door blew in just as Lee Jordan disappeared, and Lupin, Cody, and the twins had to hit the deck as at least three Stunners came at them.

"Disapparate!" George snarled, grabbing the small wireless, twisting over on the floor, and disappearing as well, his brother following a half a second later.

Cody and Lupin were on separate sides of the room, with four or five people between them. In less than a second, Cody realized Lupin couldn't reach him, that they'd have time for only one try, and that they were outnumbered.

"Go!" Yelled Cody as he staggered to his feet, clenching his eyes shut and concentrating on Andromeda Tonks's house. He sent up a quick prayer to anyone that might be listening—if there was ever a time not to Splinch himself it was now. He braced himself mentally and spun.

A bright blue jet of light seemed to come at him in slow motion as the suffocating Apparition squeezed his chest. A second later he was sprawling on cold, damp grass, ducking out of instinct while the blue hex shot over his head. He stared up, bewildered, not understanding how the curse managed to follow him, and stumbled hastily to his feet. Lupin…where was he? He'd seen Cody disappear, did he manage to get out as well?

A loud crack beside Cody made him spin around and draw his wand. It was Lupin, also with his wand drawn, and after both demanding that the other prove his identity, they both lowered their wands. Lupin stepped forward and hugged Cody; he was shaking almost as badly as Cody was.

"Thank goodness…that was incredible, Apparating out like that. I only just got out before they shot up the Anti-Apparition Jinx. Lee's protection measures saved us."

"Th-they didn't see who was doing the broadcasting, I hope," said Cody nervously.

"Doubtful," said Lupin. "It was dark in there so they wouldn't be noticed. "Can you use that coin of yours to contact them?"

"I-I think so, yeah."

Lupin muttered a couple of spells, double-checking the protection around the Tonks's home, then nodded. "All right. Let's get inside. You do that while I tell the girls what happened.

Cody was still shaking when he got into his room, where Samantha was lying on the floor drawing something. Quaffle, her Pygmy Puff, was sitting half on the paper, watching. Or at least Cody thought he was watching; he wasn't sure the creature had eyes.

He dug his coin out of his pocket and aimed his wand at it: _Fred, George – me and Lupin got away – are you all okay? -Cody_

A couple of minutes went by, and then: _Yeah, we're fine. Lee, too. Haven't heard from Kingsley. Will send word._

_Okay,_ Cody replied, taking a deep breath. He knew all the DA members must have gotten the message as well and hoped they didn't worry too much, but he could send them a brief explanation later.

It was less than a minute later when the Galleon heated up again and Cody peered anxiously at the edge. _Kingsley's okay. Banged up but okay. We can catch up more thoroughly later._

Cody sent back another acknowledgement, smiling now in sheer relief. They'd all gotten away all right, and the Death Eaters didn't get anything at all…not even Lee's recording equipment or the wireless radio!

"What happened?" asked Samantha.

Cody told her briefly what had gone down, and she grinned excitedly. Cody remembered feeling that way, too, when exciting things happened. He still did, he supposed, but this one had been too close. "Was it scary?"

"Definitely. I'm gonna tell Remus what the twins said."

Cody went back downstairs where it seemed Lupin had just finished telling Tonks and her mother the story as well, because they both looked pale and worried. Cody noticed for the first time that Lupin's arm was bleeding, and winced; apparently Lupin hadn't gotten away totally Scot-free. "Well?" said Remus.

"They all got away all right," said Cody.

"Were they recognized?"

"I dunno, the twins didn't say."

"I can talk with Kingsley tomorrow after I take you to King's Cross," said Lupin. "All right. I'm gonna take care of this injury, then." Cody nodded, watching as Lupin made his way tiredly upstairs. Cody flopped in a seat.

"You look like you could use some ice cream," said Andromeda with a little smile.

That sounded like a good idea! "Definitely," Cody agreed. "Where's Teddy?"

"I put him down to bed," said Tonks. "He's been fussing all day and I only just got him quieted…so please no loud noises!"

Cody nodded his assent as Andromeda put a large dish of ice cream in front of Cody, and he thanked her. It was even strawberry, his favorite, and went a long way to calming his nerves.

Lupin's injury was not serious; it was only a grazing spell, and was easily patched up with magic, and by the next day was hardly visible. Kingsley got word to Lupin that so far as he knew, no one had been recognized at the broadcasting site, and that Lee was already scouting out his next location.

As Cody packed all of his things into his school trunk, he really did not want to go back. He kept telling himself that there were only two more months…and then it would be over with. He'd be done at Hogwarts forever. It was a scary thought, but a relief, too. He loved the school, but the Carrows and Snape had tainted it, and after all, Cody couldn't be a student forever. He almost wished he could, but even magic couldn't do everything.

Cody said good-bye to Tonks and Andromeda, hugged his little sister hard and told her to behave while she was with the Tonkses, and not to let Quaffle eat anything too icky. (It seemed that Puffskeins and their pygmy relatives ate just about anything.)

The crowd at King's Cross seemed smaller than ever, and it was pitiful to look at. Cody stayed on the platform with Lupin until the last second, saying good-bye only when the conductors started closing compartments.

"Be good!" Lupin called as the train chugged noisily from the platform.

"Yeah, right!" called Cody with a laugh, and saw Lupin wink before Disapparating out.

"Cody!" Cody spun around to see Graham, and laughed, running forward to hug him. "Hey! So Neville said that it was Lupin that grabbed you guys?"

"Sh!" said Cody. "Let's get a compartment and I'll tell you."

The two of them and Neville were the only ones in their compartment on the trip back. With so few kids, the compartments weren't nearly as full as usual. Cody filled them in on everything that had happened during break, and Neville laughed.

"I heard that Pottercast, too, yesterday! And the ear joke, I heard that, too."

Cody snickered. "'River' called them idiots. And they were right! But no one got recognized."

"So. Ready to go back into the battle?" asked Graham with a chuckle. "Neville's planned a meeting tomorrow night."

"You got it," said Cody. "I'm ready." It was too bad that being a rebel wasn't really a career choice; Cody thought he'd be quite good at it!

---

The following day wasn't the greatest Cody ever had. Amycus Carrow had begun teaching his seventh-year classes the Killing Curse…with the dire warning that if any of them tried this curse on him or his sister he'd see that the perpetrator and his or her entire family died a long, painful death. Cody almost thought it would be worth it to be rid of the git if he could ensure Samantha's safety.

Reminding Cody strongly of the fake Mad-Eye Moody from fourth year, Amycus brought out a jar of spiders, setting one for each student on the desk and immobilizing it with a full body bind.

Cody felt very bad, practicing the curse on the insects, and did not manage to succeed that class. But plenty of people did. Some of them, like Goyle, just enjoyed it, and others felt it was worth a spider's life to keep out of trouble. Some, though, like Cody and Neville, just weren't killers at heart.

When evening came, Cody was glad to escape into the Room of Requirement for the DA meeting. It was a natural mood-lifter, being there as a part of a group, with people he liked and trusted. People were quite indignant to hear that Ginny couldn't come back because the Weasleys had gone into hiding, but were amused that the twins were still running a mail-order business from their hideout, and overall the mood was high.

The were doing some practicing with conjuring solid objects that meeting, the main objective to create a solid brick wall as a physical shield. It was a very fun meeting. Neville had a huge pile of cushions, and once people had the basic incantations and wand movements down, he started flinging them at people.

There were shrieks, yells, curses, and laughter as the pillows started flying, and people tried conjuring walls to block them. Conjuring was _hard! _After being hit by about ten cushions, Cody still hadn't managed it.

After a while, some of the people who were doing well with the spell took Neville's turn flinging the pillows so that he could get some practice in too. By the end of the meeting, everyone looked mildly bedraggled, but quite cheerful. Cody had managed a very thin wall, even, which made him happy.

"Hey!" said a sixth-year Cody only vaguely recognized. He was one of the newer members. "I brought my camera. We ought to take a picture of us, of the DA. Then we can multiply it so we all have one!"

"Hey, yeah!" said one of them. "Good idea!" There were general murmurs of assent as the sixth-year Hufflepuff rummaged in his bag, and people started arranging themselves in front of the bookcases. The sixth-year pulled out his camera, set it on a tripod, and set the timer so that he could be in the picture, too. Then he ran over and crouched down in front.

It was quite a picture, and Cody thought it really depicted the DA. Everyone's hair was messy from their cushion battles, their clothes were disheveled and displayed all four house colors and even normal robes and Muggle-style clothing. Cody was making a weird face, Neville was beaming proudly, Seamus was looking rather cocky, and Graham had his arm slung around Cody's shoulders. Several of the members also had arms slung about friends or relatives, and one was giving the thumbs-up, another giving rabbit ears behind someone's head. The practice pillows were scattered in-between them all, and half of someone's conjured wall was still hovering off to one side.

"Who wants one?" asked Terry Boot once the picture had developed. He was the best at Transfiguration, so he was usually the one who took care of such things. Of course everyone did, and so he set to making a batch of duplicates.

"You'll have to hide these of course," said Neville. "It's not something we want the Siblings Prat to get their hands on."

There was general laughter and sounds of agreement, as Terry handed the copies around.

"You make a good Xerox," said Cody with a snicker. Of course then he had to explain what a Xerox was; most of the DA had never heard of them.

Dumbledore's Army was Cody focus for the next couple of weeks. Aside from their practicing, Neville had begun coming up with ways that they could not only just annoy the Carrows and practice general rebellion, but actually hinder their work for Voldemort. It was more dangerous, but more helpful too…such as intercepting their owls and sabotaging other means of communication. These were things that had to be done very carefully and very subtlely, but with careful planning…they actually did some good.

Unfortuantely, it also made the Carrows more hot-tempered than usual. They were getting a lot of heat from high up, it seemed for the mess-ups, and Cody for one tried to stay out of their way.

Of course Cody still had his thestral tending to deal with as well. Once he'd gotten back from the Easter holidays, he'd checked on the Lethifold and tended the other critters Hagrid had in his cabin. (The bowtruckles were gone, already tended and let go.)

Cody decided that as the other animals were safely in their cages, that Cody would let the Lethifold have the run of the cabin. His cage was awfully small, and as Cody didn't have the time to take him out every day for exercise, he didn't like the idea of caging him up all the time. It ended up working fairly well, and so long as he was well fed, never went after Hagrid's other critters.

---

At the end of April, the DA planned another recruiting/Carrow-annoying mission. About a dozen members were going to decorate the outside of the Hogwarts building after curfew, when most people were asleep—a nice, big, colorful message, just to remind Hogwarts that the DA was still alive and well and accepting new members.

Neville surprised Cody by saying he was going to sit this one out. "I'd like to see you try your hand at leadership," said Neville. "You and me…now that Ginny and Luna are gone…are kinda the leaders, anyway, and I think this is right up your alley. Obnoxious and brassy, and apt to annoy the living hell out of Snape and his lieutenants."

Cody laughed at that, and said he'd do his best, even though he was scared to death at the idea of leading a mission. Still, it was an exciting idea, and he'd never refrained from doing something just because it was scary.

And so, that night, with the Marauder's Map in hand, Cody led eleven other students out of the Room of Requirement, where they'd all agreed to meet. Several of them were carrying paint cans, and they had all practices levitation and manipulation charms so they wouldn't have to worry about ladders when they painted high up on the walls.

Professor Slughorn was patrolling the dungeons, and Alecto Carrow was on the fifth floor. Cody decided to lead everyone onto the sixth-floor, where he knew there was a secret stairway leading down to the third.

"I love this map," Cody whispered as he walked down the rickety, wooden stairs, his wand tip barely lighted. "Be careful, there's a vanishing step on this one like the one leading to Gryffindor Tower."

They had a close encounter with Peeves, who came bouncing down a stairway Cody had just been about to lead everyone onto, but the poltergeist was more concerned with whatever mischief he himself was up to, and passed them without even noticing.

By the time they all got downstairs, Slughorn had not left the dungeons, and knowing something of Slughorn's character, Cody was willing to bet the corpulent Head of Slytherin house had no intentions of exerting himself all too much. Cody doubted he'd be a problem at all.

"Okay," whispered Cody nervously. The group was finally crouched down in the shadows of the Entrance Hall, gazing up at the huge front doors. "Ernie MacMillan said that they've put an alarm jinx on the front doors, so that if anyone opens it without saying the password, it'll go off."

"So what's the password?" asked Jeremy Inners, a first-year who'd joined the Army only a week before Easter break.

"No clue," whispered Cody. "But Padma Patil says she's been researching those kinds of spells, the alarm jinxes, Caterwauling spells, and other defenses, and she thinks she can get rid of the enchantment without setting the whole thing off."

"What if she does?" asked Hannah Abbot.

"Well that's why she's not doing it yet. C'mere, look at the map." Cody pointed out four different routes out of the Entrance Hall that they could take for escape routes. "If the alarm goes off, all the Hufflepuffs and Graham, just run straight to your common rooms." The stairs to the Hufflepuff common room were less than fifteen yards away from where they hid, and the stairs to the dungeons even closer. "Same if we're caught at any point outside.

"Ravenclaws, this staircase here, well, it only goes up to the second floor. Er, first floor I mean." England was a pain sometimes. "But it'll get you on the right side of the castle. You should be able to get to Ravenclaw Tower if you're careful.

"Gryffindors, we'll take the staircase we just took and head for the secret one, that'll get us to the Room of Requirement if we need to hide. Otherwise, we should be able to get to the tower. This passageway here, it's a shortcut that any of the Gryffindors or Ravenclaws can take if we get spotted. It's got entrances on almost every floor. If we're caught while outside, here are other entrances to the castle…most are being guarded, but with Disillusionment Charms and some careful magic, you should be able to get through to the inside. Avoid these three: they've got Dementors guarding them...they're not fooled by Disillusionment Charms."

"Wow," whispered a Gryffindor Cody wasn't very familiar with. "You've got this worked out."

Cody smiled weakly. "Yeah...I spent a lot of time on it. I don't wanna get anyone hurt. And after we split up, either escaping or when we're done, we'll all check in using the Galleons, so everyone knows we all got back safely. Okay...Padma...I guess we're ready."

The Indian girl nodded, standing up and facing the huge doors. Cody checked the Map to make sure no one was heading their way, glancing nervously at the dungeon staircase. Padma took a deep breath and began muttering her incantation. Cody watched, tense in every muscle, until a faint click nearly made hum jump out of his skin. For a moment he was certain that the alarm would go off, but when he caught sight of Padma's relieved smile, he knew her charm had worked.

"That click is the alarm spell being canceled," she whispered as the rest of them came out of hiding.

"Awesome," Cody hissed. "So…let's see."

He crept to the door, using his wand to unlatch the many locks, bars, and other security on the doors, before nervously pushing the heavy doors outwards. When no alarm shrieked, everyone let out a quiet burst of relieved laughter.

"Okay," Cody whispered. "Try to stay out of sight of the windows…keep your hoods up…and let's paint!"

The twelve of them spilled out onto the lawn, glancing nervously up at the windows, looking for lights and shadows moving past. The cool wind rustled the grass and the trees, riffling through everyone's hair and blowing their robes so that they billowed. The moon was in its gibbous stage, giving Dumbledore's Army a bit of light to work with, and Cody nodded in satisfaction. So far so good.

Several people opened paint cans and took out paintbrushes, and the air was soon full of whispered incantations and waving wands.

Cody giggled as he helped three others paint a giant message just above the oak front doors: DUMBLDORE'S ARMY: STILL RECRUITING. Graham and Terry Boot were working on a message that read, "Long Live Harry Potter" and the Patil twins were writing, "Albus Dumbledore was Hogwarts's greatest Headmaster, ever."

Cody thought the whole thing was a work of art, and the paint was magical, so it wouldn't come off easily. (Cody expected Filch would need a whole lot of Mrs. Skower's All-Purpose Magical Mess Remover handy!) Cody handed the Marauder's Map to Graham while he took up a paintbrush in one hand and began painting smiley faces all around the messages.

He should have known the whole thing wasn't going to go off without a hitch. Cody's group had just finished their very ornate message, and Terry Boot was snickering over a rude picture he'd made of Amycus Carrow, when light suddenly blazed from the windows above.


	109. Y7, C31: The Serpents' Den

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 31: The Serpent's Den**

Everyone froze as Amycus and Snape looked down on the scene from the floor above. Cody swore as both faces disappeared from the window. "Scatter!" he hissed.

Everyone bolted as the door began to open. Cody hissed a hasty "Colloportus" at it, stalling whoever was behind it, looked around to make sure everyone had run, then sprinted for Hagrid's hut. He giggled nervously as he heard someone collide with the doors, curse, then "Alohomora" them open.

"IMPEDIMENTA!" shouted Snape's voice.

Cody ducked, but the spell hit him between the shoulderblades and knocked him head over heels mere feet from Hagrid's front door in a jumbled heap of robes. He spun around on his hind end to catch sight of Snape running at him, looking furious. Both he and Amycus had their wands out and aimed at him, their tips lit, bathing the small area in light.

Cody took a quick, half-frantic look around him; no one else was in sight, but he thought that at least some were at least nearby. Cody hoped they got the hell back into the castle while Snape and Alecto were dealing with him.

"Well, well, well," said Snape, looking down on Cody with his black eyes narrowed dangerously. "'Dumbledore's Army still recruiting', are they?"

"U-uh, well, y-yeah, you could say that," Cody stammered, swallowing hard.

Alecto looked back, making a noise that sounded a lot like an irritated raven. "Where are the others?" she demanded, turning back to Cody.

Knowing full well she'd seen that there were several of them, Cody didn't bother denying it. "Scattered," he said, trying to keep his voice steady. It wasn't easy; he was scared.

It occurred to him (in his opinion the worst possible to time for that kind of thought) that the two people who had just cornered him were actual Death Eaters, just as Ginny had reminded her mother during Easter break. Once Cody remembered that they were Voldemort's own followers, their aimed wands became a lot more intimidating. When dealing with them in a regular basis, it was easy to forget just who they were.

He yelled as Alecto stepped forward and slapped him across the face before he could even duck. "I realize that you little blood-traitor brat!" Alecto hissed as Cody took a hasty crab step back from her. "Where did they go?"

"I d-don't know," said Cody truthfully, rubbing his face where she'd hit him. "We all just ran. You guys caught me." Mostly because he just didn't run very fast...but he'd also paused longer than the others.

"Stand up," said Snape suddenly. "And turn out your pockets."

Cody panicked for just a moment, not remembering if he'd wiped the map or not, and wondering if Snape would recognize it even if he had. But as he got shakily to his feet, he remembered he'd given it to Graham.

Praying no one tried to send a message with the Galleons just yet, Cody slowly turned out his empty robe pockets, and then his trouser pockets. Those had a few odds and ends, like a weird, blue stone he'd found on the ground near Hagrid's, two rubber bands, and a big safety pin. The fake Galleon, a real Galleon, and a couple of Sickles were there as well, and Cody had to remember to breathe as Snape took the objects and looked at them. He didn't even glance at the coins twice, examined the stone for a moment, then shoved them back into Cody's hand. He put them hastily back in his pocket, stifling a sigh of relief.

"Well then," said Alecto, smiling nastily and taking out her dagger. Despite himself, Cody backed away, clenching his teeth when his backside hit the wall of Hagrid's cabin. He couldn't deny he was terrified of Alecto, and by the gleeful look on her face, she knew it, too. "Since you 'don't know' where your other little friends have gone I suppose you'll have to take the punishment then, won't you?"

Cody clenched his fists, trying not to show their shaking, but it wasn't easy. Cody had no idea what Carrow had in mind, but no matter how many times she hurt him, it was still terrifying.

"Just a moment, Alecto," said Snape calmly. Alecto frowned, looking sideways at Snape, but Snape was looking evenly at Cody instead. "You've cut Mr. Gregor several times, and utilized other physical punishments, and it has apparently done little good. I think perhaps something different is in order."

'Different?' What could be worse than the Cruciatus Curse? Surely Snape wouldn't kill him? It was possible. Swallowing hard, he got ready to grab his wand at the slightest hint that Snape intended to murder him.

"Such as?" said Alecto.

"I believe that spending so much time with the Gryffindors has been a bad influence on you, Mr. Gregor," said Snape, still fixing Cody with his cold gaze. "Therefore as of tomorrow morning, you will be moved back into the Slytherin dormitories."

The fear was gone in simple surprise. It wasn't something Cody had been expecting, so at first he didn't know how to react. But it only took a couple of seconds for it to sink in, and he looked at Snape in dismay. "Slytherin! No way—you can't do that!"

Alecto grabbed the front of Cody's robes, bunched them in her fist, and brought her dagger to rest against Cody's neck. "Are you defying your Headmaster?" she hissed.

Remembering again that he was afraid, Cody gritted out, "No," from behind clenched teeth.

"It sounded like it to me!" Cody gasped as the knife bit into his skin, jerking his head away and grabbing her wrist in his hand. "Apologize to the Headmaster! Now!"

She dug the knife in more deeply, and Cody felt blood trickle down his neck. "All right! I'm sorry!" He wasn't, but he felt that saying so would be a mistake.

"Address him properly!"

The dagger slid upwards, lengthening the cut, and Cody groaned. "Sorry, sir!" he gritted out, squeezing his eyes shut and trying not to move.

Alecto made a sound that might have been satisfaction at his response, and she jerked her wrists from Cody's grasp. Cody put his hand over the injury, glaring daggers at the woman.

Disdainful as ever, Snape stepped back, grabbing Cody's robe and shoving him unceremoniously towards the castle. "In."

"Yes, sir," muttered Cody resentfully. How he hated Snape right then. He would rather have endured Alecto's punishment than be sent back to the Slytherin dorms, and Snape well knew that.

He felt the Galleon in his pocket grow warm, but did not dare take it out to look. Snape would want to know why he was looking at a coin at that odd moment. Instead he simply marched into the castle without another word. "Alecto," said Snape. "Take Mr. Gregor up to Gryffindor Tower. He will move into the dungeons tomorrow before breakfast."

"You got it, Headmaster," said Alecto, giving Cody a little shove. "Move it, brat."

Cody didn't say a word as he marched tiredly up the several flights of stairs towards Gryffindor Tower. Carrow berated and threatened him the whole way, but he barely listened; he was too worried about staying in the Slytherin dorms again. He was going to have to start utilizing those protective charms he'd learned in the DA on his bed and his trunk.

He was able to get rid of Alecto once he reached the portrait of the Fat Lady; the old bat just gave him a final, nasty leer and left. He had to wake the Fat Lady up to give her the password, but for once she didn't get grouchy about it once she saw how bedraggled Cody looked. She simply swung open to let Cody in and he climbed through.

There were only three people in the common room: Neville, Parvati, and Seamus. All looked very relieved when Cody climbed awkwardly through the portrait hole. Cody himself felt very relieved when he climbed through the portrait hole, though his relief was tainted knowing it was to be his last night in the Gryffindor dorms.

"Who's checked in?" he asked.

"Everyone," said Parvati. "Except you. Cody, you're bleeding...are you all right?"

"Yeah. Hurts, but I'm okay." He took his hand from his neck (it was covered in blood, which was something Cody was getting more and more used to), and dug his Galleon out of his pocket. He sent the brief message: _I'm okay...will explain next meeting. – Cody._

"Here." Neville snagged a cloth napkin from a nearby table, used a mild Aquamenti Charm to wet it, and handed it to Cody.

"Thanks." Cody very gingerly cleaned the cut on his neck, which apparently wasn't done bleeding just yet, and huffed in frustration; he couldn't see his neck to tend it.

"Here, lemme get that," said Neville, taking the rag.

"Thanks," said Cody again. As Neville cleaned and dried the injury, Cody told them what had gone on. The three of them exclaimed angrily about Cody being sent to the dungeon dorms, but Cody only shrugged. "Not much I can do about it," he said. "And Graham'll be with me anyway. I intend to spend as little time as possible in there. It's just the nights that'll be the problem."

"If I were you," said Seamus darkly, "I'd've preferred being tortured."

"Yeah...me too. At least that only lasts a few minutes." Cody thought it was pretty sad that they could speak so calmly about being tortured; he never thought Hogwarts could ever come to this.

Neville finished cleaning the cut on Cody's neck and placed some kind of soft bandage on it. "The bandage'll disappear after a while," he said. "I've conjured it out of thin air. But it'll cover it long enough that it won't be bleeding."

"Okay...thanks, Neville. Listen, I'm gonna take everything out of my trunk except for my schoolbooks and the things I need for Potions. Will you keep my other stuff in the Gryffindor dorm? I don't want those jerks to wreck my personal stuff."

"Of course," said Seamus. "You can just hide it under one of our beds. We'll keep it safe."

"Okay." Cody looked up at the clock in the common room, surprised to see it was only a little past midnight. He wasn't very tired, and the other Gryffindors didn't seem to be tired either, so they sat up a while, verbally abusing Snape.

They finally separated to the boys' and girls' dorms when Parvati fell asleep in her chair and nearly fell onto the floor. Cody said good night to her before climbing the spiral staircase.

He took a few minutes to remove everything that was not needed for his classes, and stowed it beneath Neville's bed. He chuckled, suddenly, and said, "They looked right at the Galleon and didn't even notice anything," he said.

Seamus snickered. "I heard the Carrows talking the other day. That can't figure out how we're communicating so well. It's really pissin' 'em off!"

"Good," said Cody with grim satisfaction.

"Well, be careful," said Neville. "We'll keep communicating by coin."

"Yeah. Well, night," said Cody dispiritedly, and climbed into his four-poster. He lay awake until nearly two in the morning before managing to drift off.

---

Cody was woken the next morning by Snape's not-so-pleasant voice, and opened his eyes to see the man standing at the foot of the bed. What a rotten sight to wake up to. Cody sighed, sitting up, and putting a hand to his throat. Neville's bandage had disappeared in the night, leaving the scabbed over cut all along the side. Scowling, Cody got out of bed. "Now?" he asked sulkily.

"Yes," said Snape. "You will move down before breakfast. Furthermore you will take your meals at the Slytherin table from now on. If I see you at the Gryffindor table, you'll get detention. Understood?"

"Detention" was a far more terrifying threat these days than it ever had been before at Hogwarts. "Yeah," said Cody resentfully. "Understood." Neville and Seamus were awake now, too, and watched with great sympathy as Cody levitated his trunk and followed Snape out the door.

Still in his pajamas and only half awake, Cody climbed onto his floating trunk and hitched a ride down the several staircases that led down to the Slytherin dungeons. Snape led the way to the secret door hidden in the brick, then stopped, and Cody just managed to stop his trunk before it ran into Snape's legs.

"New Order," said Snape.

That figured. The door slid open, and Snape stepped back, looking coldly at Cody.

Cody peered into the common room, mildly relieved to find it empty, and reluctantly stepped in.

It was just as he remembered it from last year: green lamps, high-backed chairs and dark, leather sofa, the now-cold fireplace and the green hangings. In a way Cody was kind of glad to be back; he had a certain fondness for the dungeon common room (though it was as chilly as ever.)

Snape was leading the way back to what was now the seventh-year dorms, and opened the door, jerking his head irritably to indicate that Cody should enter. Taking a big breath, Cody floated his trunk into the room.

The other Slytherin seventh-years were already awake, and getting into their school robes. When Snape and Cody entered, everyone stopped, and Cody glared as the four older boys stared at him.

"Mr. Gregor will be sleeping in here for the rest of the term," said Snape.

"Why, sir?" asked Gregory Goyle, blinking stupidly.

"I believe that the Gryffindors are having a bad influence on Mr. Gregor," said Snape with a sneer, and the four of them laughed appreciatively. Cody felt his face grow hot, but refused to drop his gaze, glaring stonily back.

"So," said Snape. "He is back here where he belongs. As for you, you're not to kill him." He gave Cody a smirk, then left without another word. Cody threw him a filthy look, then turned back to the others.

It wasn't a sight Cody was thrilled to look at. Crabbe and Goyle stood side by side, looking at him in a sadistic sort of way. Blaise Zabini peered down at Cody as if he were some kind of disgusting bug. Theodore Nott seemed to be the only one in the room who didn't seem to care one way or another. He turned his back on the rest of them and finished dressing.

Goyle cracked his knuckles. Cody drew his wand. "Don't even think about it," Cody hissed.

But Crabbe only laughed. "Maybe not now, DeDannan," he said. "Gregor, I mean. But you gotta go to sleep sometime."

And that was horribly true. Still, Cody wasn't about to make it easy for them to gang up on him. Snape had told them not to kill Cody, but there was an awful lot of unpleasant things that weren't fatal, and Crabbe and Goyle in particular were quite good with the Cruciatus Curse. A quote from one Cody's favorite cartoon movies came to mind then: 'You'd be surprised what you can live through.'

He was glad they didn't start anything that morning. As Cody stood against the far wall, watching the others warily, they finished dressing and left the dorm, snickering and glancing back at Cody the whole time. Cody was a little surprised at the look he got from Theodore Nott, however: a guarded look of sympathy, before the lanky boy left the room. Nott hadn't been so bad, Cody supposed. Maybe he'd actually realized that Voldmort wasn't such a great guy after all.

Sighing in relief, Cody moved his trunk over to the bed on the end, the only unoccupied one; it had been Draco's, and since Snape hadn't bothered to move Cody's bunk from Gryffindor Tower, Cody supposed Draco's bed was now his.

"Git," muttered Cody as he shed his pajamas and put on his school uniform. He finished fastening his tie (he finally learned to do it right), and pointed his wand at his trunk, casting several of the defensive spells they had been learning in the DA. Hopefully that would protect his spellbooks from casual damage.

Feeling very unhappy, Cody sat down on his new bunk, his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. What a rotten way to spend the summer semester...Cody vowed to spend every bit of time he could away from the Slytherins (except for Graham), but it still wasn't going to be fun, being on his guard all the time. Just like last year.

His stomach growled, reminding him that it was time for breakfast, and he stood up, still holding his wand in his hand, and stepped out of the door.


	110. Y7, C32: The Welcome Back Party

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 32: Welcome Back Party**

There were a few people in the common room by the time Cody got out there, and most of them turned to look as he stepped out of the dorm. Cody's face was a little hot; he didn't like being stared at like that. Still, there was a friendly face among the hostile ones.

Graham was just coming out of the fourth-year dorms when he stopped short, blinking. "Cody! What the hell?"

Cody managed a sardonic smirk. "I'm back here for the year. Lucky you, huh?"

"More like unlucky us," said Blaise Zabini, but Cody ignored him. He was grateful for the nasty look Graham shot him however.

"Let's get up to breakfast," said Graham. "The company down here's lacking brain cells."

The two of them had to dodge a couple of hexes from the seventh-years, but Cody actually laughed as they sprinted out of the dungeon door. With Graham down there Cody supposed it wouldn't be as bad. Too bad they weren't in the same year.

As they walked up towards the Great Hall, Cody kept glancing back at the dungeon door, just in case someone tried to jinx them from behind, but no one did. When they got into the Great Hall, Cody finally put his wand away.

"Let's sit with the Gryffindors," said Graham.

"Can't," said Cody, sighing heavily. He paused in the doorway, looking over the Great Hall, and spied Neville and Seamus already at breakfast. After a moment Neville looked up and caught his eye, and Cody waved. "Snape said I had to sit at the Slytherin table at meals."

"What a jerk," muttered Graham, and Cody had to smile; 'jerk' was a term he'd gotten from Cody.

"Yeah," said Cody. "Could be worse I guess. For a little while I thought he was gonna kill me when they caught me out there."

"You don't think he would, do you?"

Cody shrugged. "Why not? They're Death Eaters...it's not like they care. They _like_ killing."

A sudden shove from behind sent Cody stumbling. "Move it, traitor!"

Goyle and Crabbe had reached the Great Hall, and Cody glared at them as they passed. "Speaking of jerks," muttered Cody.

"Come on," said Graham. "I always sit at the end down here near the teachers' table...not that it's any safer there anymore, but still."

"Sounds like a good idea to me." He followed Graham along the length of the table, his mood dampening with every step. Just like last year...the only way it could be made worse is if they put the Imperius Curse on him again. Cody wasn't sure they wouldn't try that, for that matter. He didn't think Crabbe or Goyle would be able to stick one on Cody...when they practiced it in class they weren't that great. But they weren't the only Slytherins in the dorm. Cody just hoped Snape didn't think to suggest it.

Breakfast tasted as good as usual...no matter how unhappy Cody was about his current situation, at least the food was no different. He was slightly paranoid about someone slipping something unpleasant into his drink, but nothing of the sort happened, so by the time breakfast was over, Cody felt at least a little better.

"Well, I gotta get to class," said Graham. "Guess I'll see you later."

Cody nodded, clapping his friend on the shoulder, and watching him leave the Great Hall. Cody escaped the muttered jeers and taunts of the other Slytherins to join the Gryffindors as they headed towards their first class. The seventh-years had their classes together, irregardless of house.

"You okay?" asked Neville as they headed out for Charms class.

"Yeah," said Cody. "It was a little tense, but nothing major happened. Snape's making me eat meals over at the Slytherin table though."

"We figured," said Seamus dryly. "Somehow we didn't think you were over there by choice."

Cody laughed, nodding in agreement.

After dinner that evening, Cody hurried into the Forest to feed the thestrals, then into Hagrid's hut to feed his knarl and give him and the lethifold water. He visited with the strange beast for a few minutes before hurrying back to the school for the DA meeting. They did some mission planning and some practicing, and Cody was proud of himself when he managed a Shield Charm so strong it repelled Terry Boot's powerful Stunning Spell. The spell rebounded and hit Terry instead, knocking him cold. Cody felt a little bad as Neville went to revive him, but mostly he just felt elated. Shield Charms were tough for him.

When he and Graham went back down to the Slytherin common room after the meeting, they were both in good spirits.

"New Order," said Cody when they reached the Slytherin common room, and he and Graham both rolled their eyes at the password. 'Yeah, there'll be a new order, all right,' thought Cody. 'Once Harry kicks Voldemort's butt all over England.' The door slid obediently open, and they both went inside.

The fist took him by surprise. A fist like a ham hock struck him in the jaw and he cried out in pain, sprawling onto the floor, stunned. Graham shouted a protest, and Cody caught a glimpse of three or four people grabbing him and pulling him back while a large pair of hands hauled Cody to his feet and slammed him against the wall.

"HEY!" Cody yelled, grabbing the hands, and realizing finally they belonged to Vincent Crabbe. "Let go!"

Crabbe didn't answer, but to draw his fist back again, but Cody was ready this time. He grabbed his wand from where it was clipped and shot a quick, nonverbal Impedimenta Jinx. Crabbe was knocked back and Cody ducked out of the way of Goyle's reach.

Fred Weasley's voice whispered in his ear as Goyle took another swipe at him: 'Stupefy!' The Detectoring was warning him of a Stunning Spell coming his way. He threw himself flat to the floor and laughed as Blaise Zabini caught the jet of light in the stomach.

Crabbe snarled and darted forward, kicking Cody hard in the ribs. Cody grunted, curling up by reaction, and that was his mistake; Crabbe nearly jumped on top of him, pinning him to the floor. Someone yanked Cody's wand from his grasp, and he heard Graham yell in pain somewhere across the room.

Cody was jerked to his feet, and before he could say a word, Goyle had sunk his fist into Cody's stomach. Cody doubled over, the breath knocked out of him, and he felt someone grab his arms, forcing him up straight and pinning his arms behind him.

Furious now, Cody yelled outrage at the top of his voice as he kicked wildly at his attackers. But whenever he struck one with his foot, another punched in the face, the ribs, the stomach. He struggled viciously against Goyle, who had his arms pinned, but Goyle was too strong, and nothing Cody did broke his grip. The other Slytherins jeered and laughed, as if watching a particularly entertaining boxing match.

Cody fought as well as he could as Crabbe's big fists hit him over and over again, but he was outnumbered and outmuscled, and eventually all he could do was try and shield his face as well as he could. He sagged back against Goyle, whose iron grip was the only thing keeping him upright. He began to panic, wondering if they meant to kill him.

"All right," he heard Crabbe grunt finally. "I think he's had enough." Crabbe grabbed Cody by the hair, yanking his head up, and putting his face so close their noses nearly touched. Cody could barely see him through swollen eyes. "Consider that a 'welcome back' from your old friends," said Crabbe with a ghoulish grin, and he patted Cody's cheek in an amiable sort of way.

Cody didn't answer, and Crabbe let go of his hair. Goyle suddenly released his arms, and he fell to the floor with a groan of pain. His face was swollen and painful, and his stomach was bruised, but it was his left side that was scaring him; it shot jagged bursts of pain through his torso, and Cody thought his ribs had been broken. He panted, trying to catch his breath, barely noticing the laughter and taunts of the other Slytherins. They were mostly drifting away now, since the show was over.

'Graham,' Cody suddenly thought. He'd heard him cry out, too. But just as he opened his eyes to look for Graham, he was there, kneeling down next to Cody and looking scared.

Graham had gotten roughed up too, but he didn't seem to be badly hurt, and looked much more worried about Cody. "Blimey, they hurt you pretty bad," he whispered, gently taking Cody by the shoulders and helping him sit up.

Cody clenched his teeth against an outcry, feeling tears seep out from his closed eyes. "My side," he hissed.

"I know, Crabbe hit you there about a dozen times...come on. Let's get you into your bed."

At first, Cody wasn't sure if he could get up, but with Graham's assistance, he did. "Are _you_ okay?" he asked Graham.

"Yeah. Malcolm and a couple of others hit me a few times but mostly people were watching the seventh-years beat you up. Bloody cowards. Four adults against a thirteen-year-old. That's great, that is."

Cody didn't have the energy to reply, but there was really no need. Crabbe and Goyle weren't known for their courage.

Theodore Nott was the only one in the dorms when Graham and Cody staggered in. The lanky seventh-year looked up and frowned, then turned his gaze back down to his book, looking upset. Cody felt a surge of anger at Nott. If he thought this was wrong, why didn't he help Cody? Why didn't he stop it?

"That bloke isn't like the others," said Graham, noticing Cody's gaze. He helped Cody onto his bed, where he leaned exhaustedly against the bedpost. "He wasn't even jeering. He just left."

Cody didn't answer. He supposed that he should be grateful that even now there were some decent Slytherins, but he hurt too much to be anything but resentful to the whole lot of them, except for Graham.

Graham seemed to understand, and said no more on the subject. Instead, he helped Cody put up some protections on Cody's bed, like an alarm Charm and the like. "Get some sleep, okay, Cody?" said Graham. "You don't look so good."

"Thanks," mumbled Cody sarcastically, and tried to smile at Graham, but his face hurt too much. He didn't protest as Graham helped him lie down and covered him with the blankets.

Graham stuck around until the seventh-years came into the dorm. Cody pretended to be asleep, but his wand was clutched in his hand, and he was ready to hex the first person who tried anything. But they seemed to have finished their bullying for the night. They just laughed and talked as they got into their pajamas, finally dousing the lamps. It was only after the others' breathing had evened into sleep that Cody was able to drift off.

He was woken up by a gentle hand on his shoulder, and a voice in his ear. A little confused, Cody cracked his eyes open to see Graham crouching by his bed, his wand tip barely lit, his expression nervous. Graham put a finger to his lips. "Shh." His voice was the barest whisper. "I'm taking you to hospital."

Hospital? "But..." Cody whispered back, his voice hoarse.

"I know, but I went up and told Madame Pomfrey what happened and she thinks you might have internal injuries. Snape doesn't want you dead, you know, seeing as you're a pureblood. Madame Pomfrey's not allowed to tend anyone she's not given permission to tend...but if she gets caught, she'll tell them you woulda died otherwise."

Cody looked uncomprehendingly at Graham for a few moments until it sank in, and he nodded. He couldn't bring himself to protest, not as much as he hurt, and hadn't he been scared that he'd been hurt inside? The idea of going to her was a great relief. Glancing nervously at the other seventh-years, Cody let Graham help him up. He felt a little dizzy as he stood, and clenched his swollen eyes shut for a moment before he could move again.

The trip to the hospital wing wasn't a fun one. It was upstairs, and Cody felt like fainting once he got there. Madame Pomfrey was obviously expecting him; the infirmary was very dimly lit, and she was sitting in a chair near the door. She stood up and gasped as Graham brought Cody in.

She didn't say much. She only had Graham help her get his clothing off, leaving Cody in his underwear (he still wasn't much for modesty, so he didn't care), and began looking him over.

Cody worst injuries were to his face and torso, but his legs had been kicked a few times, and his arms were bruised where Goyle's paws had held them tightly. Madame Pomfrey ran her wand over Cody's body like a sensor, obviously gaining some kind of information from it.

"Hold still, Mr. DeDannan," said Madame Pomfrey softly. "You've got some broken ribs, and some internal bleeding...that's what I worried about when Mr. Pritchard told me what happened."

Internal bleeding? It sounded horribly frightening. Cody swallowed hard as the matron went about healing his ribs, nearly melting with relief as the pain in his side subsided. It had been the worst of the pain, his side, and when it was gone Cody thanked her gratefully.

"I can't heal too much," said Madame Pomfrey, looking upset. "Or they'll know...damn them. But I'm going to heal the worst of it."

"Okay," said Cody. He didn't want to have been caught having gone to the healer, either, so he wholeheartedly agreed. Still, Madam Pomfrey did her best to make Cody more comfortable. She fixed his nose (which was broken), a few of the worst bruises, and lowered the swelling around his eyes a little.

When she was finished, she gave Cody and Graham each a small bottle full of a bluish potion. "Here," she said. "This'll take the pain for the night...after a good night's sleep, you'll feel a lot better."

Cody glanced up at the clock and saw that it was nearly one in the morning. The next day was Saturday, so he had no classes. "Okay good...I can sleep in tomorrow...thanks, Madame Pomfrey. I mean...really..."

The woman smiled, gently patting his shoulder, and Cody slid off of the bed. He dressed, then downed the painkiller potion, and Graham did the same. It worked immediately, as most magical potions did.

The boys thanked Madame Pomfrey again as she hurried them out of the infirmary, and told them to be careful. Cody wished he'd thought to bring the Marauder's Map with him as he and Graham snuck off through the darkened corridors.

But luck was with them. They didn't see anyone except for Nearly-Headless Nick, and he certainly wasn't about to tattle on them. He just gave them a wink as he glided by, and Cody smiled back at him.

"Thanks," Cody whispered to Graham as they snuck back into the common room. Finally safe, and pain free, Cody felt one hundred percent better than he had an hour ago. "I owe you one. Actually I owe you about five."

Graham laughed. "Not like you wouldn't, and haven't done the same for me," he said. "All right...I'm getting some sleep, then. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

Cody nodded, and Graham slipped into the fourth-year dorms, and Cody got back into bed. The others hadn't even woken. Feeling almost content, Cody curled up and went to sleep.

---

It was nearly noon the next day when Cody woke up. The pain potion had worn off, and he was very sore, but it wasn't as bad as it was last night, so he could deal with it.

Graham had told the others what happened, so that no one in Dumbledore's Army was too surprised when they met that night. Cody's head was pounding by that time, and he was delighted to find another little bottle of the painkiller in the Room of Requirement after wishing he had one.

"I love this room," said Cody, downing the bottle.

'Yeah, I've found painkiller before, too," said Parvati Patil with a grin. "If only the Carrows knew!"

Cheered by the reminder that they were doing all of this right under the Death Eaters' noses, Cody jumped back into practice. They were having a Basics Review, so he joined in a group practicing Disarming.


	111. Y7, C33: Rebellion and Punishment

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 33: Rebellion and Punishment**

As the weather outside warmed, and May bloomed over England, a sort of all-or-nothing feeling descended about the DA. Neville seemed determined to do as much damage as possible to the Carrows before school let out, and Cody wholeheartedly agreed.

And so they planned a whole new set of missions.

Neville led a group into Snape's office (a little better planned this time so they didn't get caught), and destroyed several parchments of notes on things he apparently had been planning to send to Voldemort.

Cody took Graham and Seamus into the owlery, performing a tricky little Exclusion Charm so that anyone bearing a Dark Mark tried to enter, they'd be zapped. Cody inadvertently discovered that the Mark carved on his cheek counted, because when he tried to get in, he was blasted back down the stairs, miraculously only gaining a few bruises. Graham and Seamus were able to get in just fine.

"At least you know it worked," said Graham cheerfully, and Cody smacked him upside the head. Graham only laughed. It was true. The next time Alecto Carrow tried to send a message from the owlery, she got what Cody got. But she wasn't nearly as young or flexible as Cody was, and she broke her arm. Cody was downright gleeful when he heard.

A group of the younger members, some first and second years, snuck into Argus Filch's office and used sticking charms to glue all of his filing cabinets and desk drawers shut. Filch had to get one of the other teachers to get them open, being a Squib, because he couldn't undo the charms.

They took to sneaking into the dungeons and releasing the people who were chained up for detentions, even using Shield Charms from hiding to protect people being used as Guinea Pigs for Cruciatus practice. They used the small collection of Extendable Ears they had among them to listen in on conversations, and send information to the twins (and thus the Order) via the Galleons. They never heard anything of vital importance, but as Neville said, even a little information about the enemy was useful.

No one was caught for a while, though the Carrows seemed to know that Neville and Cody were the ones in charge of the whole thing. It got so that hardly a day went by without at least one of them getting hit, or cut, or worse, for the smallest infractions. The Carrows were trying to wear Neville and Cody down, to curb their rebellion. And it didn't work, either. It only made them that more determined to drive the Carrows out of Hogwarts.

Aside from all of that, Cody and Graham had been ambushed several more times in the Slytherin common room. After that first time, they were always ready for it, and usually managed to escape major injury by fighting back with magic. But there were a few times when one or both went to bed with fresh wounds. But the Slytherins' abuse didn't deter Cody or Graham any more than the Carrows' did.

It all stopped, however, on May twelfth. As it was Sunday, Graham and Cody had spent the entire day out on the grounds, enjoying the warm weather, and keeping away from the castle. They went up to the Quidditch pitch to ride their brooms (Cody had been recently forbidden to continue practicing with the Gryffindor team so he was eager to fly), and did some minor sabotage to the Slytherin locker rooms.

There was a meeting that night of Dumbledore's Army, but when Cody and Graham got to the Room of Requirement, only about half of the members were there.

"We're five minutes late," said Graham, puzzled. "Where is everyone?"

Neville came in just then, startling both of them, and slammed the door shut. Neville looked worried and strained, which made Cody worried in turn.

"How is he?" asked Padma Patil.

"He'll be all right," said Neville. "But he'll be a few days recovering."

Graham and Cody exchanged a very confused look. "What happened?"

Neville looked blankly at them for a moment before finally nodding. "That's right...you don't know yet. Michael Corner's up in the hospital wing." Neville walked across the room and sat down on a cushion, putting his head tiredly in his hands. "The Carrows had some little first year boy chained up in the dungeon...the kid was terrified. Michael, well, he wasn't happy about it, the first-year hadn't even done anything major...a missed homework assignment, I think...and they'd tortured him. So, Michael snuck in and set him loose. Only the Carrows caught him at it."

Cody winced; as horrible as the Carrows had been lately, it couldn't have gone well for Michael. "What'd they do to him?"

"Seems like they've had about enough, the Carrows," said Neville. "You know they normally don't let people go to Madame Pomfrey unless it's life threatening."

"It was that bad?" asked Graham, grimacing.

Neville nodded. "Yeah. I heard him screaming earlier, but I couldn't do anything about it. They didn't just use the Cruciatus Curse, they beat him up pretty well, too...they broke some bones, I know. I think the Carrows sorta snapped, hurt him worse than they meant to because next thing I know, they'd sent him to the hospital wing."

"Are we allowed to visit?" asked Cody.

"Yeah," said Neville bitterly, standing up. "They _want_ people to see what's been done to Michael. It scares them. And they got what they wanted, too. The people that are missing...well what they did to Michael's scared them off." He sighed. "I guess I don't really blame them. No one should have to go through what Michael did. I don't know how long they tortured him, but he was sobbing like he was seven years old by the time they let up."

"Well they haven't scared _us_ off!" declared a girl about Cody's age.

"Yeah," said Graham. "We're with you for the duration."

As the others murmured their agreement, Neville smiled for the first time. "Thanks," he said. "But we're gonna have to knock off the big stuff from now on. It's just getting too risky. We'll still meet, we'll still practice. But our missions are gonna have to be strictly low-key from now on. No one works alone, no one does anything without planning. We use the Marauder's Map each and every time."

"We can stick to the nighttime missions," suggested Terry Boot. "Only one or two people patrolling, and with the Map, it's easy enough to avoid them. We just won't be able to do anything out in the open."

"That's right," agreed Neville.

"But we won't quit," vowed Graham. "If we can't get rid of the Carrows and Snape this year, we'll keep it going next year...and the year after that."

"That's right!" exclaimed a first-year Hufflepuff girl.

Neville's smile widened, became a little less stressed. "That's the spirit," he said. "But I hope it won't take too long. Harry Potter's on a mission to fight You-Know-Who. I don't know exactly what he's doing...but when he comes back, well...we'll go into open revolt, then."

"When he comes back," said Cody, who did know what Harry's mission was, "he'll have what he needs to deal with You-Know-Who."

"Exactly," said Neville. "But for now...meeting dismissed. Next meeting day after tomorrow. And remember...lie low, and avoid the Carrows at all costs. For just a little while, make them think we've given up."

Everyone murmured their acknowledgement as Cody got out the Marauder's Map and peered at it, making sure as usual that the coast was clear before people began trickling out in small groups and pairs. Last were Cody, Graham, and Neville, who left the room together.

"I wanna go visit Michael," said Cody. "You guys coming?"

"I will," said Graham. Neville said he'd also go, and the three of them headed downstairs.

The three of them were in for a nasty surprise when they opened the door to the infirmary. Amycus Carrow was there, talking belligerantly with Madame Pomfrey, who looked furious. Carrow turned around as Neville, Graham, and Cody stopped short.

"Come to visit your little friend?" sneered Carrow, turning his back on Madame Pomfrey and stalking towards the door. All three boys moved back to give him plenty of room, but the man stopped right in front of them. "Well, get a good look, you lot. That's what you'll get if I catch any one of you again...just once!" With that, he stalked out and slammed the door behind him. Graham made a rude gesture behind his back.

"That monster," hissed Madame Pomfrey in an infuriated voice Cody had never heard from her. "And then he has the nerve to come in here and tell me what I am and am not allowed to heal! He nearly killed this boy!"

Cody felt a certain fondness for the woman as he listened to her rant about the Carrows. She abhorred cruelty and hated to see people hurt, but, if you got her riled up, she was a force to be reckoned with.

"We're just here to visit Michael," said Neville, as Graham and Pritchard headed towards the only occupied bed.

"Go ahead," she said. "He's awake...I'm just keeping him in here a day or two to recover. Some of the damage was magical, so it wasn't so easy to fix!" With that, she retired to her office, still muttering ominously about the Carrows.

Michael didn't look very good. His face was slashed up, and what little of his dark skin wasn't covered with his pajamas looked bruised and sore. But he still smiled a little as they approached. "Hey, guys."

"You look awful!" Cody blurted out. His face got hot once he realized how it sounded, but Michael actually laughed a little, then winced; apparently he was still very sore.

"I feel awful, too," said Michael. "I shouldn't have gone off half cocked like that...shoulda planned a bit more. But...that poor kid in there was crying, and I felt sorry for him..." He trailed off, then shrugged very slightly. "The Carrows weren't happy. They also wanted to know how we were communicating." He actually smiled at that, looking satisfied. "I never told her, that mighta had something to do with it. It's driving them up a wall."

"I'm sorry, Michael," said Neville, looking wretchedly upset.

"Don't be," said Michael. "And don't count me out of Dumbledore's Army." He looked grimly at Neville, who smiled gratefully back.

"I won't," he said. "But we're gonna be a lot more careful from now on."

"When you get back," said Graham with a grin, "we'll have a party to celebrate your return. We'll nick some cakes from the kitchen and conjure confetti and all. Cody can get some practice in because he's rubbish at Conjuring Charms."

"Hey!" Cody protested indignantly.

Michael laughed, then groaned, shaking his head. "Don't make me laugh. I'm still sore."

"Sorry," said Graham, still smirking at Cody.

"All right," said Neville, glancing towards Mrs. Pomfrey's office. She was looking out at them all, looking stern. "We'd better let you get some rest, before Madame Pomfrey throws us out."

"Thanks for comin' up," said Michael.

"Take it easy," said Graham.

"Dream about squashing the Carrows," Cody whispered, and Michael grinned back. For that matter, Cody wouldn't mind dreaming of that himself. It would be incredibly satisfying.

The three of them spent a while talking about Michael and the DA, and lamenting that Michael's punishment had scared so many people off. Neville said that one or two might come back after they got over their alarm, but most probably would keep their heads down.

"I'm tempted to bring Hagrid's Lethifold up here," said Cody darkly as the three of them sat on the sweeping front steps and watched the giant squid swim laps across the surface of the lake. "He needs to be fed in a week or so...Amycus Carrow would make a nice meal."

"I wouldn't," said Graham somberly. "The lethifold might get indigestion."

Cody and Neville both cracked up laughing. Cody supposed that a Death Eater probably didn't make a very tasty meal, even for a lethifold, but it was still pretty funny.

"Or poison the poor creature," added Neville, and Graham nodded in agreement, still laughing.

"You're right," said Cody finally. "I couldn't do that to the lethifold. It'd be too cruel."

---

After that, things calmed down a little for most of the DA, though the Carrows never let up on Neville or Cody. Seamus and Graham had their share of run-ins with them as well, but on the whole, things were a little less frantic.

Filch finally got the graffiti scrubbed off of the outside castle walls, and Cody was tempted to replace it, but Neville was right: the Carrows had taken off the kid gloves and put on iron knuckles instead. And for them that was saying something.

Still, it didn't stop the core group of the DA from fighting. They still held meetings, still listened to Potterwatch, still practiced their defense and attack. But Neville, Cody, Seamus, Graham, and a couple of the younger members of the DA were the most active in rebelling against the Carrows. They worked at night, with the Marauder's Map, nothing out in the open, but the Carrows still seemed to suspect them for some strange reason. They just couldn't prove it, so they settled for being brutal at the smallest (sometimes fabricated) offenses.

Things began to go downhill on the sixteenth of May, when Alecto Carrow held Neville and Cody back after her Muggle Studies class (after a really irritating lecture about Muggle brains and their lack of functionality.) Cody exchanged a nervous glance with Neville as the rest of the students filed out of the class, many giving them sympathetic looks. Crabbe and Goyle were the exceptions; they smirked the entire way out. Cody wondered what she was going to do to them, and why. He'd just gotten the crap beaten out of him the day previous for getting caught giving Amycus Carrow the middle finger.

"Well," said Alecto with a wide smile, once the rest of the class had left. "It seems that we have a problem."

"What's that?" asked Neville, his offhanded tone casual and unconcerned. Cody admired it.

Alecto scowled and slapped Neville's face; she obviously did _not_ admire it. "Watch your tone, boy. You both know exactly what we mean." The scowl faded and the smile returned as she backed off a couple of steps and surveyed them both. "As you both seemed bound and determined to fight us, and are too stupid to care what we do to you, my brother and I are taking the liberty of having certain people enjoy our 'kind' hospitality."

Cody suddenly felt cold. He stood up straighter, clenching his fist, and took a step forward. "What do you mean?" he demanded. "Who?"

Alecto's smile widened; she knew she'd found something that would truly get to her young adversaries. "Why, Neville's dear old grandmother," she said, "and your little sister, Mr. Gregor. You remember her, the little Muggle whelp who...'has more brains than me and my brother combined'?"

"YOU WILL NOT!" yelled Cody at the top of his lungs, lunging at the woman...but he never got there. Neville grabbed the back of his robes, yanking him back. "You touch my sister and I'll--"

Neville clamped a hand over his mouth. Furious, Cody tried to remove it, but Neville was nearly seventeen, and much stronger. "That's the only way you can control us, is it?" said Neville calmly, though Cody could tell he was just as furious.

Alecto didn't seem at all put out...she was amused, more than anything. "_That _is why the Dark Lord's won," she said. "You're too weak to do what you need to. Us, now, we'll do anything we need to, to get what we want. And that includes hurting old ladies and children."

Cody stopped fighting Neville (since it wasn't getting him anywhere) and glared furiously at Alecto Carrow. "Coward!" he snarled, though muffled by Neville's hand, it wasn't as biting as he wanted it to be.

Alecto shrugged, not offended in the least. "Think what you want, brat. Just remember...you piss us off here, we hurt your loved ones. You behave and they'll be treated decently enough. Got it?"

"Yeah," said Neville disgustedly. "We got it." He finally let go of Cody, who was shaking with rage. Cody didn't try to attack Alecto again though...did she already have his sister? Did Lupin know? And what about Neville's grandmother? Though having met the woman, he wasn't sure she was in as much danger as Samantha was; Neville's grandmother was scary.

"Good. Then get out."

Neville grasped Cody's arm and led him out of the classroom, perhaps afraid that Cody would do something insane. Cody wasn't sure himself if he was going to do something insane. Neither of them said anything until they were on the seventh floor, and Cody's rage had abated. Now he was just scared. "They can't take my little sister, she's only ten, she's a Muggle, she doesn't know any magic, she'll be scared, and—and they'll hurt her, and--"

"Whoa, easy," said Neville. "We don't even know yet if they've got your sister or my grandmother. Let's just calm down, and see what we can find out. Okay?"

Cody looked up at Neville, who despite his calm words looked just as worried as Cody did, and oddly enough that calmed Cody down more than his words. "Okay," he said shakily. He clenched a fist. "That rotten old cow! Did you see her face?"

"Yeah, she was about bursting at the seams, she was so happy," said Nevilledisgustedly. "Come on. Let's go to Gryffindor Tower."

"Okay." Neville led the way along the passageway that led to Gryffindor Tower, speaking the password when they arrived at the Fat Lady (it hadn't changed since Cody had moved), and clambering through the portrait hole.

"I used to need help getting over that," said Neville, as Cody followed. "My legs were too short."

Cody giggled distractedly, for he'd had a little trouble with it the first time he came into Gryffindor Tower, too.

"Hey," said Lavender Brown curiously, catching sight of Cody. "Did Snape let you move back here?"

"No," said Cody. "Just visiting." He managed a smile before following Neville up to the dormitories. When they got there, Cody saw his bed was still there, and he sat on it, running his hands distractedly through his hair while Neville took out the DA coin and sat on his own bed. Cody stood up to watch Neville's message.

_Fred and George, Neville here. The Carrows have threatened Gran and Cody's sister._

The Galleon grew hot as it relayed its message, and a moment later came the words: _Fred here. They did what? Those bloody gits!_

_Yeah. See if you can get word to Gran and Lupin? We don't know if they're okay._

_Will do. Be careful._

_We will. Thanks._

Cody sat back against Neville's bedpost, feeling shaky. He had hoped for better news..._any_ news. But if the twins could get word in time to save them...

"Come on," said Neville. "No sense in sitting around waiting. It's nearly dinnertime, then we've got a meeting."

Cody nodded numbly and followed Neville back out of Gryffindor Tower. He didn't feel the least bit hungry, however; he was too worried about Samantha.

The Carrows seemed smugger than ever at dinner, but Cody didn't look at them much. He toyed with his supper, trying to ignore the normal jeers from the Slytherins in his year. He barely heard them. Graham, who had of course seen the exchange between the Fred and Neville, didn't try to reassure Cody. He just sat with his arm around Cody's shoulders.

At the DA meeting, Cody threw himself into his practicing. Not in the mood for defense, he'd gotten up several wooden boards and was practicing his Reductor Curse on them the entire time. It was very satisfying, watching the board explode into splinters. Neville kept giving him bigger and thicker boards for him to destroy, which made it a lot harder, but Cody welcomed the challenge. The physical and mental effort needed was welcome. By the end of the meeting, he was very tired, but that was okay.

Cody was actually disappointed that night that no one tried to ambush him and Graham in the common room; he would have welcomed a fight. Still, it was probably for the best that Cody didn't get into trouble just yet. Not until he knew that Samantha was safe.


	112. Y7, C34: Hunted Down

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 34: Hunted Down**

Neither Neville nor Cody got word of their families until the following day. During the morning post at Hogwarts, an Owl landed in front of Cody with a letter in its beak. Surprised, Cody thanked the creature and took the letter from him, opening the envelope. His heart gave a painful, nervous leap as he recognized Lupin's rough script.

As much as he wanted to read it right there, he folded it back up and put it in his pocket. Still not feeling very hungry, he murmured to Graham, "I'll be back," and left the Great Hall. He had a free class that morning, the one that normally would be taken by Care of Magical Creatures, so he had plenty of time.

Once in the relative privacy of the empty grounds, Cody tore open the letter, letting the envelope flutter away, and read:

_Dear Cody,_

_Samantha is safe. I won't say where, but I think you already know; I mentioned it last year. One of the people from the Ministry, accompanied by Rowle...I think you remember that one...came looking for Samantha, but she was in school at the time, so we had plenty of time to get her out of their reach._ _As for Augusta Longbottom, well, I'll let Neville tell you. But rest assured that she is fine, also._

_Be careful, Cody. If they're resorting to taking hostages to stop you and Neville, they may soon see your death as unavoidable. Take care, and I miss you. I'll see you end of term._

_Love,_  
_Remus._

Cody laughed aloud, letting himself slump back onto the stone steps, laughing with giddy relief. And when he realized how angry the Carrows were going to be, he laughed some more. He was a little worried about what they'd do to Cody, but that didn't stop him laughing.

Feeling one hundred--one thousand--percent better, Cody ran back into the Great Hall, looking for Neville. Spotting him at the Gryffindor table, he saw that he looked pretty happy, himself. Cody ran over and sat down, grinning at him. "Your gran?"

"She's fine," said Neville with a laugh. Several other Gryffindor DA members were also sitting there, and most of them were stifling laughter. "They went after her, and, well, here." He handed Cody a letter. "You know Gran. She's sent me this...she's on the run now, but she doesn't care. And your sister?"

Cody took Neville's letter, and in turn, gave him his own.

Neville's letter read:

_Dear Neville,_

_If you're worrying about me, you can stop now. It takes more than Alexander Dawlish to take me down, and I assure you he regrets trying to attack me. I can't tell you where I am, but I can tell you that I am very proud to have you as a grandson, Neville. You are your father's son, and I should have realized it sooner. Keep it up!_

_Love,_  
_Gran._

Cody laughed delightedly, handing the letter back. "You know, she can kinda be a creep...but she can be pretty cool, too," said Cody. I woulda loved to see her battling Dawlish."

"I'm glad your sister's all right, too," said Neville. "Guess that means they've got nothing against us, doesn't it?" Neville's smile became a little more sinister as he eyed the high table. "I wonder if they know yet."

Cody looked at the High Table also, but neither sibling looked any grumpier than usual, so it was difficult to tell. Snape, however, caught his eye and stood up, glaring. "Gregor!" he snarled. "What are you doing at the Gryffindor table? Detention this evening!"

Damn! "I'm going, I'm going," said Cody, standing up. In a whisper he said to Neville, "I'll see you later!" Then he scurried over to the Slytherin table and shared his news with Graham. Snape was still glaring at him, but Cody didn't care much; he was in too good a mood—not even his imminent detention could dampen it.

He spent his free period in the Forbidden Forest, figuring since he went in nearly every day to feed the thestrals that he was allowed. Searching the ground for anthills, he gathered the bigger ones in a cloth sack, which Cody sealed with magic. When came the time for Amycus Carrow's class, Cody arrived a little early, unlocking the door with magic and sneaking in. Amycus Carrow wasn't there, having left the classroom during break. Cody Disillusioned the cloth bag, then put it on Carrow's seat. Slipping out of the classroom, he re-locked the door and made himself scarce until it was time for class.

When class began, Cody came in slightly late, and lost ten points for Slytherin, but that was okay. Being late meant that when he used a nonverbal spell to open the bag of ants just as Carrow sat down on his seat, he could not be blame for what happened a few seconds later. All of a sudden he was yelling, leaping from his seat, and dancing around behind his desk, slapping at the seat of his robes. The ants were still Disillusioned, too, so he couldn't see what was attacking him until he finally realized the problem and rendered them visible again.

Cody didn't bother trying not to laugh, since half the class was stifling their giggles, too. And of course no one 'fessed up when Carrow finally got rid of the beasts. He glared evilly at Cody, but Cody denied it.

"No me," he said. "You've got my sister." He sincerely hoped that Carrow didn't know any different yet.

"You sure seemed to enjoy it," Amycus snarled, clearing away the now-visible ants with his wand.

Cody shrugged. "It was funny." He yelped when Carrow backhanded him, but did not stop smirking. He supposed he shouldn't have been so overt about his amusement, not when he had detention with the git after class, but there was nothing to be done about it. Still, Amycus was just a little bit more vicious with the Cruciatus Curse that afternoon, and Cody was in tears when he arrived for the DA meeting.

Cody figured later that Carrow probably did know Samantha had gotten away, but didn't know that _Cody_ knew. It was a potentially powerful bit of information. It meant Cody and Neville both could get away with things, but probably also contributed to Carrow's ire.

During the meeting, Neville told everyone who didn't yet know about his grandmother, and how she'd easily taken care of the wizard the Carrows had sent to take her hostage. "I heard he's in St. Mungo's, badly hurt," said Neville proudly. "That's what he gets for going after my grandmother! They don't know her too well, do they?"

"We'll have to be careful, though," said Graham, "that no one else gets caught. We've all got family they could use against us."

"Yeah," said Ernie MacMillian, "but it's Neville and Cody they're most annoyed with."

"'Annoyed', that's an understatement," muttered Cody, wincing; he was still very sore and exhausted.

"All right then, royally pissed off at," Ernie amended, and Cody laughed to hear the normally pompous Hufflepuff swear. "You, well, you're sorta the leaders. And you're responsible for most of everything lately."

"It's our pleasure," said Cody.

"Just out of curiosity," said Parvati, "which one of you gave Carrow the ants in the pants?"

"Me!" boasted Cody. "I got a bunch of the big, red ones from the Forbidden Forest."

"That was brilliant," said Graham, slinging an arm around Cody's shoulders. "You keep it up, and you'll be as clever as me someday!"

Everyone laughed, including Cody. "Gee, a dream come true. I'm just glad I finally got that Disillusioning Charm down."

"Great," said Neville. "Well then. Guess we don't have any reason to hold back. Tomorrow, the battle's on."

But it didn't work out that way.

Cody thought later it was an omen that he got into a fight with Vincent Crabbe that night in the dorms, and lost. Still, he was in too good a mood from the DA meeting, so he didn't dwell too much on it at the time.

The school day went normally enough, but when it was time for Muggle Studies, the last class of the day, the classroom was closed. The seventh-years grouped outside the door, waiting for Amycus Carrow to arrive. The minutes ticked by, but even as the clock struck the hour, the woman never showed. No one cared much about that except the Slytherins, but Neville never showed, either, and that had most of them worried.

"I guess he got caught doing something," said Parvati Patil.

Laughter nearby made most of the class turn and glare; Pansy Parkinson and the other seventh-year Slytherins were standing in a group, looking smug. "Serves him right," said Pansy, smirking all over her pug face. "I say it's only a matter of time before they get rid of him for good."

"Shut up, Pansy," Cody snarled. "You don't know anything!"

Goyle snickered. "Well we're here, and Longbottom ain't. You don't really think they're gonna keep letting that stupid git defy them, do you?"

Seamus Finnegan snorted. "That's rich, you calling Neville stupid. I hear you got at least three Trolls on your O.W.L.s!"

But Goyle didn't get angry; in fact he only laughed again, looking as gormless as usual, but twice as nasty. "Maybe. But that don't matter anymore, does it? In case you didn't notice, the Ministry's under new management. They don't care about O.W.L.s. Just loyalty."

The rotten thing was, it was probably true. For a few moments, Seamus and the other DA members glared at the Slytherins, who smirked right back, until Parvati Patil turned her back on them. "Forget it," he said. "It's not worth it."

The Slytherins laughed as if this was the funniest thing in the world, and Cody's temper was about to its boiling point. But like the others, he realized getting into a fight with the Slytherins wasn't going to help Neville. And Cody was more convinced than ever that Neville needed it.

Carrow never did show up for class, and everyone eventually drifted down to supper when the bell rang. The fact that Neville never showed up either worried everyone, and Seamus said that maybe Neville would be at supper.

He wasn't.

"The Carrows are gone, too," said Graham quietly. "Only Snape's there."

It was true; Snape sat at the High Table, looking surlier than usual, and Neville was nowhere to be seen. Biting his lip, Cody looked quickly around, making sure neither Snape nor the Slytherins were looking, and searched for his Galleon in his pocket. He took out a large disk, realized that it was the wrong size, and put it back in his pocket.

"What's that?" Graham asked in a whisper.

"My 'Earing Aid," said Cody, giggling a little as he remembered his first encounter with it. He told Graham how, thanks to Fred Weasley, Cody had been covered in rabbit ears until George whispered the password to undo the spell.

He finally found the Galleon among the other sundry items in his pocket, then glanced around once more before using his wand to etch the words:

_Search party in fifteen minutes. Meet outside by the greenhouses. -Cody_

The various remaining members of the DA looked up, glanced surreptitiously around, and one by one looked at the message. They were smart about it, waiting until Snape's back was turned, pretending they were showing something to a friend, turning their backs on the High Table...Seamus Finnegan deliberately dropped his fork beneath the table and ducked under to get it, and Cody was sure he was looking at his coin. One by one, everyone who was still with the DA nodded or gave the thumbs-up.

Satisfied, Cody murmured to Graham what he'd written, and he nodded also.

Everyone ate their meals quickly and assembled outside one by one while the rest of the school finished their supper. They huddled close to the wall, not wanting to be seen by someone in an overhead window; the greenhouses shielded them from casual observers in the grounds.

The sun glinted on the lake, sending bolts of sunlight around the yard, and a warm breeze ruffled everyone's hair, but Cody for one didn't even notice. "Okay...we gotta find Neville, because I got a bad feeling."

"What about the Map?" asked Padma Patil.

Cody blinked, then grinned sheepishly. "Oh yeah...I have that with me." A couple of people chuckled as Cody took out the Marauder's Map and tapped it with his wand. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," he assured it, and watched as the lines began to appear.

Everyone huddled around the map, peering at the lines as they formed the boxy rooms and corridors of the castle. Most people were still gathered in the Great Hall, but there were several in the common rooms and corridors. Cody looked in all the places that Neville might normally be, including Gryffindor Tower, the greenhouses themselves (Cody would have felt very foolish if Neville was there mere feet away from them), and the dungeons. Cody was sure he'd been dragged down there by the Carrows, but when he didn't see Neville, he got scared. What if they _had_ done something permanent?

"There're the Carrows!" said Parvati suddenly, pointing to a seventh-floor corridor. "But Neville's nowhere near there!"

"I can't find him at all," Cody muttered, eyes skating frantically over the parchment. "Maybe...it's...it's possible he's not even in the school. Maybe he Apparated from the headquarters or something...or maybe he's in there! Okay, let's get in there and look...groups of three or four...but try not to make it too obvious. If we don't find him tonight, we'll contact the Weasley twins and the other DA members outside of Hogwarts, see if they have any news."

"We'll search the other side of the grounds," said Parvati, indicating her sister and Lavender Brown.

"Terry, Hannah, and I can take the lower floors," said Ernie MacMillan. "Nigel," he said to a fourth-year Gryffindor boy, "do you want to join us?"

"Sure," said Nigel.

"Okay." Cody wiped the map clean, stuffing it in his pocket; he didn't want to be seen by anyone carrying it. He indicated the people who were left, Seamus, Graham, and Michael Corner, and said they'd take the upper floors of the castle. So distributed, Dumbledore's Army split off into groups.

The girls jogged off in the direction of the rear grounds, Ernie's group headed down into the dungeons to make sure they hadn't overlooked anything, and Cody began leading his group upstairs, towards the upper few floors. But they'd only gotten to the third-floor corridor, a corridor that had once house a giant, three-headed dog, when the Galleon in Cody's pocket grew hot.

Suddenly hopeful, thinking perhaps someone had found Neville, he stopped short and took the coin from his pocket; Seamus and Michael did the same, with Graham reading over Cody's shoulder. It wasn't news _about_ Neville, it was _from_ Neville.

_Neville here. Cody – the Carrows are coming for you. RUN._

Cold doused Cody's body as he read the message twice, and he looked up to meet the others' gaze. "All right you guys, scatter – and if they ask where I am...lie! I'm heading for our headquarters!"

Before anyone could protest, Cody unclipped his wand from his belt and began to sprint up the nearest stairway—but the way was blocked. The Carrows, obviously coming down from the floor above, froze for a moment at the top of the stairs, and Cody froze at the bottom. Then as one, they raised their wands, and Cody let a yell of alarm, sprinting back the way he'd come.

Cody barely saw anything. Adrenaline pounded in his head, and his heart thumped in his chest. He hurtled down a short passageway, sprinting for one of the many staircases, trying desperately to think of where he could go. Not the Room of Requirement, where he was now sure Neville was; that way was blocked.

A loud yell of protest from Graham and a thump of something heavy hitting the floor told Cody his best friend had been knocked down. Cody hoped desperately that nothing worse had happened as he clattered down a rickety, wooden staircase, trying to think clearly. Where? Where could he go?

The Forest! The Forbidden Forest! If he could get there, he knew it better than just about anyone by that point, and if he could get in there, maybe he could throw them off. Even better, maybe one of the centaurs would find the creeps and deal with them. Or better yet, Grawp.

Cody broke out into the floor above the ground floor, only to see the Carrows coming down another stairway. Cursing, Cody turned tail and sprinted back the way he came. Alecto shouted a Stunning Spell his way, and he ducked downward, stumbling and nearly falling down, trying to avoid it. He sent a wild Stunning Spell in retaliation, but heard a crack as it hit wood, not the Carrows.

With a frustrated growl, Cody turned a corner and ducked into an empty classroom, crouching down behind the mostly closed door. He heard the Carrows rush past, and heard Amycus snarl, "Where'd the little prat go?"

The voice was several yards past the door of Cody's temporary refuge. Cody nearly cheered, because the stairs he needed were back the way he'd come, and this might be his only chance to get there.

He suddenly remembered he had his 'Earing Aid with him, and took it out of his pockets. Perfect. If he attacked with his wand, they would either block it, or easily undo the effects. But this was Weasley-twin ingenuity; it wasn't so easy to undo.

Cody grabbed the Frisbee-like disk, darted out of the classroom, and hurled the disk at Alecto's back. "EARS!" Cody yelled.

The Carrows spun around, the disk hit, Alecto hollered, Amycus turned to her in alarm, and Cody could not resist sticking around for just a second to see what happened. Alecto was suddenly covered in little, budding, rapidly-growing rabbit ears, tearing through her robes and beginning to wave around.

Cody sprinted out of the hallway, not able to resist a laugh at Amycus's furious snarl, "What the hell is this! _Get back here--put her right!"_

But Cody didn't stick around; Amycus wouldn't stay up there forever, and he'd not be happy that Cody had hexed his sister. He dashed down the nearest staircase, nearly sliding down the last half of it, when Amycus's heavy footfalls sounded behind him.

When Cody got to the ground floor, tearing past startled students and teachers, he heard a furious shout from above. He looked up in time to see Amycus Carrow leaning over the railing on the floor above, slashing his wand in a familiar gesture. As the voice from his Detectioring whispered, "Sectumsempra," Cody threw himself to the floor, and the silent Sectumsempra Curse flew over his head. He let out a cry of pain as it grazed his back, opening a bloody line above his left shoulder, but most of the purple blaze-line hit the wall above his head. The stone cracked, and several people in the nearby Entrance Hall spun around, wide-eyed, as Cody scrambled to his feet.

"Look out!" Cody bellowed as he ran for the heavy double doors leading outside, nearly toppling a smallish girl who was in his path. He looked behind to see Carrow running after, alarmed that he was gaining! The git was a lot faster than he looked!

Cody passed Professor McGonagall, who looked shocked, and the stairs to the dungeons, where Ernie MacMillan's search group had just gotten to the top of. "What on Earth!" cried McGonagall.

"STUPEFY!" bellowed Amycus from behind.

Cody whirled, his wand barely up in time. "PROTEGO!" The Stunner hit Cody's Shield Charm and blasted back towards Carrow. Proud of the charm, Cody whirled around once more and ran, blasting the front doors open with his wand.

He heard a couple of shouted curses from the dungeon starirwell, heard Amycus swear, and Cody sent a silent thanks to whoever had cast the spell. It bought him some time.

But Cody was tiring; he'd run at an all-out sprint now for four floors, and he nearly fell down the steps outside. He wasn't going to make it into the forest before Carrow reached him...and sooner or later, one of those hexes was going to nail him from behind!

Carrow came bursting from the double doors a moment later, looking like a mad bull, his wand raised. Cody stumbled alongside Hagrid's cabin, spinning around, ready to face the man; he couldn't run any more.

Carrow shot a hex Cody didn't recognize, and instinctively, he blocked it with a Shield Charm, silently thanking Neville for insisting that Cody practice it so much. He skidded around the back of Hagrid's cabin, hoping to gain some cover inside, but only managed to magic the door open before Carrow came around the side of the building. Panting for breath, shaking from exertion, Cody turned to face him.

Carrow dodged the ill-aimed Stunning Spell, and aimed: "Avada—"

Cold doused Cody's chest, and he threw himself to the ground once more, knowing that there was no way he could possibly keep this up. Carrow was out to kill him...no more messing around. He wanted Cody dead, and unless Cody got in a lucky shot, Carrow was going to get his wish.

The green flash missed him by inches, but before Cody could stand, even before Amycus could try again, something black came lunging from the half-open door of Hagrid's cabin. Cody turned around only in time to see Hagrid's lethifold rear up and dart towards him, had time only to let a frightened yell as he recognized the beast's attack stance, before it was on him, enfolding Cody completely.


	113. Y7, C35: The Perfect Hideout

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 35: The Perfect Hideout**

Amycus Carrow was forgotten as Cody fought, suddenly afraid that he was going to die anyway, unable to believe that the creature he was so fond of had turned on him. He heard a raucous laugh from Carrow as Cody fought the lethifold, struggling to keep from being suffocated on its thick folds. It wasn't even a fully grown animal, but neither was Cody!

"Enjoying yerself, brat?" Carrow crowed from outside. He laughed again, sounding wheezier than ever after his run. "Wretched beast turned on yeh, didn't it? I think I'll just watch the show...you go ahead and finish dyin', Gregor."

The lethifold squeezed itself more firmly around Cody as he fought, crying out in fear, hating Carrow for his jeering...his _enjoyment_ of Cody's imminent death. But even as he struggled...as the sharp edge of panic began to wear off...he realized something: he wasn't suffocating. In fact the only difficulty Cody had breathing was the beast's tight hold on his body...but it wasn't pressing against his face. That was how they suffocated their prey, by pressing their bodies over their prey's face, cutting off their air. Only then did they devour it. But Cody was breathing...and he was breathing just fine.

He realized that he'd stopped fighting, astonished at the realization, but it didn't matter; Carrow assumed that Cody was out for the count. "Guess I gotta go spread the news!" he cackled gleefully, his voice fading away.

The lethifold remained wrapped tightly around Cody, though he had stopped fighting completely. He was still a little nervous, wondering if it intended to let him go or not, when suddenly the pressure around him was gone. The beast fluttered off of Cody, its strange weight leaving his body, and Cody lay on the grass, staring in astonishment.

"You saved my life," he whispered hoarsely, still trying to believe it. He laughed, sitting shakily up, and gazed at the creature. The lethifold seemed uncertain, as Cody took a couple of crawl-steps toward it, then sat down again and pulled it into his lap. He gently hugged the lethifold, hoping suddenly he hadn't hurt it in his struggles, and felt ashamed for thinking it was trying to kill him. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I owe you. I owe you big." The lethifold curled up in its gesture of affection, and Cody suddenly started to cry. Only now, as the adrenaline faded and the fear left him could he react to everything that had happened.

Footsteps got the adrenaline going again. 'No,' Cody thought. 'Not again, I can't keep this up!' He let go of the lethifold, clumsily finding his feet, and raising his wand...it felt like it weighed about ten pounds...

But it wasn't Carrow that rounded the corner, wearing a look of horror; it was McGonagall. She stopped short, her eyes widening in shock, and Cody blinked.

"Mr.—Mr. DeDannan!" McGonagall exclaimed, one hand going to her heart.

Cody lowered his wand, nearly fainting with relief. "It's okay," he said hurriedly, his voice a whisper. "It's okay, I'm not dead...it's okay."

McGonagall took a step forward, gaining the cover of Hagrid's cabin, and gazed unbelievingly at the lethifold. "That—that beast—"

Cody managed a smile, leaning against Hagrid's cabin. "He saved my life," he said. "Only pretended to attack me. The rumors of my death were greatly exaggerated." He let out a half-hysterical laugh as the phrase came out. He didn't remember where he'd heard that phrase before, but it seemed to fit the occasion. "Insane, isn't it?"

"So...so I see," said McGonagall rather faintly. "Well...well we'll have to get you out of here...the Carrows...they've gone after Mr. Longbottom, too."

"I know," said Cody. "But I think I know where he is, and I'm gonna join him. He's safe. I bet Carrow's telling everyone now that I'm dead though... I have a way of communicating, I can tell...certain people...that I'm not dead. They'll know soon. Don't let the Carrows know you saw me though. They might...er...be a little torqued off."

Obviously recovering from the shock, McGonagall nodded crisply, but did not attempt to wipe the horrified look from her face...if Carrow saw her looking cheerful after apparently watching Cody being eaten by a lethifold, it would certainly raise suspicion. "Very well, then. Be careful, Cody," she whispered, then left in a hurry, her face turned downward.

"I owe you one," said Cody to the lethifold again. "I gotta find you a name." He took out the Marauder's Map, which shook as Cody held it, and tapped it with his wand. After promising that he was up to no good, Cody scrutinized the Map for signs of the Carrows. They were easy enough to find. Alecto was still on the first floor up where Cody had left her, still probably covered in ears. And served her right! Amycus was on his way up there. Snape was in his office, and Cody caught glimpses of Dumbledore's Army in several places in the castle.

First order of business. He took out his DA Galleon and sent the following message:

_Cody here. I'm not dead. But Carrow thinks I am. Will send word when I'm under cover._

There, that should do it. And now... Cody picked up the Lethifold, letting it wrap loosely around his body, then used a Disillusioning Charm on it. He turned his wand on himself, putting on the same charm. When they both were as invisible as Cody could make them, he left the cover of Hagrid's cabin, and started up towards the school.

It still wasn't entirely easy. Unable to see the Map, Cody could not easily choose the least-occupied corridors, and he was doing a lot of dodging to avoid bumping into people. He caught sight of Graham, who was reading his Galleon, the look of horror on his face fading to shaky relief. Cody was glad.

He couldn't resist going up to the first floor to see if the Carrows had gotten Alecto ear-free, and was quite gleeful to see they had not. The ears were each about three feet long, and still growing, and Alecto was cawing furiously, her brother trying fruitlessly to help. Carrow was swearing, trying several different charms, but was having no luck undoing the Weasley twins' 'Earing-Aid-induced hex. Cody had to stifle laughter. It served them right!

By the time he reached the fourth floor, Cody began to wish the Room of Requirement wasn't on the top floor...he was fatigued from over-exerting himself, and tired from his fear, and the lethifold was no infant anymore...he was heavy! The DA Galleon grew warm, but Cody couldn't look at it, because it was currently invisible; he would ask Neville what it said.

By the time Cody dragged himself and his new pet to the seventh floor, he was about ready to collapse. He leaned against a wall, feeling the lethifold shift around his waist. Lethifolds didn't have eyes, so being Disillusioned didn't bother it any...but Cody still found it absolutely bizarre. Being unable to see his own feet didn't make walking any easier, either.

The corridor leading into the Room of Requirement was empty. Cody removed the Disillusioning Charm from himself, because he was fairly sure Neville was hiding out in there already, and he didn't want to freak him out by coming in invisible. He did, however, leave the Lethifold under the charm. He had to explain that one before revealing!

Making sure once again that the corridor was clear, Cody walked back and forth three times in front of where the Room's door sat, asking it for a place to hide. When the door opened, he smiled, and opened it.

Neville was indeed inside it, and seemed to be expecting Cody's arrival. He was standing in the room, smiling tiredly, as Cody stepped in and shut the door. Turning the lock in the door was the most satisfying, relieving thing he had ever done in his life.

"Hi," said Neville. He looked rather worse for wear, with several new bruises and a black eye; obviously he'd fought the Carrows himself before taking cover.

"Hi," said Cody, still feeling a little shaky. He looked around the room, noticing that it didn't look the way it did when having their meetings. It was a lot smaller, for one things, and had a rather homey look, with wood paneling on the wall and floor, and two hammocks strung from the low ceiling; one of them was red, the other neon green. Cody laughed.

"Not tough to see which one's yours," said Neville with a chuckle.

"No," said Cody. "It's not." A Gryffindor tapestry hung on one wall, alongside a Slytherin one, and two chamberpots sat in the corner. A small bookcase lined the far wall, and a single lamp bathed the room in warm light.

"I knew you were coming because the room suddenly sprouted the Slytherin hanging, and the second hammock," said Neville. "But what happened? I got a message a few minutes ago saying you were dead, and then one right on its heels saying that you weren't...well obviously the second one was right. But...how?"

"Well..." Cody laughed a little nervously, and gave the invisible lethifold a pat. "Well, I've got a friend with me," said Cody. "A friend that saved my life." Neville looked up at the hammocks, but there were still only two, and Cody shook his head. "He's not human."

Neville blinked, clearly confused. "What is he?"

"Well...I don't want you to panic, okay?" said Cody. "I know people are nervous around him. But he saved my life. You trust me, right?"

Looking rather nervous now, Neville slowly nodded his head. "Yeah...I do," he said. "And the Room won't let in anything that could harm me...I asked it for a safe place. But you've still got me a little nervous."

Cody sighed. "Sorry. It's Hagrid's lethifold." As he knew it would, a look of sheer alarm crossed Neville's face, and Cody hastily held up his hand. "But it's okay," he said quickly. "He's wrapped around me, so he's not sneaking up on you or anything...and he won't. He saved my life."

Cody hastened to relate what happened after he'd gotten Neville's message, how his path upstairs were blocked off, how he's used the 'Earing Aid on Alecto Carrow, of how he'd finally been cornered behind Hagrid's hut, unable to run further. He told how he thought the Lethifold was attacking him, then realized it was deliberately leaving Cody space to breathe...and how Amycus was sure the lethifold had suffocated him.

Neville's alarm slowly eased, and Cody ended with, "Carrow was downright gleeful about it...it was sick." Cody took a shaky breath. "McGonagall came afterward, nearly had a heart attack when she saw me. But she knows I'm alive. And my message, well the DA'll know I'm alive, too. I guess I should tell them the story somehow."

"Good idea," said Neville. "Eventually. But for now...can I see the lethifold?"

Neville looked more curious than afraid, so Cody aimed his wand and lifted the beast's Disillusionment Charm. "I hope I didn't hurt him, struggling," said Cody, as the black, leathery beast became visible, wrapped comfortably around Cody's torso. Cody stroked the beast's skin. "We've been friends since the beginning of last year, when he was just a baby. Hagrid said if I wanted him, he'd see about getting me the necessary permits!"

"Mad," murmured Neville, taking a tentative step forward. "Can I touch him?"

"Sure. He'll probably turn his head towards you and try to sniff you...it's okay. He's just curious. And I fed him just a couple of days ago, so he won't need feeding again for about a month. Kinda like snakes only eat once a month, for the bigger ones."

Neville nodded, tentatively putting out a hand to stroke the lethifold, but the lethifold seemed content for the moment to remain where he was. Cody laughed a little and gently pulled it from his waist, draping it instead over his shoulders. Roused from its comfortable perch, it did raise its head, trying to sniff out the air.

"Well, they are pretty neat," said Neville reluctantly. "But after what we learned in Defense Against the Dark Arts about them..."

Cody grinned. "I know. They're so scary because they attack sleeping humans, and other animals the same size. But only if they're hungry. Or being threatened. If this one didn't try to kill me after I kicked at him earlier...he's not gonna go after one of us now. Besides, this guy's really smart...smarter than most animals. He knew exactly what he was doing earlier, saving me from Carrow."

"True," said Neville, sounding far more cheerful. "Well...what will you name him?"

"I dunno," said Cody, "I gotta think on it." The heavy lethifold was hurting his injured shoulder, so he lifted it onto the bright green hammock. He clenched his teeth as pain burned from the graze on his back, and once he set the lethifold down, he twisted his head around, trying to see where the curse had hit.

"You hurt?" asked Neville.

"Yeah," said Cody, carefully taking off his school robe and the shirt beneath. Neville winced, catching sight of the blood on the white shirt, and took a look. "Sectumsempra," said Cody. "But only a graze...still, I had to take potions last time to cure it. You think that the Room can get those?"

"Dunno why not," said Neville. "You got painkiller that one time, so did others. The only thing so far I've not been able to get from it is food." He looked around, laughing suddenly as he spied several bottles on the bookcase. "I bet we'll find a Healer's book here somewhere, too."

Neville was right; Cody recognized the potions he had taken once before to counter the evil curse, and in particular he recognized the one Madam Pomfrey nearly had to shove down his throat. Cody scowled at it. Neville hunted down a book of first aid, and within fifteen minutes had bandaged Cody's injury, and found instructions as to what potions he needed to take, and how much.

Cody sighed in resignation and looked the instructions over, choosing the nasty one first. He tried to ignore the amused look on Neville's face as he choked it down, wondering what it was that made it taste so vile. Then as he thought about it, he wasn't sure he really wanted to know.

"Thanks," said Cody gratefully. He yawned, then climbed up onto his hammock, careful not to kneel on his new pet. Once Cody had lain back, the lethifold sprawled on him like a little blanket. "So...so what happened with you, anyway? Why were the Carrows suddenly so interested in killing us? Amycus tried to hit me with Avada Kedavra!"

Neville winced. "Well I guess that answers my question...I wondered whether they intended to kill me or just send me to Azkaban."

"Well he tried to kill me, for sure. Dunno if he woulda done the same with you."

"Either way. I actually overheard them talking with the Extendable Ear I borrowed from Ernie MacMillan. Amycus was telling his sister he'd gotten permission to deal with me permanently...seeing as how they weren't able to use Gran against me. Alecto asked about you, and Amycus said that yes, they could deal with you, too. But they went after me, first; I'm older, they figured I might be more of a threat."

"They were right," said Cody. "If it hadn't been for the lethifold..."

"You put up a hell of a fight, though," said Neville seriously. "Anyway, I left in a hurry, but Alecto caught sight of me as I was running, and they both came after me...hexes flying all over the place. I hid for a while, but they were close enough that I couldn't hide for long, and I only barely managed to outrun 'em. Once I made it here, I was safe. As one of the conditions I specify to the room being that no Carrows or Carrow-supporters could get into this room, they weren't able to reach me. They weren't so happy about it, either."

Cody laughed, peering over the edge of his hammock. "I bet they weren't!" he laughed.

"Yeah. So they yelled through the wall they were coming after you instead, maybe they hoped it'd draw me out. But I knew I couldn't do you or anyone any good dead or captured. So I sent that message instead."

Cody snickered. "And made sure I was ready for 'em! You probably saved my life as much as the lethifold did. I woulda been caught without my wand out, otherwise. We were actually looking for you when we got your message; neither you nor Alecto showed up for Muggle Studies. Nearly got into a brawl with the Slytherins because they were being gits about it."

"I don't doubt it."

Sighing, Cody sat back and closed his eyes. He was still shaking a little bit, but he was quite happy; he felt completely safe in the Room of Requirement, and it was quite cozy. He looked contentedly up at the silver snake on the green tapestry, and grinned. "Good thing I came in here, really. There was way too much red and gold on the walls."

Neville laughed, and threw a cushion at Cody. It landed on the lethifold, who raised his head, startled, and sniffed around. Cody giggled.

"Sorry, lethifold," said Neville.

"He forgives you," said Cody. "Hey...I don't guess that bookcase has any books of names does it?"

"Names? Well...lemme see." Neville went over to the little bookcase and peered at it, grinning as he finally found what he was looking for, and handed it over. "Here you go. I tell you, this room is great. I wish I had one like it at my place!"

Cody took the book. "Thanks. Yeah...I wonder if the founders made it, or if it sorta sprung into being, or what. I mean this is major-league magic!"

"Tell me about it," said Neville, also climbing into his bunk and lying back in it. "Blimey, I'm tired. Bet you are, too."

"Yeah, I am. I never ran that fast in my life...I think I hurt my muscles or something." He flipped through a few pages of the book, entitled Enchanting names for wizarding Children, then frowned at a sudden thought, shutting the book and peering across at Neville. "We're stuck here, aren't we? We can't go back!"

The smile on Neville's face was a little sad as he nodded. "Yeah. We're officially fugitives. Kinda scary, isn't it?"

Cody bit his lip, not sure if he liked the idea. He liked feeling safe, but realizing that he could never go back to Hogwarts... Carrows or no, he loved the school. And he wouldn't be able to see Graham or the others again, either, until Voldemort was defeated! Or Lupin... Cody wondered if they could escape the school and find their way back to their families.

But no, Neville's grandmother was on the run, too, and Cody thought it was just a matter of time before Remus and the rest of the Order would have to run for it, too.

"Hey." Neville reached over, briefly grasping Cody's hand. "It'll be all right. This won't last forever. For now let's just recover, all right?"

Cody nodded, giving Neville an appreciative smile. "Okay." As distraction, Cody opened up the book of baby names Neville found, and began looking through it, making a mental note at each name he liked. The lethifold seemed to be snoozing, curled up on Cody's frontside, and Cody began to feel content again. The room was warm, he was with a good friend, and had gained a pet.

Every once in a while, Cody began asking Neville for an opinion.

"What about Xalvador?"

Neville gave Cody a strange look. "Too weird. Even for you."

Cody laughed. "No weirder than Xenophilius. Okay, how about Tarak?"

"Hmm. That's okay...what else is there?"

"Daemyn, Tivon, Darwin, Theo, Mace, Kirabo..."

Each name, Neville gave his opinion on. The ones he liked, he let Cody know. Cody finally settled on 'Chance.' "It means fortune," said Cody with a grin. "He was definitely good luck for me!"

"That sounds good," said Neville. "Chance, it is." Cody let the book drop down onto the floor, meaning to put it away the next time he got up off the hammock, but Neville sat up. "All right," he said. "I'm gonna let the rest of the DA know what's been happening. You want me to tell them what happened to you, too?"

"Yeah," said Cody. "Please."

"Okay. Gonna tell them that DA meetings are off too...obviously. Since the Room of Requirement is now officially a hideout, we can't use it for meetings, too. Only people needing a hideout are gonna be able to get in."

"You think others might need a hideout?" asked Cody, frowning over at Neville.

"Yeah," said Neville. "Yeah, I do. The Carrows got really nasty...eventually someone's gonna piss 'em off too much. I want our people to know they've got a safe place to go."

"Good idea," Cody murmured as Neville took the DA Galleon from his pocket. Cody rather thought that they should sneak out after curfew the first chance they got to grab their things from the Gryffindor dorms. Cody had already mentally written off his trunk and his schoolbooks. The schoolbooks he didn't mind so much, but his trunk had been with him from the beginning; the Slytherins had probably broken it into pieces. Cody was just glad his other personal belongings were safe.

As Neville began using the Galleon to relay the story, Cody felt his eyes drooping. He didn't mean to go to sleep, but there was no resisting it; he was dead tired.


	114. Y7, C36: Aberforth Dumbledore

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 36: Aberforth Dumbledore**

The next thing Cody knew, he was opening his eyes, very puzzled to find himself half-draped over a hammock, peering down at a wooden floor. He blinked at this strange vision, wincing and raising his head, suddenly remembering where he was, and why. "Oh, brother."

Neville was awake, also, sitting on the floor and playing with Chance, Cody's lethifold. Cody was surprised, but pleased to see Neville seemed to have gotten over his fear. "Some night, huh?" said Neville.

"You said it," Cody groaned. His shoulder was killing him, and Cody's hammock was bloodstained. He grimaced, wishing he knew a good cleaning spell for it, and slipped down off the hammock. He liked that hammock! He decided that was the kind of bed he wanted.

"I'll change the bandage for you," said Neville. "And you've got to take two of those potions...better check to make sure which ones."

Cody nodded sleepily, and laughed as the lethifold rippled over, and pounced on his feet. Neville looked slightly alarmed when Chance reared up and lunged, but Cody was familiar enough with the creature that he could tell a play pounce from an attack. "It's okay," said Cody as he took a swig of the nasty potion. "It's just play."

As it was obvious Chance wasn't trying to eat Cody, Neville nodded, relaxing again. "I see. You really know a lot about these guys."

"All down to Hagrid," said Cody, taking the second potion. "He taught me everything in his class. I learned a lot about quintipeds, too, but I don't think I'd want one of those as a pet. Now those are some vicious beasts! They don't make friends, period. We were learning about phoenixes and Golden Snidgets right before they tried to arrest him. Those are special creatures...one's a protected species, and phoenixes are nearly impossible to tame. Fawkes...well, Fawkes was Dumbledore's companion. He was an exception."

Feeling suddenly melancholy thinking about the loss of their headmaster, Cody sat on the floor, letting Chance crawl into his lap. Neville changed the bandage on Cody's shoulder, and Cody thanked him.

Looking Neville over, it was clear he'd been roughed up, but it was nothing serious. One leg of Neville's trousers was ripped and the leg beneath bloody, but when Cody asked about it, he waved it off. "It's nothing. It hurts, but we're both used to that.

"I guess," said Cody. It was true, though. Both of them still had bruises and cuts from the Carrows, even before they were hunted down. "We look awful,"

"I know," said Neville with a shrug. "Some of it's magical damage, too, it's gonna stay there for a while. Still...better then being dead."

"Yeah. So...what time is it?"

"Nearly nine in the morning. You slept over twelve hours."

Cody blinked. "_Twelve hours?_ Sheesh. Guess I was tired."

"I slept about ten, myself, so I don't blame you. It's not like we've gotten a whole lot of sleep, lately. We've been doing too much undercover stuff at night."

"True." It did feel rather nice to sleep half the morning away. Cody's stomach growled, and he glared at it. "We're gonna have to try and sneak out one night to grab some food," said Cody. "Sure wish the Room could conjure that!" He imagined the sumptuous breakfast he had just missed in the Great Hall and sighed.

"We'll figure something out," said Neville. "Meanwhile, let's make some plans to snag our stuff from Gryffindor Tower. I've explained the situation to the others, and Seamus said he'll get our stuff all packed into my trunk, so that we can slip over to Gryffindor Tower and grab it after curfew. We can use the Disillusionment Charms and head there tonight."

"Cool. It's not too far away, either, so it should be easy."

"Exactly." Neville walked over to a little bedside table that wasn't in the room the night before, and grabbed a pitcher and a glass from it. "At least it provides water."

"Oo, good idea." Cody walked over also, and grabbed the second glass, taking the pitcher once Neville was finished. His thirst sated, Cody didn't feel the hunger so much.

There was not much to do in that room, so Cody and Neville spent most of the day reading the books from the bookcase. A lot of them were the books on battling the Dark Arts they'd been using in DA meetings, but there were others, too. Treating injuries, magical espionage (Cody wished he'd seen that book sooner, it was full of all sorts of good ideas for doing sneaky stuff!), and even a book on magical spells for cleaning. Pleased, Cody found a simple one that removed the bloodstain from his hammock and his clothing.

By the end of that day, Neville and Cody were fairly clean, and their hammocks were clean as well. They were hungry, but not desperately so, and after a full day of recovery, both of them felt pretty good.

They had some communication from the DA, mostly about how angry the Carrows were for losing both Neville _and_ Cody, and about how they knew where both of them were, but couldn't get at them. Graham commented that he thought the Carrows were worried about what You-Know-Who would do when he found out they'd been bested by two kids.

_He doesn't know about you guys, I'm sure,_ Graham wrote. _But eventually Snape will have to make some kind of report!_

Cody rather hoped that Voldemort disemboweled the Carrow siblings.

Around noon the next day, Cody's stomach was growling worse than ever, and Neville's had joined in the symphony. "We have _got_ to find a way to get some food in here," Neville finally said aloud. "A safe way."

Cody was so startled by what happened next, that all he could do was stumble against the wall and make a stupid-sounding grunt. A portrait had appeared on the wall, a door-shaped portrait showing a girl about Cody's age and a very long tunnel behind. But the startling thing wasn't the portrait; Cody was used to the Room sprouting weird things.

The girl in the portrait smile, and gestured to Cody and Neville, turning around and going down the tunnel...and the portrait _opened._ Just like the Fat Lady that concealed the entrance to Gryffindor Tower, it opened wide, revealing the exact tunnel they had just seen in the portrait.

"What the hell?" said Neville. "What's this?"

Cody grabbed the Marauder's Map (which he'd never bothered to wipe, not seeing the point), and looked it over, trying to find the tunnel and where it led to, but it wasn't there. He told Neville as much, and peered into the tunnel, which smelled of wood and earth.

"Beats me. Should we go and see?"

Neville thought a few moments, before laughing a little, shrugging his shoulders. "Don't see why not. But we'll bring our wands, just in case."

"Okay." Eager for something a little different than the increasingly boring Room of Requirement, Cody put on his ripped shirt and his equally tattered school robe (neither had come through his latest battles in great shape), and told Chance the lethifold to stay there. Cody grabbed his wand, Neville did the same, and they stepped through the portrait doorway.

The tunnel beyond was surprisingly warm, and Cody wondered if it was in the walls of the castle itself. Being that the Room of Requirement was on the seventh floor, Cody figured it would have to be.

Cody noticed that Neville was limping, as they walked along the wood floor, which had sets of steps every few yards that were so steep Cody could have easily slid down them if they were smoother. In some places, the floor slanted so steeply they had to concentrate on keeping their balance.

"Sure is long, this tunnel," said Neville five minutes later. They both had their wand tips lit, because it was pitch dark inside. The wood floor had evened out some, so it didn't feel like they were trying to walk down a playground slide, but Cody realized it was going to be a huge pain in the rear end to climb back up it!

"Looks like it comes to an end up there, though," said Cody, pointing. "Look."

Ahead was a rough square shape, not like the portrait, but smaller. It was big enough for Neville and Cody to climb through, and looked like it was made of wood, like a door.

As they reached it, the two of them exchanged an uncertain look. "Do we go through?" asked Neville.

"I dunno...lemme listen." Cody crept forward, intending to press his ear against the door, but as he leaned forward, the whole things swung out at the slightest pressure. Cody let a scream of alarm as he pitched forward, and fell about four feet to what felt like a worn carpet.

"Cody!" Neville thrust his head through the square frame, alarm on his face, and he jumped down next to Cody.

"I-I'm okay," stammered Cody, getting shakily to his feet, wincing and stretching his arm; he had landed on his bad arm, and it hurt worse than his pride. "But we better get back in there before--"

Too late. A door across the room slammed open, and someone rushed through it, his wand raised. The two boys raised theirs in return, and Cody hoped frantically that they'd not made a huge mistake.

The figure didn't attack at once. He stormed into the room, slamming the door behind him, and gaped. "Who the hell are you?" he demanded.

Cody blinked; the man was awfully familiar. He was old and grubby, and his gray hair was long and tangled. He had beard that reminded Cody strongly of Dumbledore's, and his blue eyes were similar, too. But his resemblance to Dumbledore wasn't why Cody recognized the man.

Neville had also made the connection. "We're in the Hog's Head!"

The man, the barkeep of the pub, squinted his eyes at the two of them, slowly lowering his wand. "Have we met, boy?" he asked Neville.

Cody lowered his wand, also, and after a moment, Neville did the same. "Briefly," said Neville. "We...we met in your pub once, planning a rebellion against Dolores Umbridge."

The old man's eyes widened in realization, and he slowly nodded. "That's right...Longbottom, isn't it?" Neville nodded, and the old man turned his gaze to Cody. "You were there too, but you were a lot smaller, then. Who are you?"

"Cody DeDannan."

The old man glanced quickly out a grubby window, then drew the shades closed. "You got another name?" he asked Cody. "Gregor?"

Cody scowled, but then he sighed. "Yeah, but I don't used it. It was my birth name, but I got adopted."

To both boys' surprise, the man began to laugh. "Unbelievable. Do you know that you two're wanted men?"

Cody and Neville exchanged a look, and Neville actually laughed, too. "We had an idea," he finally said. "We, er, well, it's kind of a long story."

"Tell you what," said the old man, still looking amused. "I've got time."

Again, the boys exchanged a glance. Cody shrugged. "We got nothing else to do," he said.

"All right," said Neville slowly, but he glanced up at the little open door he and Cody had just tumbled through, and Cody wondered if he was afraid of ambush. The though had crossed Cody's mind, too, but for some reason he wasn't worried about it. There was no niggling little voice in the back of his head telling him to beware. Still, he supposed it would be a good idea to take care.

Aberforth indicated a rickety chair on one side of the fireplace, but Cody just sat on the hearth. It was warm, as if there'd recently been a fire in the grate. Neville took the chair, instead.

"Er, what's your name?" asked Cody.

"Dumbledore," said the man, making both Cody and Neville blink. "Aberforth Dumbledore."

He didn't know about Neville, but Cody's eyes about popped out of his head. "Holy cow, you're Dumbledore's brother! He told us about you once!"

"He did, did he?" grunted Aberforth. "I suppose he was singing my praises, was he?"

Cody felt his face turn a little red at Aberforth's sarcastic tone...the man obviously didn't expect that Dumbledore had said anything complimentary about him. He was mostly right, too. "Well, kinda," said Cody, his face getting hotter. "He did mention something about a goat."

Aberforth gazed at Cody through half-closed eyes, while Neville gave him a very strange look. Finally, the old man grunted. "Figures. So how the hell did you get into my bar?"

So Neville told the story, punctuated here and there with Cody's own comments and additions. Aberforth remained quiet throughout it all, his expression growing more and more interested.

"So we actually haven't eaten in a while," Neville ended. "So the Room provided this tunnel. If you had anything to eat, well, we've got money to pay for it."

"Hm." Aberforth stood up, pacing the room a bit, apparently deep in thought. "Took a lot of nerve, doin' all that," he finally said. "Stupid, maybe. But brave."

Cody wasn't sure if he'd been insulted or complimented, and looked uncertainly at Neville. Neville gave him a "don't ask me" sort of look. "I guess so," Neville said. "We don't see it as stupid, much. We got done what we wanted. We encouraged people not to give up, to fight for what they believed in."

For some reason, Aberforth winced, as if he'd hurt himself, and Cody wondered if it was something Neville had said. "Yeah," said the old man in a low tone. "I reckon you did. Hold on a second."

With that, he left the room, with no other explanation, and Cody frowned, suddenly nervous. What if he was going to get someone? The Death Eaters? Cody realized suddenly that if they were in the Hog's Head, that they were in Hogsmeade, and Hogsmeade was full of Death Eaters.

Biting his lip, Cody stood up and went to the window, suddenly sure he'd see black-clad figures marching up to the door. But all he saw when he peered out through the curtains was an empty, dirty street. He'd so been expecting to see the Death Eaters that _not_ seeing them confused him for a minute.

Aberforth's voice behind him made him jump a mile in the air. "Get the hell away from the window, boy!" he hissed, and Cody took two big steps back. Aberforth had a tray in his arms, full of bread and cheese and a large pitcher of liquid. "You trying to get us all killed, idiot?

"S-sorry," Cody stammered. He felt bad, suddenly, for suspecting the old man, and he slunk back over to Neville. Neville looked a little rattled, too, so Cody knew he wasn't the only one who'd been suspicious.

"Thought I'd gone to tell on you, did yeh?" he asked shrewdly, setting the tray on a small table in the room. But he didn't sound angry anymore; he was more amused than anything.

"Yeah," Cody admitted, his face burning hot again. "Sorry."

Aberforth wave a dismissive hand as he sat back down in his chair. "Well, have at it," he said impatiently, gesturing to the food. "You don't look like you've been fed proper for a while."

"How much do we owe you?" asked Neville.

"Don't worry about it. Not like I can do much else against You-know-Who except go along, and survive. Least I can help you two out."

Cody smiled at the man, feeling suddenly fond of him. He was gruff, crude, and grouchier than a pack of quintapeds, but he was sort of likable all the same. "Thanks, Mr. Dumbledore," he said, laughing a little at how strange the name sounded.

"Ah," said the man disgustedly. "Got no use for titles. Call me Aberforth. Ab, if you like."

"I like Aberforth," said Cody, snagging a soft white piece of bread. His stomach growled in anticipation as he bit down, and he sighed, letting himself slump back onto the sooty hearth.

Aberforth looked amused again at Cody's enthusiasm as he made short work of the bread. Neville had a chunk of cheese in one hand, and was enjoying the meal just as much.

No one said much for a few minutes while Cody and Neville worked their way through the meal. Cody found out the pitcher had mead in it, be declined, saying he'd rather have water. Aberforth nodded at a pitcher on a nearby shelf, and Cody snagged it, pouring himself a glass.

Soon, Cody felt full and satisfied, and Neville looked much the same.

"Thanks again, Ab," said Neville gratefully.

"Don't mention it," said Aberforth gruffly. "Just come here when you need food. I know you can't get food with magic...but you can multiply it, so just come down when you need some and I'll give to you. You can deal with makin' it enough for you to eat."

"No problem," said Neville. "I know that one."

"Was Ariana the one who brought you here?" asked Aberforth.

"Ariana?" said Cody, and he and Neville both looked to the little tunnel they'd come through. Cody walked over and stood on his toes, half closing the door to see the portrait of the girl, who smiled sweetly at him. "Are you Ariana?"

The girl nodded.

"Then yes," said Neville with a chuckle. She led us here. And thanks, too," he added to the portrait.

The girl nodded, her smile widening.

"Doesn't she talk?" asked Cody curiously, looking at Aberforth, whose expression turned suddenly wretchedly sad.

"No," he said quietly. But he didn't say anything more, and Cody regretted asking.

"Well, I like her. She's nice," he said in a little voice, trying to make up for what had obviously been a mistake.

"Yeah...me too. Listen, you two better get back up to your hideout. But come down and visit me once in a while if you want to. Not like this is the most entertaining place to be lately, with them bloody Death Eaters out there all the time. I hardly get any business anymore 'cept for them."

Cody could have pointed out that he hardly got any business before, but tactfully decided not to. Besides, it might not be true; he'd only been in the place once.

"Good idea," said Neville, standing up. He offered his hand to Aberforth, who took it grudgingly. "And thanks again."

Cody shook Aberforth's hand also, and looked up at the portrait doorway; the only way to get back up there was to climb up onto the mantel. Shrugging, Cody did so, hissing as he strained his hurt arm. Neville gave him a boost up from behind, then climbed up after him.

The two boys talked about the visit as they walked back along the steep path, and about what a grouch Aberforth was, and how lucky they were he'd been willing to help. "I like him, though," said Cody with a laugh. "He's grumpy as heck, but I still like him."

"Me too," said Neville, as they began to steep climb back to the Room of Requirement. "But I wonder who that girl, Ariana, is."

"Beats me. Maybe we'll find out. It'll give us something to do, at least."

They didn't say anything more as they climbed, needing all their breath to ascend the path. When they got back into the Room of Requirement, they both collapsed into their hammocks. Chance, happy to see them back, reared up and sort of leapt in his own way onto Cody. Cody laughed and gave the creature a hug. "Neville, can we sneak out tonight and get our stuff? Then we can just take my broom down that tunnel. It'll be a lot easier!"

"Okay, yeah," said Neville. "Good idea."

Cody thought it might be a little risky, but Neville and Seamus made it really easy. With the DA Galleons and a little help from the marauder's Map, Seamus was able to sneak out of Gryffindor Tower with the trunk he'd filled with Cody's and Neville's belongings. There came a knock on the door of the Room of Requirement, and Cody checked the Map before opening it and poking his head out.

There Seamus stood, grinning, Neville's trunk at his feet. Cody laughed and left the room, hugging Seamus briefly before levitating the trunk. The Irishman laughed, giving Cody a little squeeze about the shoulders. It hurt, but Cody didn't complain.

"Thanks," said Neville, bringing the trunk inside. "We appreciate it."

"It was no problem,' said Seamus. "I'm just glad to see you two. We were worried there for a while, you know."

"So were we," said Neville, and the three of them laughed.

"Well, I gotta head back," said Seamus, looking furtively around. "The last thing I need is for Amycus to catch me out after curfew. If they did, way things've been going, I'd be joining you."

"Not so good, huh?" asked Cody.

"Nope." Said Seamus cheerfully. "The DA have taken it personally that the Carrows chased you two down into hiding. We've been carrying on in your stead."

Cody and Neville grinned in unison. "Brilliant," said Neville, nodding. "Just be careful."

"Of course." Seamus tipped them a wink then slunk off, heading back towards Gryffindor Tower.

While Cody closed and locked the door, Neville opened the trunk, heaving out the bag of things Cody had left in Gryffindor Tower. Pleased, Cody went through the bag, taking out his favorite books and putting them in a stack beneath his hammock. Neville brought Cody's Nimbus 1700 out of the trunk and set it on the floor, and Cody grinned. Abandoning his belongings for now, Cody hopped on the broom, rising into the air and flying in tight circles around the room. Amused, Neville only shook his head and rummaged in his trunk.


	115. Y7, C37: Refugees

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 37: Refugees**

Things were a little less boring now that Cody had his favorite books and other belongings. Neville suggested that Cody might want to start a journal as something to do, and Cody thought that was a great idea. Gathering his stack of parchment, his quill, and ink, he started work on it that day,

It wasn't so much a journal as a record of everything that had happened to him since that first, fateful day when he picked up a book and entered into a world of magic. Lying on the floor, his elbow on a cushion, he wrote and wrote, even forgetting where he was. It was a surprising relief, writing everything down, as if it was something that had waited long to be done, and he found he had little trouble remembering the details.

He wrote about his Harry Potter books, and how he'd first heard the Knight Bus BANGing outside his house. He wrote about buying Merlin and his astonishment with Diagon Alley. He wrote a page full of indignation about being Sorted into Slytherin in the first year, and of how he grew eventually to like it, and even made friends with Draco and Gregory. "Not anymore," muttered Cody darkly. Goyle and Crabbe had set the Cruciatus Curse on Cody during the school year. That wasn't something he could ever forgive.

"Hm?" asked Neville, looking down from his hammock.

"Nothing," said Cody, continuing his story. He wasn't sure if he was ready to share some of this with anyone; the only person alive who knew Cody's whole story was Lupin... Though if Cody did tell anyone else, it would be Neville or Graham.

He wrote about trying out for Quidditch and failing (though falling in love with flying in the process), and of how he loved his classes, and that everyone was surprised to see someone so young at Hogwarts. He recalled how fascinated he'd been with British terminology, and how the Weasley twins took it upon themselves to see that Cody learned the more colorful bits of slang. He wrote about making friends with Hagrid, gaining the trust of the Gryffindors, and of how Hagrid had put Cody in contact with Tony Barado in Florida, who ensured that Cody was able to keep Merlin.

He wrote about how he kept his trunk stowed in the back of his closet at home, and of how it had somehow hidden itself so that Mom wouldn't discover it, and of how Cody had thought it was all a dream when he didn't glimpse the neon-green trunk. He wrote of the bitter disappointment, and how, at the last minute, he just looked a little harder and found the trunk and Merlin's cage there, waiting. Cody wasn't entirely sure that he had properly expressed his relief, his boundless joy, his pride that he'd not given up, and didn't let his faith in magic die...but he wrote it down as best he could. He found he could still remember that feeling, how his heart seemed too big for his chest, how he felt he had to jump up and down in glee, or else he'd explode.

Cody's hand was aching by the time he stopped, and he was shocked that he'd gotten several pages down before he sat up, stiff with having lain still so long. Figuring it was time to stop for a while, Cody stowed the written pages back in his school bag and grabbed a Hardy boys book to read. He shoved Chance aside so he could get into his hammock, and the lethifold instead lay down on Cody. It was all the same to him.

Things went on that way for another day and a half. Neville was taking the forced confinement well enough, but Cody was being driven slowly stir crazy. As Hermione had once said, eleven-year-old boys weren't made for long periods of rest, and at thirteen, Cody was no different.

He had his broom, and often flew it in circles, or he played with Chance, or he climbed and swung on his hammock. But it wasn't the same as having the run of the castle, or going outside to run in the grass, or swimming in the lake and irritating the giant squid (or vice versa). And it certainly wasn't the same as flying in the open air! Cody had never gone so long without going outside before. Cody often used the tunnel between the room of Requirement and the Hog's Head to expend his energy, speeding down it on his broom (crash landing once or twice) and that helped too, but he was still sick of the room.

Neville and Cody went down to visit Aberforth frequently--company other than one another was a welcome change. Neville and Cody had not yet begun to snap at each other, but Cody thought it might happen soon.

Aberforth began telling them a little of his story as the days passed, and Cody wished he wouldn't have. Because Aberforth's past was Dumbledore's past also, and it was not a pretty one. Ariana had been their sister, and died at a young age, by a terrible accident. Aberforth never went any further than to tell them that, but Cody suspected there was more, worse, to the story.

It was the shock of Cody's life to learn that Gindelwald, the worst Dark wizard in history until Voldemort came along, had in boyhood been Dumbledore's closest friend. Dumbledore had made mistakes in his life. He had repented of them, had done his best to atone for what he'd done, but it was still a great disappointment to Cody.

Things changed a bit one evening, after the latest food run from Aberforth. Neville had brought the food back with them, multiplying the sandwiches so that there were three each, when they were startled by a sudden flash of color above them. Vertigo twisted Cody's gut as the room suddenly expanded slightly, and he and Neville saw a brand-new hammock, and a new Gryffindor banner.

"Uh oh," said Neville quietly. "Looks like someone else is being hunted down."

Cody stood up and Neville did also, their wands drawn, just in case there was trouble; a second later, the door of the Room of Requirement burst open, and Seamus Finnegan staggered in.

"Cripes!" Cody exclaimed, catching a glimpse of a furious Alecto Carrow beyond the door, and hastily shutting and locking it. His heart pounding, Cody winced as Carrow banged on the door outside, but Cody knew she couldn't get in.

"Blimey, Seamus," said Neville, rushing forward to help Seamus in. "What the hell happened?"

Seamus looked absolutely terrible. His face was bloody and bruised, and he was limping badly. His robes were torn, and he shook with exhaustion. Neville and Cody helped him over to the new hammock, where he collapsed.

"I came upon them torturing some first-year girl," Seamus said, his words distorted because his mouth was swollen. "I kinda lost it and attacked one of 'em."

Cody clenched his teeth, thinking about them turning their damnable Cruciatus Curse on some little girl. "They're monsters," he hissed. "They have a lot of nerve calling Muggles beasts."

"I know. So I Stunned the bloke, and his sister went after me. Set a gang of the Slytherins after me...beat the hell out of me. I only got away because Graham Pritchard was there, used some really sneaky magic to get 'em off of me."

Cody laughed delightedly. "Awesome, Graham!"

"Yeah, I owe him," said Seamus. "But Alecto wasn't finished with me." The three boys jumped at renewed pounding from outside, and Seamus winced. "She's _still_ not done with me."

"She can't get in," said Neville quickly. "I made sure of that. Hey, sod off, you hag!" he yelled, and was answered by an infuriated squawk from Alecto.

"Yeah, you always did get the hang of this room really well," said Seamus. He heaved a huge sigh, then closed his eyes.

"So Alecto finally got all the ears off of her, huh?" said Cody, grinning yet wider, and Seamus started laughing.

"First of all...what did you _do_ to her?" he demanded. "I never heard of an ear curse!"

Cody laughed, too. "It wasn't a curse. It was an 'Earing Aid. George Weasley gave it to me, after Fred sicced it on my self. It's a little disc that you throw, and shout 'Ears'! and it does that."

"That's brilliant," said Seamus. "I knew they were giving the Order a bit of help with their products, but that's got to be the best. Anyway, those things were six or seven feet long before Amycus bullied McGonagall into helping, by threatening some of her students." Seamus snorted. "They're not the most brilliant wizards, those two."

"That's why Snape's in charge," said Neville. "He might be an evil git, but he's clever as they come, and a powerful wizard."

Seamus groaned. "I'm completely knackered. I could sleep about a week."

"Bet you're sore, too," said Cody, going over to the bookcase. "Or...is that what 'knackered' means?" He wasn't sure he'd heard that one before.

Neville laughed. "Usually means 'tired'. But close enough."

Cody nodded amiably and grabbed one of the bottles from the bookcase. "Here," he said, handing it to Seamus. "There's a bit left; it's painkiller. I got hit by a Sectumsempra Curse, and the room was nice enough to get me the potions I needed, but I don't need that one anymore; it's nearly healed."

Seamus took the bottle gratefully and down the last dose, while Neville got out the first aid books.

Much of Seamus's damage was done mundanely, so Cody and Neville were able to clean him up a bit, but he still looked awful.

"Good thing there's no mirror in here," Neville muttered. "We'd scare ourselves."

Cody found this extremely amusing, and was still chuckling when Seamus closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Seamus wasn't the last. In the middle of the night, Michael Corner and Anthony Goldstein showed up, laughing gleefully because they'd managed to hex Snape, but been chased down for it. The Room sprouted its first Ravenclaw banner for them, and Cody got into a friendly insult match about how his Slytherin hanging was the best of them all.

The next day, Ernie MacMillan arrived, adding a new hammock and a Hufflepuff tapestry. Cody began to wonder if all of Hogwarts would end up there eventually, or at least all of Dumbledore's Army.

He wasn't far off, either; the DA had had it with the Carrows, and were in full rebellion from the sound of it, determined to try their damnedest to rid Hogwarts of them. Unfortunately, the Carrows had more clout behind them, and began hunting the DA down, so that the Room of Requirement became a refuge for besieged rebels. Cody suddenly felt like he was in a Star Wars movie. It didn't take a huge stretch of imagination to imagine Voldemort as the Emperor and the Death Eaters as stormtroopers. Cody chuckled on and off for hours at the idea.

Graham Pritchard arrived alone soon after Ernie and Michael, and Cody was thrilled to see him. He ran over, and the two boys hugged, and Cody showed Graham over to his new hammock. Graham brought Cody his 'Earing Aid, too. "Got it from McGonagall," said Graham with a grin. "She said you might want it back."

With all the new people, things were a lot more interesting, sort of like one long DA meeting. Cody was not bored so much anymore, especially since they'd taken to practicing again, figuring they might as well make the most of their time.

One night they went on a raid to gather the rebels' belongings from their dorms, and soon the Room of Requirement looked a little more like a home than a refuge. Broomsticks leaned against the walls, more and more books filled the bookshelves, and Seamus got the large wireless radio into the room after a week or so, wanting to keep up with Potterwatch.

Cody spent a lot of time assuring people that his lethifold, Chance, was not going to eat them, and even more time getting them used to the beast. He also had books to read, visits to make with Aberforth, and his journal record to write. He had gotten down most of his third year by that time, writing about how he'd met professor Lupin and dementors all on the same train ride, and how he'd gotten to like Lupin enough to wish he'd marry Mom. He also wrote down a half a page of insult about the dementors.

Cody and Anthony Goldstein were on a food run and visiting with Aberforth one night when the first girls arrived. After spending a half-hour debating with Aberforth whether or not goats were as clever (or cleverer) as humans, the two of them returned in high spirits to find Lavender Brown and the Patil twins had joined the general group.

Cody blinked; the lot of them looked roughed up, as did most of the DA, but happy enough to be there. He wondered if they were going to sleep in the same room as the boys. As he looked, it seemed that was true. There _was_ a new addition to the room, though: a balcony. It ran all around the room, making a sort of open second floor, and the hammocks had been redistributed to give them all more room.

"More people!" said Neville with a grin. "Now all we really need is for Harry to get back. Then we can overthrow Snape."

"I can't wait for that!" exclaimed Graham, sitting with Chance on his hammock. "That git gave me a week's worth of detention with Amycus for shooting a spitball at him. Luckily I only had to go to two of 'em before they chased me down."

Everyone laughed, and Cody gave him the thumbs-up.

Lavender, Parvati, and Padma weren't the last girls to show up, and it was thanks to them that the ragged band of refugees suddenly had a bathroom. Lavender asked if there was anything place to wash up, because she didn't like feeling grubby, and the room responded well enough, popping up a door that led into their own, private bathroom.

Boys and girls alike were delighted with the arrangement; Cody didn't much like using chamberpots, and the bathroom had a flush toilet in it. But most of all, he was just as happy to be able to bathe as the girls were. So after a day's worth of taking turns, and going in small, same-gender groups to shower, everyone felt quite refreshed. Even Chance let Cody give him a wash, and seemed to feel better for it afterwards.

The last person to arrive in the Room of Requirement was Terry Boot, who burst into the room at a sprint, collapsing to the floor, laughing hysterically. Everyone was quite taken aback with the sudden arrival, though Ernie MacMillian was quickly enough to slam the Room's door shut. Anthony and Michael knelt down beside their housemate, helping Terry to his feet; he was hurt quite as bad as Seamus had when he'd first arrived, but he also looked downright gleeful. "You'll never believe it!" he exclaimed.

"Believe what?" "What?" Several people clamored for Terry to tell them, as he was helped to a brand-new, deep gold-colored hammock.

But Terry couldn't tell them just yet; winded from his run, and obviously having gotten the worst of a fight, he had to first catch his breath.

But the story was worth the wait. "Hogsmeade weekend today," he said, laughing. "And it was cut short. People are talking about it in the village...it's about Harry."

"Harry Potter?" asked Graham, grinning, as several people urged Terry to continue his story.

"Yeah! I couldn't believe it, but it seems to be on the up and up—he broke into Gringotts bank!"

No one else was able to believe it either, obviously, as "No way!" and "You're joking!" echoed around the room.

"That's not the best of it, either," said Terry. "He escaped. He escaped, he must be the first person ever to that, and he escaped on a _dragon._ One of the dragons the goblins keep locked up in there!"

"Even Harry can't tame a dragon, can he?" asked Lavender Brown in disbelief.

Terry shrugged. "Dunno. But when I got back, I yelled it to all of the Great Hall—you shoulda heard the cheers! 'Course Amycus Carrow wasn't so happy. He beat me up, in fact. But he didn't try to hex me until I turned my wand on him."

Which explained why Terry had joined them!

"When?" asked Cody eagerly. "When'd he do it?"

"Just a few hours ago, from what they say!"

"Hey!" said Neville, hopping down from his hammock and running over to the wireless. "I'd bet anything that River's got a new Potterwatch on, if Harry managed to do that!"

During the last Potterwatch, Lee had announced the new password as being, "Tonks", and Cody thought with a pang that it must be in honor of Tonks's father, who'd been killed earlier in the year. But Neville was right; as he tapped the wireless and uttered the name, the radio lit up, and lee Jordan's voice blared from the speakers.

Everyone cheered, and Neville had to hiss at them to pipe down.

"...only is Harry Potter alive and well, but he's breaking into wizarding banks! Harry Potter is perhaps the first person in the world to break into Gringotts and to get out alive. They say he was after something in the vault of the Lestranges, who of course are the Chief Death Eater's most loyal servants. No doubt Harry's goal was something that will help in his fight against the man with no tan."

The twins' snickering could be heard in the background as the DA roared with laughter. "So how did he escape, River?" asked George Weasley, as the laughter died down.

"A true Harry Potter escape," said Lee gleefully. "Rumor has it he freed one of the dragons the goblins keep to protect the riches! Gave the poor thing its freedom, and escaped the goblins' wrath all in one swoop."

The twenty or so fugitives in the Room of Requirement cheered, laughing delightedly at the news. Not that any of them knew why Harry might have broken into the Lestranges' vault, but just hearing that he was alive and well, and still pulling that kind of stunt was good news indeed.

"I told you!" Terry hollered, laughing. "Didn't I say? Everyone's talking about it!"

And so they were. It was the topic on the DA's lips for sure, for the next couple of days. Neville was sure it was a sign they'd be seeing Harry very soon. "He's got to be almost finished with his task, whatever it is," he said to Seamus. "Any day now...he wouldn't be doing something so desperate if he wasn't close to success!"

Cody was in agreement, and he was sure, now, that Harry had been going for a horcrux. What else could the Lestranges possibly have at Gringotts that Harry wanted badly enough that he'd risk the goblins' wrath?

It occurred to him that Harry just _might_ come to Hogwarts...maybe there was a horcrux there. Now that was an interesting idea; what horcrux would it be? _Where_ would it be? Cody had the feeling he might find out soon.


	116. Y7, C38: United Front

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 38: United Front**

Thoughts of horcruxes were Cody's mind the next day as he headed into the bathroom to have a shower. Distracted by his pondering, he didn't happen to notice that the shower was already occupied...in fact he didn't notice until he'd stripped to his underwear and opened the shower curtain.

It would have been okay if it was a boy in the shower, but it wasn't. It was Lavender Brown. For a split second, Cody gaped, and she stared. Then they both shrieked, and Cody wasn't sure who screamed louder!

Cody turned tail and ran, his face burning, and burst out of the bathroom door, shutting it behind him and holding it closed, as if Lavender might come out after him. A great shout of laughter behind Cody turned his face yet hotter. He spun around to glare; a couple of people looked slightly alarmed (Cody was sure he looked terrified), but most everyone else was in hysterics with glee.

He didn't mind being chased out by a girl. He didn't even mind being in his underwear. (The Gryffindors and Graham were used to that anyway.) But he had seen a girl _without clothes on! _If anything ever happened to Cody to make him want to melt into the floor, it was that.

He slunk over to his hammock, climbing into it and sinking down so he couldn't see anyone.

"Aw," came Graham's voice from below. There was laughter in it, but at least he also sounded sympathetic. There was a scraping sound, and Graham's face was suddenly level with Cody's, as Cody peered out from beneath his robe. "Don't worry about it. You're not the only one who's ever walked in on a girl."

Cody was reassured by Graham's sympathy, but not his words. "I'm never looking at Lavender Brown again," he said, his voice muffled by his cloak.

"You have nice legs, though, Cody," said one of the girls.

"Aw, sod off!" said Cody, to general laughter.

Graham laughed and patted his back in a comforting sort of way, but Cody wasn't about to come out of hiding anytime soon.

After Lavender had gotten out of the shower (thankfully not saying anything to Cody about the incident), Cody slunk out of his hammock to take his shower. A couple people whistled at Cody, still in his underwear, but all he did was stick his tongue out in their direction. 'Sheesh,' he thought. 'It hasn't been a good day for my pride!'

The incident was forgotten by the next day, though Cody had the idea that Graham had filed it away for future ammunition.

It was two days later that everything exploded.

It began with Ariana appearing in her portrait in the Room of Requirement, smiling at Neville and gesturing. It wasn't the first time she'd beckoned for them, usually when Aberforth wanted a visit, or had some food supplies for them.

"I'm gonna see what Ab wants," said Neville, getting up from in front of the wireless, where he had been trying to see if there was another Potterwatch on.

"Okay," said Cody. He was swinging from his knees by his hammock, trying to reach down and grab Chance, who kept dodging out of the way. Since lethifolds had no eyes, Cody had no idea how the creature managed it.

Neville clambered up into the open portrait, and Cody watched him disappear into the shadows. They'd since put lamps in the tunnel, which made it a lot easier to see, but it was still pretty dim. Cody wished he could go outside.

With a lunge, he suddenly grabbed Chance, who'd gotten a bit too close, and fell from the hammock when Chance pulled back, so they were both on the ground. Laughing, Cody turned Chance on his back and tweaked the lethifold right in his ticklish spot; he vaguely felt the Galleon warm up in his pocket, but was too distracted to look.

Cody roughhoused with Chance for a few minutes, providing some amusement (and some annoyance) to various DA members, until Chance ended the game by pouncing on Cody and pinning him.

The first time Chance had done that, it nearly sent Neville and Seamus into a panic, thinking Cody was being eaten. But Cody managed to make himself heard through Chance's thick body, and calm them down. It was only Chance's way of playing. Eventually, people got to recognize the play-attack.

"You cheat," said Cody, and heard Graham snickering. Chance released Cody and rippled over to his favorite corner, looking like a strange land-dwelling sting ray. Cody stuck out his tongue, then got himself a Blood Lollipop and amused himself by grossing out the girls and half the boys.

Just then, Neville came back through the portrait hole, grinning from ear to ear. "Look who it is!" he exclaimed, straightening up and beaming at them all. "Didn't I tell you?"

Everyone's gaze turned to the hole in the wall, where someone was climbing out after Neville: _it was__Harry!_

"HEY!" Cody hollered, whooping and jumping to his feet.

"HARRY!" Seamus roared. "POTTER!" someone else cried. "It's Potter, it's Potter!" "RON!" "Hermione!"

Half the room surged forward to greet Harry, who was followed quickly by Ron and Hermione. Cody laughed gleefully, running forward to hug Ron, who like Harry, looked stunned. He hugged Hermione, then Harry, ducking down among the older students.

The entire group of refugees was yelling and cheering, jostling each other to greet Harry and the others. Cody suddenly felt so excited he could barely stand it. Ducking out of the general hug-attack, he jumped up and down a few times to vent his feeling.

"Okay, okay, calm down!" Neville yelled, and people quieted down, standing back to give Harry some room.

Harry looked around, his expression astonished. "Where are we?"

"It's the Room of Requirement!" Cody said. "Isn't it awesome? I want my room at home to look like this."

A few people laughed, and Neville nodded in agreement. "Surpassed itself, hasn't it? The Carrows were chasing me, and I knew I had just one chance for a hideout; I managed to get through the door, and this is what I found! Well, it wasn't exactly like this when I arrived, it was a load smaller, there was just one hammock and Gryffindor hangings. Then when the Carrows couldn't get me, they went after Cody, and he joined me about a half hour later."

"Yeah, my new pet saved my life," said Cody with a grin.

"New pet?" said Ron, a slight frown creasing his features. "What is it?"

Grinning, Cody called over to the corner, "Chance! C'mere, boy!"

Chance raised his head curiously and roused himself, slithering over to where Cody stood. Ron let out a yell and leapt back into the wall, Hermione stared in disbelief, and Harry eyed Chance suspiciously. "That's not--" Harry began.

"Yep," said Cody. "Hagrid's lethifold. Well, mine, now, really." Cody quickly told them how Chance had saved his life, and how he had sort of become the DA's mascot. It calmed Harry and Hermione down some, but Ron refused to come anywhere near it.

"Don't the Carrows know about this room?" asked Harry.

"No," said Seamus from where he sat on his hammock.

"Well, they know _something_ is here," amended Anthony Goldstein.

"Right," said Seamus. "But not how to get in. It's a proper hideout, so long as one of us stays in here, they can't get at us, the door won't open."

"And boy, does it piss them off," Graham interjected, and everyone laughed their agreement.

"It's all down to Neville," Seamus continued. "He really _gets_ this room! You've got to ask it for exactly what you need, like 'I don't want any Carrow supporters to be able to get in', and it'll do it for you! You've just got to make sure you close the loopholes! Neville's the man."

"It's quite straightforward, really," said Neville, as Dumbledore's Army rumbled in agreement.

He went on to tell Harry how the tunnel to the Hog's head had opened, and of how they'd met Aberforth, and Cody interjected that he was a grouchy git. "But still likable!"

Harry laughed. "Yeah...yeah, he is that."

"Oh!" said Cody, running over to his school bag, and pulling out the well-worn, blank piece of parchment the DA had been using all year. He ran back and handed it to Harry, who smiled in recognition. "Here. And thanks. It's saved our skins a few times!"

As Harry folded the Marauder's Map and put it in his pocket, Ron looked down at Cody in disgust. "You're still eating those things, too?" he said, indicating the Lollipop in Cody's mouth. "You worry me."

Cody shrugged. "Since Greyback bit me, I've liked them more. But I still do it mostly to gross people out."

"And he does it often," said Graham with a snicker.

Amid the chuckles, Seamus and Lavender went on to tell them that they'd been there for about two weeks, some of them, and that the Room had even sprouted a bathroom when the girls arrived and wanted to wash up.

"And we found out that DeDannan here's a Peeping Tom," said Michael Corner impishly, and Cody rounded on him, his face suddenly hot, and yanked the Lollipop from his mouth.

"I AM NOT!" he hollered as the room erupted into laughter. Feeling the urgent need to explain before the others made it sound any worse, Cody spun back around and said, "I walked in on Lavender in the shower—but it was an accident!" he added loudly as Ron, then Harry joined the general amusement.

Ernie MacMillan saved Cody any further embarrassment by changing the subject, and asking Harry if he really did break into Gringotts.

"They did!" Neville crowed. "And the dragon's real, too!"

Ron bowed as the DA applauded.

"What were you after?" Seamus asked. But Harry didn't reply; at that moment, he grimaced, as if something had suddenly hurt him, and he swayed on his feet. Alarmed, Ron grabbed hold of his arm, and Neville's expression turned to worry. "Are you all right, Harry?" he asked, also grasping an arm, as Harry looked like he might faint at any moment. "Want to sit down? I expect you're tired, aren't--"

"No," gasped Harry through clenched teeth. He forced himself up straight, and Ron and Neville let his arms go. "We need to get going."

"What are we going to do then, Harry?" asked Seamus. "What's the plan?"

Harry looked like he was fighting extreme pain, his teeth and fists clenched, his eyes narrowed. "Plan? Well there's something we—Ron, Hermione, and I—need to do, and then we'll get out of here."

Cody blinked. 'Get out of here'? Harry wasn't staying?

Neville was just as confused. "What do you mean, 'get out of here'?"

"We haven't come back to stay," said Harry, rubbing the scar on his forehead. "There's something important we need to do."

"What is it?"

"I—I can't tell you."

Cody knew then that he'd been right, and frowned a little at Harry, and mutters broke out among the refugees. Neville frowned, looking downright dangerous for a minute. "Why can't you tell us? It's got something to do with fighting You-know-Who, hasn't it?"

"Well, yeah--"

"Then we'll help you."

"You don't understand," said Harry. "We—we can't tell you, we've got to do it alone."

Cody felt a familiar bout of anger with Harry, and it was clear many others felt the same way. Harry had a habit of keeping too many things a secret, and thinking that he, Ron, and Hermione were the only ones capable of doing anything worthwhile. Cody remembered it well from the battle at the Ministry.

"Why?" asked Neville again, his voice quiet.

Harry didn't seem able to explain it very well, and it was obvious that his head was throbbing behind the lightning scar on his head. Voldemort, then? Something to do with Voldemort? "Because...Dumbledore left the three of us a job. And we weren't supposed to tell—I mean he wanted us to do it, just the three of us."

"That's not what he said," said Cody, scowling. "He just didn't want the whole world to know about 'em!"

"Yeah!" said Neville, "We're his army, aren't we? Dumbledore's army? We were all in it together, and we've been keeping it going while you three have been off on your own!"

"It hasn't exactly been a picnic, mate," said Ron, looking a little hurt.

"I never said it had," said Neville. "But I don't see why you can't trust us. Everyone in this room's been fighting, and they've been driven in here because the Carrows were hunting them down. Everyone in here's proven they're loyal to Dumbledore—loyal to you."

"Look," Harry began desperately, but he was interrupted by two people coming in the portrait hole behind them.

Seamus yelled happily as Luna came in with Dean Thomas. He ran to hug Dean, and Cody laughed and waved energetically at them both. "LUNA! DEAN! Hi! Man, am I glad to see you!"

Luna was beaming. "Hi, everyone! Oh, it's great to be back!

"Luna," said Harry, bemused. "What are you doing here? How did you--?"

"I sent for her," said Neville, holding up the Galleon, and Cody suddenly remembered feeling the Galleon got hot. "I promised her and Ginny that if you turned up, I'd let them know. We all thought that if you came back, it would mean revolution. That we were going to overthrow Snape and the Carrows!"

"Yeah!" Cody exclaimed, clenching a fist. "I owe them a knuckle sandwich each!"

"And more!" Graham agreed.

"Of course!" said Luna. "That's exactly why Harry's here, isn't it, Harry? We're going to fight them out of Hogwarts?"

"Listen!" cried Harry. "I'm sorry, but that's not what we came back for! There's something we've got to so, and then--"

"You're gonna leave us in this mess?" said Michael Corner.

"No!" said Ron, frowning. "What we're doing will benefit everyone in the end, it's all about trying to get rid of You-know-Who!"

"Then let us help!" Neville scowled. "We want to be a part of it!"

Harry was interrupted again by the arrival of more people, and Cody laughed; it was the Weasley twins, Ginny, Lee Jordan, and Cho Chang!

"Aberforth's getting a bit annoyed," said Fred as he was greeted by half the room. "He wants a kip and his bar's turned into a railway station." Cody laughed and nearly launched himself at the twins, trying to hug them both at once.

"HI! Guess what? I used your 'Earing Aid on Alecto Carrow! The ears got six feet long at least, Seamus said, before they made McGonagall remove them!"

The twins roared in approval. "Brilliant! A fine use of our product, I'd say!"

"So what's the plan, Harry?" asked George.

"There isn't one!" said Harry, looking like someone had Stunned him.

"Just going to make it up as we go along, are we?" said Fred. "My favorite kind!"

"You've got to stop this!" Harry pleaded to Neville. "This is insane!"

"We're fighting, aren't we?" said Dean, pulling out his own DA Galleon. "The message said Harry's back, and we're going to fight! I'll have to get a wand, though."

"You haven't got a wand?" said Seamus.

Harry seemed about to say something else, when Ron turned to him and said, "Why _can't_ they help?

"What?"

"They can help." He dropped his voice to a murmur, and Cody scowled again, feeling his face get hot. He didn't like when people did that...it always made him feel small. As if he wasn't worthy of their plans. He began to feel indignant again, like the whole of the DA were being looked down on as pesky little siblings.

Harry finally looked up, and everyone fell silent. "Okay," said Harry aloud. "There's something we need to find. Something...that'll help us overthrow You-Know-Who. It's here at Hogwarts, but we don't know where. It might have belonged to Ravenclaw. Has anyone heard of an object like that? Has anyone ever come across something with her eagle on it, for instance?"

Everyone looked over at Terry and the other Ravenclaws, but it was Luna who answered. "Well there's her lost diadem. I told you about it, Hatty, remember? Ravenclaw's lost diadem? Daddy's trying to duplicate it."

"Yes," said Michael sarcastically, "But the lost diadem is lost. That's sort of the point."

"When was it lost?" asked Harry.

"Centuries ago, they say," said Cho. "Professor Flitwick says the diadem vanished with Ravenclaw herself."

Cho said something else, too, but Fred and George had just discovered Chance, who in the confusion had wandered away from Cody. Alarmed, the twins had pulled their wands on the creature, and Cody had to run over and stop them before they tried to hex the poor thing. Gathering Chance in his arms, he quickly explained to the twins that Chance was a friend, and not to hex him. While the twins pronounced Cody mad (as they'd done dozens of times before), Cody brought Chance back to his hammock and told him to stay.

When he got back into the thick of the group, Harry was asking how to get out of the Room. Neville led them to a small cupboard, which was the only way out besides the Hog's Head tunnel. "It comes out somewhere different every day," said Neville, "so they've never been able to find it. Only trouble is, we have to use the Marauder's Map to find out where we are. That Map's been invaluable to us, by the way."

"Glad to hear it," said Harry distractedly, taking out his Invisibility Cloak. "Okay," he said. "See you in a bit." He and Luna Lovegood exited the Room, disappearing into the darkness.

"Where on Earth are they going?" Cody asked.

"Ravenclaw Common Room," said Neville. "They're gonna have a look at what that lost diadem looks like."

"Is anyone else showing up?" asked Cody.

"Yeah," said Fred from halfway across the room. "At least half the Order's showing u—oh! And here they are!"

Cody nearly broke his neck, turning his head to look, and his eyes widened as Lupin walked through the portrait. "REMUS!" Cody hollered at the top of his voice.

Remus looked up sharply at the sound of his voice, as Cody hurtled at him, barely letting him get his balance before throwing his arms around the man. "Remus! Boy, am I glad to see you! You're going to fight with us? You won't believe all that's happened!" Cody's excitement and happiness multiplied tenfold as he began to babble on to Remus, telling him all of his stories. He hardly noticed when other adults came in through the portrait hole, like Kingsley, the rest of the Weasleys, and nearly the entirety of Harry's old Quidditch team. The rest of Dumbledore's original Army had arrived too, but Cody was just glad that Lupin was there.

For about twenty minutes, the Room of Requirement was a hubbub of scared, excited, and intense voices. People were exchanging stories, hugging each other, and talking about what they were going to do with the Carrows once they'd won the fight. Cody stayed glued to Remus's side, sometimes talking, sometimes listening. Kathy Skinner and Kyle Tiller showed up, making the scene just that much more complete.

No one knew it then, and people were happy enough that no one even brought up the possibility, but that was the last time the lot of them were ever together. Cody would never, ever forget it, how it looked, how it smelled, how it sounded and felt. He'd never forget the rainbow of hammocks, the black robes, the House banners, the excited babble, the smell of the wood floors and someone's perfume. The faces of everyone there would be etched into Cody's memory forever as one of the greatest moments of his life...no matter what came after.

When the door of the Room opened again, Cody and Lupin turned around and looked around to see Harry standing there, looking very surprised.

"Harry, what's happening?" Lupin asked.

"Voldemort's on his way." Cody stared, chills suddenly jolting down his spine. "They're barricading the school. Snape's run for it—what are you doing here? How did you know?"

"We sent messages to the rest of Dumbledore's Army," said Fred. "You couldn't expect everyone to miss the fun, Harry, and the DA let the Order of the Phoenix know, and it all kind of snowballed."

"What first, Harry?" called George. "What's going on?"

"They're evacuating the younger kids, and everyone's meeting in the Great Hall to get organized," said Harry. "We're fighting."

The chills in Cody's spine intensified, and he took a big breath to steady himself. This was it.

Everyone made a rush for the stairs, and Lupin and Cody stepped off to the side to let most of them past so they could leave, too. Graham bit his lip, and Cody sighed, knowing Graham was only fifteen, and wouldn't be allowed to fight. As for Cody, he intended to stay, and he wouldn't let anyone send him off, but Graham...

"I wish you could stay," Cody said as he and Graham hugged one another.

"Yeah...me too." He smiled a bit. "But we'll see, huh?"

An angry voice interrupted them.

"You're underage! I won't permit it! The boys, yes, but you, you've got to go home!"

Cody sighed; it was Mrs. Weasley. He should have known.

"I won't! Ginny snarled. "I'm in Dumbledore's Army!"

"A teenager's gang!" Mrs. Weasley retorted furiously.

Fred spoke up on Ginny's behalf. "A teenager's gang that's about to take him on, which no one else has dared to do!"

Cody understood Mrs. Weasley's fear, that she would lose a loved one. Cody was scared, too. But he was very hurt at how casually she had belittled the DA, how she had so easily dismissed the suffering they'd gone through, the hours of practice, the planning, and rebellion against their oppressors. As if it meant nothing at all compare to the adults' fight.

Cody sidled back over to Lupin, who, to Cody's relief, seemed to understand. "She doesn't mean it that way," he whispered. "And I won't make you leave."

"Thanks," Cody whispered.

"Fine," Ginny was saying, her lip curled in disgust, and Cody felt extremely angry at the Weasleys at the moment. And Harry, too, who clearly wanted her to stay safe, too. In wanting to protect her, they were causing harm of their own. "I'll say good-bye now, and then--"

Then someone arrived that brought everything to a screeching halt. A tall, lanky, red-haired figured had stumbled through the portrait hole, glasses askew on his face, a look of disorder about him. "Am I too late? Has it started? I only just found out, so I—I..."

Everyone gaped in disbelief as Percy Weasley straightened up, straightening his glasses, and sputtered into silence--Percy, whom Cody had last seen leaving the Burrow with his face covered in mashed parsnip, courtesy of Ginny and the Weasley twins.

"So," said Fleur Delacour with a strained sort of laugh, "'Ow eez leetle Teddy?"

"Oh, yes," said Lupin, "he's fine! Yes, Tonks is with him, at her mother's!" As everyone else only stared, and Cody had the sudden urge to laugh, Lupin pulled something out of his pocket. "Here! I have a picture!"

He held it out, hoping to dispel the horrible silence that had fallen, but hardly anyone noticed. Percy didn't even seem to notice Lupin was there. "I was a fool!" he cried. "I was an idiot, I was a pompous prat, I was a—a—a..."

Fred was only too happy to fill in the blanks. "Ministry-loving, familiy-disowning, power-hungry moron."

Cody winced, but Percy only swallowed and said, "Yes, I was."

"Well," said Fred, offering his hand to his older brother, "you can't say fairer than that."

Mrs. Weasley burst into tears, hugging Percy, who patted her back and looked up at Mr. Weasley, his gaze almost timid. "I'm sorry, Dad."

Mr. Weasley blinked and hugged Percy, too, and Cody sighed in relief. The tension was draining, finally, and things were a lot more comfortable. George asked Percy what made him see sense.

"It's been coming on for a while," said Percy. He'd begun to cry, and had to wipe his eyes dry before continuing. Cody noticed Ginny edging her way toward the stairs and looked aelsewhere not wanting to give her away. "But I had to find a way out," said Percy. "It's not so easy at the Ministry, they're imprisoning traitors all the time. I managed to make contact with Aberforth and he tipped me off ten minutes ago that Hogwarts was going to make a fight of it, so here I am."

"Well," said George pompously, "we do look to our prefects to take a lead at times such as these." Cody snorted. "Now let's get upstairs and fight, or all the good Death Eaters'll be taken."

Cody let out a guffaw of laughter as Percy went to meet Fleur, who was his sister in law, but Mrs. Weasley had spotted her daughter sneaking up the stairs.

"Ginny!"

"Molly, how about this," said Lupin. "Why doesn't Ginny stay here? Then at least she'll be on the scene and know what's going on, but won't be in the middle of the fighting."

"I—"

"That's a good idea," said Mr. Weasley. "Ginny, you stay in this room, do you hear me?

Ginny scowled, but realized it was the best she could get under the circumstances, so she sullenly nodded.

"Cody," said Mrs. Weasley. "Cody...Remus, you've _got_ to send Cody home! He's only a child, yet, Remus."

Cody made himself not say anything, made himself not even look at Remus, not wanting to sound like he was whining, or having a tantrum (even though he felt like it.) But he barely held his breath as Remus replied. "Sorry, Molly. He's my responsibility." Mrs. Weasley was about to say something else, but Remus cut her off. "No, Molly, there is no argument. Cody is in seventh-year, and I believe he can handle himself."

"That's not fair!" Ginny exploded.

Tears in her eyes, Mrs. Weasley rounded on Ginny. "Unfortunately Cody's not my son! But you are my daughter!"

Cody gave Ginny an uncomfortable sort of look, wishing the entire scene had never happened, but the furious girl turned her back on the lot of them. It _wasn't_ fair. Ginny was months away from seventeen; did her mother thing that a person magically became a competent wizard the second his seventeenth birthday arrived?

"Where's Ron?" asked Harry suddenly. Cody looked around, but he hadn't even noticed Ron _or_ Hermione enter in the first place.

Ginny mentioned that they had gone to a bathroom, but before anything else could happen, Harry staggered again. His eyes widened, his hand went to his head, and a dreadful expression came over his features. Shaking, he took a deep breath. "He's here."


	117. Y7, C39: Last Stand

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 39: Last Stand**

At that moment, Cody thought there could never be words more horrible than "he's here". He remembered suddenly a snatch of the Sorting Hat's song from this fifth year, a little snippet of verse: "For our Hogwarts is in danger from external, deadly foes." The Hat had implored them all to unite, and forget their differences, or Hogwarts would be lost. Realizing how true those words had been, how chilling they were now in retrospect, Cody began to shake.

"Are you okay?" asked Remus quietly as the group of them nearly ran for the Great Hall. Ginny, the only one staying behind, told Cody she'd keep an eye on Chance.

Cody nodded curtly. "Yes." It was only marginally true, but saying he was terrified wasn't going to do anyone any good, least of all him. Lupin only nodded and grasped Cody's shoulder as they hurried along.

When they got to the Hall, Lupin took a seat at the Gryffindor table, but Cody couldn't sit quietly if his life depended on it. As McGonagall was in the middle of giving instructions to the prefects, Mr. Filch, and Madame Pomfrey, who were going to oversee the evacuation of the younger students, Cody stood next to Remus, listening.

"And what if we want to stay and fight?" asked Ernie MacMillan loudly.

"If you are a seventh-year, or a sixth-year who is of age," said McGonagall over the applause from the other students, "you may stay."

Cody smiled a little, wondering if McGonagall had phrased it that way for Cody's benefit or not, but grateful either way that she had.

"What about our things?" called a Ravenclaw.

"We have no time to collect possessions! The important thing is to get you to safety!"

"Where's Professor Snape?" asked a Slytherin.

McGonagall curled her lip disdainfully. "He has, to use the common phrase, done a bunk."

"He did a _what?"_ Cody said, blinking, as most everyone in the hall erupted into cheers.

Remus actually laughed. "He fled. Ran away."

At that, Cody joined the general applause.

"We have already placed protection around the castle," McGonagall continued. "But it is unlikely to hold for long unless we reinforce it. I must ask you, therefore, to move quickly and calmly, and do as your prefects--"

A voice interrupted her, a high, cold, unnatural voice, erupting from all around them. There were murmurs of fear and anger, and a jolt seemed to go right through Cody's chest; Voldemort.

"I know that you are preparing to fight."

Several people cried out; a few girls actually screamed. "Oh, my God," whispered a first-year boy sitting nearby, looking absolutely terrified. Cody himself was shaking, and grabbed at Remus's hand.

"Your efforts are futile. You cannot fight me. I do not want to kill you. I have great respect for the teachers of Hogwarts. I do not want to spill magical blood."

"Coulda fooled us," said Fred Weasley, but even he seemed unable to speak above a whisper as he looked nervously up at the ceiling.

"Give me Harry Potter," continued Voldemort, "and none shall be harmed. Give me Harry Potter and I shall leave the school untouched. Give me Harry Potter, and you shall be rewarded. You have until midnight."

Cody turned his wide-eyed gaze on Lupin, whose own expression was stony. No one said word for several moments.

When someone did speak, her high-pitched voice seemed to shoot through Cody like a weapon, and he jumped about a foot in the air. "But he's there!" Cody whirled around to look, and caught sight of Pansy Parkinson, one of Cody's least favorite people, pointing wildly at where Harry sat. "Potter's there! Somebody grab him!"

As one, everyone at the Gryffindor table rose, facing the Slytherins, and drew their wands. Seconds after, the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs had done the same. Pansy looked suddenly terrified.

"Thank you Miss Parkinson," came McGonagall's dry voice. "You will leave the Hall first with Mr. Filch. If the rest of your House could follow."

"Yeah!" called Cody, his voice high with fear, but no less contemptuous. "You can go suck on a Blast-Ended Skrewt, Parkinson!"

There was a smattering of nervous laughter, the familiar half-irritated, half-amused look from McGonagall, and the scraping of benches as the Slytherins got up from their table and began to file out. Cody knew full well that no one there old enough to stay would. But he didn't see Crabbe or Goyle, and that worried him a bit; had they remained behind? Would they fight against the Order?

"Ravenclaws, follow on!" called McGonagall. One by one, the House tables emptied of younger students; the only completely empty table was Slytherin's. McGonagall had taken to hurrying people along, and he heard her exasperated voice addressing one or both of the Creeveys and someone called Peakes, who obviously wanted to stay and fight.

Kingsley Shacklebolt's voice was the next everyone heard, and he spoke quickly, urgently. "We've only got half an hour until midnight, so we need to act fast! A battle plan has been agreed on between the teachers of Hogwarts and the Order of the Phoenix!"

Cody took a deep, steadying breath, and gripped the handle of his wand. He was scared, yes, but he was also excited, worried, determined, and about a dozen other things he couldn't even name. He felt an insane urge to cry and laugh at the same time, but he closed his eyes and forced himself to calm down. He needed to keep a level head.

Kingsley continued: "Professor Flitwick, Sprout, and McGonagall are going to take groups of fighters up to the three highest towers, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, and Astronomy, where they'll have a good overview, excellent positions from which to work spells."

Cody knew right away he wouldn't be going with those groups; he was no good with distance spells, and besides, he wanted to be with Remus.

"Meanwhile, Remus, Arthur, and myself..." Kingsley pointed out Remus and Mr. Weasley, "will take groups into the grounds."

Lupin grasped Cody's arm and nodded, and Cody nodded back.

"We'll need someone to organize defense of the entrances of the passageways into the school."

"Sounds like a job for us!" called Fred Weasley, and there were a few appreciative chuckles.

"All right!" said Kingsley. "Leaders up here and we'll divide the troops!"

Remus stood, and Cody trailed on his heels up to the High Table. As the time ticked by, as midnight drew nearer, he felt himself actually calming down, running through his head everything he'd practiced for hours on end in the Room of Requirement, remembering everything that he'd endured and accomplished in the past year. He caught Remus's eye as groups of people milled around the High Table waiting for assignments, and Remus smiled back. Cody went back to reviewing spells, muttering to himself as he went through what he would do in various scenarios.

He went silent as Kingsley began assigning people to separate groups, asking the teachers about their students' specialties and strengths, asking various people what they were best at. Neville didn't have to be told where to go; grinning wildly, he joined Professor Sprout and several other students, and Cody could almost hear the wheels turning in Neville's head. He wondered how many Fanged Geraniums and Venomous Tentaculas were going to become ammunition.

"Hope their group doesn't mistake us for Voldemort," Cody muttered under his breath. Since the Chief Death Eater already knew they were planning to fight, Cody didn't figure saying his name mattered much anymore.

Finally, everyone had been divided up. Lupin's group had Cody, Kyle Tiller (Kathy was assigned to Mr. Weasley's group), and a couple of Ravenclaw boys Cody vaguely knew.

"Listen up!" Kingsley called. "Outside groups!" Cody glanced over and saw that the tower groups were already leaving, and that Fred and George had each taken a few people and were sprinting towards the rest of the castle to deal with the secret passages.

Cody turned his attention back to Kingsley.

"Arthur's group will cover the east flank of the grounds! Remus, your group will take the front, and I will lead my group to cover the Forbidden Forest. The chances are even for all three places to be the main focus of their attack. Is there anyone here familiar with the Dark Forest?"

Cody raised a hand that only shook a little. "Me. I feed the thestrals."

Kingsley blinked, but only for a second. "All right then, do you think we should take a group into the forest itself?"

Both nervous and flattered that he'd been asked, Cody didn't hesitate before shaking his head. "No. The centaurs aren't happy with the humans to begin with, it's why I got the job of feeding the thestrals. They won't hurt a child, but, well, they might just decide one human is as bad as another." Kingsley sighed, and Cody added, "plus there's acromantulas in there. Harry and Ron met them."

At this, Kingsley looked positively alarmed. "Acromantulas, are you sure?"

Cody nodded, but declined to mention how the colony got established to begin with. "Yeah. And they eat humans."

Alicia made a sound of revulsion, and Kingsley cursed. "It's entirely possible that the Death Eaters might use them. All right, no change to the assignments...let's get out there, now. And be ready. Midnight comes in fifteen minutes. Be careful. Good luck."

"You ready?" Lupin asked as they walked calmly towards the doors.

"Yeah." Cody was surprised to realize that it was true, too. He _was_ ready. Scared out of his wits, but ready all the same. He calmed further on realizing he was no longer close to panic, even though the battle would soon begin. "You?"

"As ever. Come on."

The first step outside nearly took Cody's breath away. The air was cool and humid, the sky above clear and brilliant with stars. He stopped, unable to help it, and breathed deeply. At Lupin's curious look, Cody glanced upwards at the stars and said, "I haven't been outside for two weeks." And boy, had he missed it! He didn't realize how much. If he wasn't going into battle, he could have stayed outside for hours, just gazing at the night sky.

"Come on, kid," said Kyle, leading Cody away from the doors. Nodding, Cody followed.

"Okay, everyone," said Lupin's hoarse voice, sounding tense and worried. He looked to their left and right, where the dark figures of Mr. Weasley's and Kingsley's groups had disappeared into the shadows to the east and west sides. Lupin and his group faced north, towards the gates. "Everyone spread out. If they come to the north, they'll came at the gates first, the weakest point. But look for them to scale the walls, or even break right through them. Remember. These people will kill you if they get half a chance."

"Yeah," said Kyle with a nervous laugh. "So don't give them half a chance."

"Exactly," said Lupin. "They'll have to get past the initial defenses, first. If you know protective spells, use them, reinforce the defenses. When they get inside, attack first when at all possible, remember your Shield Spells and other defenses. I taught most of you for Defense Against the Dark Arts, I know you know the spells." He took a deep breath and let it out. "This is it. It's time to fight."

Cody looked at Remus and grabbed his hand, feeling its reassuring strength when Lupin squeezed back. "I'm about to pee myself I think," said Cody, which surprised a laugh out of Lupin and the two people nearest.

"Me too."

"I'm ready, though. I mean...one way or another it'll be over after tonight, won't it?"

Lupin draw him into a hug, and Cody returned it gratefully. "Yes, you're right," said he. "You be careful, Cody, okay? Be careful. I love you, kiddo."

"Love you too," said Cody. He held on for a moment more before Lupin let him go, and Cody unclipped his wand from his belt. "But if I die, I'm coming back and haunting the git that kills me."

Lupin laughed, and Cody moved off into the darkness. He saw the forms of the others spreading out into a guard line, and took a big breath. It occurred to him that they were the front lines, and the idea scared the hell out of him, so he tried very hard not to think of it any longer. He had his 'Earing Aid with him, he was wearing his Detectioring, and he was as ready as he could ever be.

It was incredibly intimidating, standing there on the dark grounds, his closest comrades mere silhouettes in the dark. It was terrifying, waiting for an attack they knew would come, sitting there, hoping that when it was all over, all of his friends and family would still be alive. Feeling the grass under his feet (he had not thought to put on shoes) and the cool wind in his hair, cooling his sweat and proving without a doubt that it was all real. Everything was silent, waiting. Cody had never truly understood the phrase "the calm before the storm", but he understood it now.

He would have preferred an ambush. At least then he could just work on instinct.

Finally, came Lupin's voice from the darkness: "Be ready. It's midnight."


	118. Y7, C40: Battleground

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 40: Battleground**

The words were hardly out of Remus's mouth before several loud cracks resounded in the air. Cody caught a glimpse through the wrought iron gate of black-robed figures, blank masks, and wands upraised. The fear wasn't gone, but excitement began to crowd it out, and Cody raised his wand.

Several shouts sounded in the darkness at once, and a blast of brilliant light hit the castle gates, and they nearly burst open. Lupin's group began firing defensive spells at the gates and the walls, sending red Stunners through the gates at the Death Eaters, and hurling conjured objects over the stone walls. Alicia Spinnet cried out in pain from a hex that managed to breech the defenses, hitting her in the chest, but she didn't go down. She only retaliated with her own hexes back at the attacking figures. Cody took a step back, adding his protections to those reinforcing the magical shields, actually feeling the spells being torn down.

For maybe five minutes, this went on, exchanges of spells, reinforcement of the defenses, but then all of a sudden, the Death Eaters pulled back. Panting, Lupin stepped back also, his hand out to stop his group attacking, one ear cocked. "Listen!" Remus hissed as a rumbling seemed to shake the ground.

"Shit, look out!" Kyle yelled, pointing upwards.

And then Cody saw it. Towering meters above every other fighter on the grounds, roaring with a primal force that made Cody shudder, they came. Giants, two of them, their massive legs eating up the distance between them and the castle walls in seconds.

"Take cover!" Lupin cried, and everyone scattered as one giant, then the second ran at the walls, shaking the very ground, kicking out at the stone and the gates. Stone flew everywhere, and it was only sheer luck that no one was killed as the walls crumbled.

The giants made straight for the castle, running at the sides, clearly intending to treat them the same way they'd treated the outer walls. For a moment, Cody could only gape; then he hardly had time to think, because dark shapes were pouring onto the grounds.

"Dementors!" Cody cried, as icy tendrils of mist swirled onto the ground, as darkness began blotting out the stars. Rattling breaths drew in from outside the gates, and a crippling, unnatural despair fell over Cody's mind.

"Patronuses!" yelled Lupin, "NOW!"

Patronuses! Cody had never conjured one under the most friendly of conditions, he was to make one now? Overlapping yells of "Expecto Patronum!" echoed through the grounds, and flashes of silver erupted on both sides of him, but the dementors outnumbered them two to one.

'Happy!' thought Cody frantically, trying to bully his mind into thinking while fighting off the horrible effects of the dementors. 'Happy! Something happy!' "E-Expecto Patronum!" 'Think of something happy!'

For a minute there was nothing, only the blackness of despair, but then it came to him, something so obvious that Cody actually laughed. The battle. The battle was the thought he needed. The final battle had begun, and Cody was terrified, not knowing if he'd ever see his friends alive again, but even with that thought, he remembered _why_ he was fighting. He wasn't fighting for excitement, not now. He wasn't fighting for revenge, or even for honor and glory. He was fighting because he had to, because it was the right thing to do, and because there was nothing else Cody _could_ do. Knowing he'd die for his friends, knowing they'd do the same for him, knowing that their fight was on behalf of all the people who would suffer if Voldemort was allowed to win...Cody never realized what a powerful feeling it was!

"Again!" Remus cried, and this time Cody didn't even have to think; the feeling was there, his heart was bursting with it, and the words came without effort:

_"Expecto Patronum!"_

This time at least a dozen Patronuses joined Cody's, and he watched in fascination as a flat, sinewy, shining silver shape burst from the end of Cody's wand, rippling through the air like a sting ray in water, and Cody laughed in astonishment as he recognized the shape at once: a _lethifold_. His Patronus was a lethifold. It gleefully joined the silvery shapes conjured by Remus's and Mr. Weasley's groups combined, driving the dark, malignant forms of the Death Eaters off, lifting the horrible pall of their presence as they cantered around the group of fighters.

"Well done!" Remus roared, as the lights shone around them once more.

The dementors were obviously the advance soldiers, because as soon as they were driven off, and the Patronuses began to disappear, the Death Eaters stormed the gates.

'Attack first,' echoed in Cody's mind, and he aimed at the nearest attacker and yelled, "STUPEFY!"

It was clear almost from the beginning that they were hopelessly outnumbered, as the shouts and flashes of light from around the ground announced the presence of Death Eaters around the entire grounds. He heard Lupin snarl a spell Cody didn't even recognize, and then he was ducking, only just avoiding the green jet of light someone had shot his way.

Cody scrambled to his feet, chasing after a figure that was sprinting at the castle, thinking, 'No! They can't get in so quick! Harry needs more time!'

Not bothering with a hex, Cody took the 'Earing Aid from his pocket, hurled it at the man, and shouted, "EARS!" As with Alecto Carrow, the man stopped, stumbled, and Cody saw the first ears sprouting from him.

The man snarled and spun around, and Cody nearly threw himself on the ground, avoiding the furious Cruciatus Curse the Death Eater shot at him. Scrambling low to the ground, Cody ran, hearing the man's footsteps behind him...but not for long. A thud told Cody the man had been tripped up, and Cody laughed, not even bothering to look back.

"That's from Fred and George Weasley!" he yelled gleefully.

Cries of pain had joined the cacophony of hexes and counter-spells. An eerie, screeching keen caught Cody's ears and made his shudder, recognizing the faint sound of Mandrakes. Some Death Eaters somewhere were not happy campers, and Cody would bet a hundred dollars Neville was involved.

A familiar cry of pain came from Cody's right, and he turned, his eyes widening, to see Graham Pritchard several yards away, dueling a man nearly twice his size. How had he had gotten here? "HEY!" Cody shouted, sprinting at them, his wand held angrily aloft. "Leave him alone! STUPEFY!"

The spell hit the man, but he didn't go down, he only staggered, and as Cody got closer, he recognized Rowle, the blond-headed Death Eater he'd last met in Diagon Alley.

"You!" snarled Rowle, raising his wand, but Graham's Stunner hit him before he could speak, and he staggered again.

"Together!" Cody shouted, and the boys raised their wands in unison: "STUPEFY!"

The combined hex did what neither boy could do alone; the massive man stumbled, then fell backwards, crashing to the ground.

"Incarcerous!" Cody hissed, wrapping the man in ropes, while Graham darted forward and grabbed the man's wand, snapping it in two.

"He's that Cro-Magnon bloke!" growled Graham furiously.

"You're a dork!" Cody cried in answer. "You'd better not die!"

But Graham showed no remorse, seeming to know full well Cody was happy to see him. "There!" he yelled. "Let's get 'em!"

Graham pointed his wand at a group of fighters between Kingsley's and Lupin's group, a five to two fight in the Death Eaters' favor. Cody nodded, and the two boys sprinted over to even the odds.

_That _attack didn;t go as planned. The Death Eaters dropped the two Hogwarts fighters just as Cody and Graham had arrived, and suddenly faced with five wands, the two boys had to scatter, taking cover in the shadows and behind trees.

Cody yelled in alarm as two of them ran at him, and he fired a Stunning Spell, hitting one in the chest.

"Avada Kedavra!" the other snarled, and Cody cried out, ducking behind the tree, which took the brunt of the spell. It cracked, split in two, and Cody had to run to avoid being crushed by its weight. He heard the Death Eater laugh, and sprinted away.

Cody spun around and slashed his wand down, hissing "Sectumsempra!" and it was the Death Eater's turn to duck, a caw of surprise coming from his throat.

'Didn't expect a Dark spell, did you, you jerk?' Cody thought furiously, advancing, shooting a Stunning Spell at the man while he was on the ground. But the man rolled out of the way, returning with his own Sectumsempra Spell, which Cody blocked, sending the purple fire skewing off into the darkness.

"Git!" Cody hissed, running away again, but this time he had a head start. By the time the man got to his feet, Cody had disappeared into the shadows.

But he'd lost Graham, Kyle, and Lupin.

Adrenaline pumped his blood so forcefully Cody felt it in his gut, as he ran towards the nearest group of fighters. He caught sight of Aberforth Dumbledore running across the grounds, exchanging curses with a man Cody recognized: Avery. Cody laughed delightedly; old Aberforth was a heck of a dueler! A familiar roar, "HAGGER!" told Cody that Hagrid and Grawp were back, too, and he gave another silent cheer before diving back into the chaos.

The battle was like nothing Cody had ever seen. The fight last year in the corridors of Hogwarts? Mere dress rehearsal. This was real. People were dying, and Cody was in the middle of it all, barely keeping himself alive. He didn't know where his best friend had gone, where his guardian was, or if they were even still alive. He caught sight of the Creevey brothers, who, like Graham, must have snuck back. Dennis was actually laughing as he and Colin fought two of Voldemort's followers on the steps leading to the castle.

A sudden, high-pitched cry caught Cody's attention; it was Tonks's voice, and Cody felt cold at the sound of it. It was a cry of pain, and in a flash of light from across the grounds, Cody caught sight of her purple hair.

'Where'd she come from?' Cody thought frantically, ducking down behind a pile of stones knocked from the castle battlements, as a barrage of Stunning Spells came out from within the Forbidden Forest. She hadn't been in the Room of Requirement.

Cody sent back a curse he'd learned ironically enough from Amycus Carrow: "_Diffindo pengke!" _A howl of pain from the woods told Cody his spell had hit; there was a Death Eater in there somewhere that would have to use some pretty damned quick magic to reattach his fingers to his wand hand!

A sudden howl of misery sent the hairs on the back of Cody's neck to attention, and chills doused hiss body; it was Lupin's voice, a wolf's howl, a primal cry of grief, and Cody sprinted as fast as he could towards the sound.

"TONKS, NO!"

The words were human, but the voice that howled them was not, and Cody felt cold as ice, forcing his legs to run faster, ducking hexes by instinct only. 'No, Tonks is okay,' he thought frantically, 'she's just hurt. She's okay. She's all right, Lupin's there, she'll be okay.'

Somehow, Cody knew, even before he reached the scene, that he was wrong. Tonks's crumpled form lay on the ground, unmoving, and Lupin was now fighting three dark-clad Death Eaters by himself, throwing hexes with a fury Cody had never seen. The mad cackle of Bellatrix Lestrange rang through the night, as she hit Remus was a curse that made him cry out in pain.

"HEY!" Cody screamed, but his voice, hoarse with fear, was lost in the general din. From the corner of his eye he caught sight of Arthur Weasley, running from the other side, saw the tallest of Lupin's attackers raise his wand...

"Avada Kedavra!"

Cody was within range before Arthur was, but even as he called, "STUPEFY!" even as his ill-aimed jet of red light seared harmlessly into the darkness, Cody knew it didn't matter. It was too late, and all Cody could do, even as he forced the last bit of speed from his legs, was watch helplessly as the scene played out.

Battle weary, Lupin could not avoid the attack, could not duck out of the way, did not have time to defend himself. The rushing sound of the Killing Curse, impossibly loud above the din, was deafening; the green flash unbearable to Cody's eyes.

It hit Remus in the chest and he collapsed.

"REMUS! REMUS, NO!" Cody didn't stop, he didn't slow down; frantic, horrible denial rose in his chest as he ran, desperate to take it back, hoping to the bottom of his soul that his senses were lying to him.

Remus's murderer looked up, and Cody saw a face he recognized: Antonin Dolohov. The man spun his wand around, and fired at Cody, but Cody's wand was already aimed. "STUPEFY!" he shrieked again, and this time his aim was far better. Instead of killing Cody, Remus's killer had to duck, retreating under Cody's sudden, enraged barrage.

Arthur drove the other two back, but Cody hardly saw them; all he saw was the man in front of him, the man who had killed Remus, who had killed a man a hundred times his worth!

Even as he ran, something big hit Cody hard from behind, numbing his shoulders and the bottom half of his head, and knocking him into the cool, damp grass. Knocked senseless, the rage suddenly eclipsed by sheer survival instinct, Cody rolled over, staggering drunkenly to his feet. He crouched behind a rubble pile, feeling the back of his head, which was wet, trying to comprehend what had happened.

A second later, it was obvious; stones from the walls of Hogwarts were flying everywhere, hurled by the two giants that fought on Voldemort's side. Grawp, Hagrid's half-brother, was roaring in anger, attacking his bigger kin with tree trunks and boulders from around the lake.

And Remus's killer was gone.

Cody had no time to think of what he'd just lost, no time to mourn his beloved guardian. One of the people who'd attacked Remus was running at him, obviously having gotten away from Arthur Weasley, and the voice was horribly familiar. Not Bellatrix, and not the one who'd dealt Remus the killing blow.

"Lost another one, haven't you, DeDannan?"

Cody stared for just a second as the man tore off his mask, and Cody stared into the icy eyes of Dustin Tiller. Hatred began to burn in his mind, and Cody embraced it, allowed it to burn away the image of Lupin collapsing on the ground, the last of the green light fading from his body. He raised his wand, sending a wild hex at Tiller, who ducked it easily, laughing.

"Cry, DeDannan!" he laughed. "Or Gregor, I should say, shouldn't I? Wouldn't want to dirty my tongue speaking a filthy Muggle name!

Dustin Tiller didn't laugh for long. Cody's own fury broke, his hatred of the man before him burning brighter than ever, and he broke cover, hitting Tiller with an Impedimenta Jinx strong enough to hurl him several yards away. He hit the ground, groaned, and just got up in time to block Cody's next, furious attack.

The duel was more vicious than any Cody had ever fought. Tiller didn't pull his punches, and neither did Cody; and he didn't stick to Stunning Spells and Full Body Binds. He was determined to make Tiller regret ever attacking Cody's mother, for ripping apart their family, for mocking Cody his loss of Lupin. Tiller was going to regret that the Carrows ever came to Hogwarts, teaching the students the curses Cody was using. Fiery, searing magic flew between the two of them as they fought, taking cover behind trees, dodging stray hexes, pursuing one another across the grounds. Cody and Tiller both were bruised and battered from the duel; Tiller's face splashed with blood, Cody's jaw torn by a grazing hex.

Cody almost forgot where he was, his senses narrowed down only to Dustin Tiller, and the vicious taunts he spat in-between his hexes.

"You're bad luck, Gregor!" he called finally, diving down to avoid Cody's attack.

"SHUT UP!" Cody screamed, running at Tiller, wanting to hurt him, bite him, tear him apart like Cody's spirit had been. He had to throw himself aside as Tiller shouted "Sectumsempra!", purple light passing over his head. Damn him and that curse!

"Bad luck!" Tiller repeated, a sneer twisting his features. "Anyone who's ever taken you in is dead!"

Cody's hatred finally boiled over, and he couldn't stop it; didn't even want to. He hardly heard the words leave his own mouth, cried out as if by someone else's will, his wand pointed right at Dustin Tiller's chest.

_"Avada Kedavra!"_


	119. Y7, C41: Casualties of War

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 41: Casualties of War**

A vicious gust of energy tore through Cody's body; a dark, tainted, powerful surge of magic, channeled into the wand he held in his shaking hand. Green light seared from his wand tip, wind rushing as it arced the distance between himself and Tiller, hitting the red-headed man in the stomach, stopping his laughter cold. Cody stared in shock as Dustin fell unceremoniously to the ground, never to move again.

Cody might have joined him in death, had it not been for Molly Weasley. A frantic Impedimenta Jinx from her knocked Cody off his feet, and he sprawled in the dirt, only narrowly avoiding the Killing Curse someone had aimed at him. There was no time to thank her properly, or even at all. Mrs. Weasley turned back to her own battle, and Cody ran, seeking cover, wishing suddenly for everything to end.

Survival instinct reared up again, keeping Cody on his feet, as he fought. There weren't so many people in the grounds, now; many of the Death Eaters had breached Hogwarts itself, and many of the fighters outside were unconscious or dead. A frantic cry from Kyle Tiller jolted Cody out of his daze, and he ran toward the sound, spotting him on the very edge of the Forbidden Forest, dueling two others. Kyle's wand suddenly flew from his hand and he spun, diving for it. His attackers both aimed at once.

Trying ignore the horrible similarity of the scene, trying not to imagine watching Kyle die before his eyes as Lupin had, Cody suddenly remembered a charm he'd practiced over and over in the Room of Requirement, a charm that could save Kyle.

Unable to articulate, unable to think of the word, Cody pointed his wand and concentrated all his might on one single thought: brick wall.

The Conjuring Charm worked perfectly. A solid brick wall materialized in front of the Death eaters, causing them to yell in surprise, the twin jets of green light from their wands hitting the sudden barrier instead of Kyle. Given those few, precious seconds of time, Kyle grabbed his wand as the wall shattered, and the Death Eaters turned instead to Cody.

"GITS!" Cody screamed.

But the fight was even, now, and the Death Eaters were as weary as Kyle and Cody were. After a very brief duel, the two of them scattered into the woods, leaving Kyle and Cody alone for a few moments, and Kyle's expression was grateful astonishment. "God, Cody, that was...I owe you...I..." He trailed off, his expression turning to concern at the sight of Cody's expression. "What happened?"

Cody looked up at Kyle, suddenly sure that he would hate Cody for what he did, but unable to stop himself from saying it. "I killed your brother," he whispered.

For a second Kyle stared, uncomprehendingly, as Cody looked up into his eyes. But a burst of green light nearby made them both flinch, and they split up, each running for cover. No time for Cody to apologize, no time to mourn, no time to think, to feel...

Believing that he might faint if he couldn't empty his mind, Cody slapped himself hard in the face, growling as fresh pain split his head, but grateful for the clarity it forced into his mind. He looked up at the castle, from which issued screams of pain and flashes of light. He ran toward it, dodging around older students, some crying, some fighting, some helping injured friends out of the line of fire. But there wasn't much left out on the ground. The majority of the fight was inside, now.

But before Cody even reached the steps of the castle, everything suddenly stopped. Loud cracks told him that people had Disapparated (further proof that the protections around Hogwarts had been shattered), and the sounds of the battle stopped.

And all of a sudden, Voldemort's voice echoed across the grounds once more, from the walls of the castle, the depths of the forest, and across the Black Lake. Cody shuddered at its lack of humanity.

"You have fought bravely. Yet you have sustained heavy losses. If you continue to resist me, you will all die, one by one. I do not wish this to happen. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a loss and a waste. Lord Voldemort is merciful, I command my forces to retreat immediately. You have one hour. Dispose of your dead with dignity. Treat your injured."

There was silence for a moment across the grounds, and Cody swallowed hard, clenching his teeth against tears.

"I speak now, Harry Potter, to you," the monster continued. "You have permitted your friends to die for you, rather than face me yourself. I shall wait for one hour in the Forbidden Forest. If, at the end of that hour, you have not come to me, have not given yourself up, then battle recommences. This time, I shall enter the fray myself, Harry Potter, and I shall find you, and I shall punish every last man, woman, and child who has tried to conceal you from me. One hour."

The horrible voice fell silent then, and Cody began to shiver, wrapping his arms around himself, shaking his head in slow, silent fury. "Bring it on," he hissed, his voice shaking worse than he was. "Bring it on, bring it on, you bastard!"

And then he remembered: Lupin.

Cody ran for the spot where Lupin had fallen, and stopped short. There he lay, Tonks alongside him, both exactly as they were when they fell. A sort of cold, horrible numbness came over Cody then, and he bent, grabbing their wands from the ground and slipping them into his pocket. He clipped his own wand onto his belt and crouched down, grabbing Lupin under the arms, manhandling the horrible, dead weight until he had Lupin clenched in his arms, the man's head hanging limply onto his chest. He had to get Remus inside.

Cody didn't cry; he felt too numb to cry. He immersed himself into his task, forcing himself to concentrate on how heavy Lupin was, how he had to struggle to drag Lupin across the grass. He forced himself to tune out the muffled sobs from the grounds, the low voices, the shapes moving towards the castle. He put every bit of his concentration on one thing: getting Lupin inside the warmth of Hogwarts.

When Graham ran up to him, blood pouring down his face, horror flashing across his features, Cody was glad somewhere inside to see him alive. But when Graham wordlessly bent to grab Lupin's feet, Cody stopped him with a word.

"No."

Graham blinked, but he didn't look hurt or even surprised; he looked alarmed. Cody wasn't sure what his face looked like, but Graham didn't try to help again.

He did, however, stay close, and again, Cody felt vague appreciation somewhere inside, especially since he couldn't spare any more words. Lupin's limp weight was requiring every ounce of physical strength Cody had to move.

Two others tried to help Cody, but he didn't know who they were, and Graham sent them away. Cody couldn't let anyone help...he wanted to do this alone. It was as if by doing this, by clutching Remus's body, by dragging him yard by yard towards the castle, he could erase what had happened.

He almost didn't make it up the stairs. The first few nearly sent him stumbling back down them, and he had to pause a minute, trembling with fatigue. The second try was far better, heaving Remus up four steps at once, and then four more. He found out later that Graham had used magic to make Remus's body lighter, but at the time, Cody did not notice.

Once he hit the Entrance Hall, it was a lot easier. Warmth flooded from inside, voices carried from the Great Hall. Cody dragged Remus across the bloodstained floor, scattering the gems that had spilled from the shattered House hourglasses, and into the Great Hall, where everyone was congregating.

There were several gasps of horror as Cody came though with his burden, Graham following, close to tears. Cody himself was completely dry-eyed, staring in front of him as he staggered backwards with Remus's body. He looked back once to see that others were on the floor in the middle of the Great Hall, but Cody couldn't look at them. Not yet. Not until he had finished his task.

He didn't know how, but somehow Cody made it. He finally let himself collapse to his knees, still clutching Remus around the torso, and gently eased him down onto the floor. Mrs. Weasley, who was somewhere nearby, gasped, "Oh no!" as Cody gazed at Remus's eyes.

There was nothing behind them; no warmth, no laughter, no anger. They were glassy orbs, fixed unblinkingly at the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall. Cody reached out as slowly and gently as he could, and slid the eyelids shut.

It was like slamming a door shut forever. Cody suddenly burst into tears, laying his head down on Remus's chest, clutching his robe and sobbing.

No one touched him for several minutes. Then someone grasped his shoulder, pulling Cody gently away from Lupin, and he let them, turning to cry instead into that person's robes.

"It'll be okay, Cody," said Graham Pritchard's voice.

But Cody couldn't answer. It wouldn't be okay. How _could_ it be okay? How could anything be okay with Remus's body lying there, never to hug Cody again, or roll his eyes, or laugh at something stupid that Cody said or did? It wouldn't. It wouldn't ever be okay again.

He cried for what felt like hours, until he was too exhausted to do it anymore.

"He's hurt," said Graham. "Let's try and get him over to Madame Pomfrey."

"You too, kid," said another voice, that Cody recognized as belonging to Kathy Skinner. "Graham, was it?"

"Yeah," said Graham. "Yeah...okay."

When Cody looked up, he saw Graham, Kyle, and Kathy all there, grouped around him, and felt a sudden surge of unbelievable gratitude for them. Something of it must have shown in his eyes, because all three of them smiled, and Kathy moved forward to hug him. "Come on, kiddo," she said, her normally brash voice very soft. "You need to be tended."

Cody suddenly remembered the injury he'd taken to the back of his head and put his hand there, wincing to feel the lower half of his longish hair stiff-tacky with half-dried blood. His head began to pound as he let Graham lead him up to a raised dais where the High table usually sat. For that matter, none of the tables were there at all, not even leaned up against the walls. The Great Hall was completely open, its vast floor crowded with people.

"My head hurts," whispered Cody, saying the only thing he could articulate.

"We know," said Kyle, moving to stand close to him. "We'll get that taken care of. Was it a hex?"

"No," Cody murmured. "Stone. Giant threw it. Jerk."

"Good," said Graham. "It won't be hard to heal."

Graham was right. When Cody looked up to see it was his turn to be tended, Madame Pomfrey tried to smile at him, and nearly succeeded. Kyle and Kathy told her where Graham and Cody had been hurt, and she spent about five minutes tending their injuries, many of which were mundane ones.

She couldn't spend a lot of time with the boys, not with so many people hurt, but she did give them each a blood-replenishing potion and a soft pat on the shoulder before sending them on their way.

"Who else?" Cody whispered after he'd downed the potion. "Who else...died?"

"You sure you want to know, kiddo?" asked Kyle quietly.

"Yes," said Cody without hesitation, looking up to meet Kyle's eyes. "Yes. Before...before I see them."

Kyle and Graham exchanged a look, and Cody's stomach twisted painfully. "I...I saw Colin Creevey go down under a Killing Curse," said Graham finally. "Dustin Creevey's brother."

Cody clenched his teeth...not Colin. He'd always loved being a wizard...he'd always loved it, and only got to be one for a few years! "Who else?" he gritted out.

The list of names sounded horribly matter of fact, even spoken with the sorrow and reverence Kyle's voice gave them. They were all names Cody recognized, though he did not know them well. But it was the final name that hurt the most of Kyle's list, a name he hoped never to hear like that.

"Fred Weasley."

Cody didn't cry again. He felt too overloaded to cry. He only turned his gaze slowly on the Weasleys, who was gathered around the one of the dead who had been brought into the Hall, and realized it was Fred they were mourning. All of them had tears coursing down their faces, and Cody suddenly felt faint. He couldn't stand to see others' sorrow, especially people he loved. It made everything so much worse.

"Let's go to them," said Kathy quietly.

And they did.

Someone had brought in Tonks's body, and she lay next to Remus, looking as if she might be asleep, but Cody couldn't look at her, or at Remus. Not yet. Instead he crouched down where the Weasleys were kneeling, and hugged the nearest one, George, for a very long time.

Hermione joined them at some point, and Ron, but Harry never showed up. Cody couldn't cram anything more inside his head, couldn't bring himself to wonder where Harry was. Only to hope to whatever powers there were that he wasn't dead, too.

"I'm going to go outside and help the others," Ginny finally said.

"I'll go, too," said Hermione.

Mrs. Weasley did not stop either of them as they slowly left the group, and Cody stood up too, unable to bear sitting there any longer. "I'll go too."

"You sure, kid?" asked Kathy, putting an arm around him. "It's gonna be ugly."

Cody looked down at the row of dead already lying on the floor, and once more at Remus Lupin. "Yeah. I know."

He took a shaky breath and followed Ginny and Hermione outside, where the night was as black as ever.

Cody, Graham, Kyle, and Kathy spend the next half-hour helping people bring in the dead from the grounds. The Death Eaters that had fallen were tossed unceremoniously to the edges of the grounds, while those who had fallen fighting for Hogwarts were carried inside to join the others.

It was awful work. The weight of the bodies was unnatural, their eyes staring and glassy, their skin horribly cool. Some had grievous injuries or deformities caused by curses. But still Cody did it, and he found that somehow, impossibly, it was comforting him. There was nothing he could do about those who had died. But bringing them into the safety, warmth, and love that awaited inside helped.

Soon, everyone was in the Great Hall, whether injured or dead, and the people gathered together, huddling for comfort and companionship. Cody hovered by the entrance to the Great Hall, appreciating the cool air in the Entrance Hall, but still able to see inside, and be grateful for the people who had survived. Kathy and Kyle had gone inside to sit down, but even as exhausted as Cody was, he couldn't sit still. He shifted from foot to foot, watching the people inside, running his hands through his filthy, bloody hair.

Hagrid was missing. He was the only one besides Harry that was not accounted for, either living or dead, and Cody prayed that he, too, was all right.

As Cody began to pace, Graham sat nearby on a conjured chair, nearly asleep, and Neville stood nearby as well. He'd found Cody five minutes or so ago and hugged him for a long time, saying he was grateful Cody was alive. Cody was grateful, too, because he'd worried about Neville as much as anyone else.

Cody's thoughts ran on an endless, lunatic loop; Remus's death, Cody's own act of murder, how the Killing Curse had felt arcing from himself to Tiller's body, how George Weasley sat by his brother without speaking, tears coursing down his cheeks...

And then there was that voice again, the voice of the monster Voldemort, more terrible than before for the triumph that ran out with every word.

"Harry Potter is dead."


	120. Y7, C42: The Death of Tom Riddle

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 42: The Death of Tom Riddle**

Everyone went cold silent as Voldemort's amplified voice continued. "He was killed as he ran away, trying to save himself while you lay down your lives for him."

Several people inside made angry sounds at this outrageous claim, and Cody clenched his fists, feeling the adrenaline begin to pump again. He didn't always like that feeling, but he welcomed it now. "He—did—not!" he hissed furiously, his voice low.

"We bring you his body as proof that your hero is gone," Voldemort continued.

It couldn't be. Harry couldn't be dead...it wasn't possible!

"The battle is won," said Voldemort. "You have lost half of your fighters. My Death Eaters outnumber you, and the Boy Who Lived is finished. Anyone who continued to resist, man, woman, or child, will be slaughtered, as will every member of their family."

Ominous, horrified whispering rang out in the Great Hall, as fury began to build again in Cody's mind. He stood up straight, gazing at the doors to the outside, glaring as if he could burn a hole through them.

"Come out of the castle now," Voldemort called. "Kneel before me, and you shall be spared. Your parents and children, your brothers and sisters will be forgiven, and you will join me in the new world we shall build together."

A new emotion burst forth then in Cody, a completely unexpected one; indignation. The sorrow, the rage, the overwhelming emotions he had felt only moments before vanished, and in their place was a powerful burst of wonderful, simple indignation.

"He's lying!" Cody exclaimed. "That _git!"_

"Of course he's lying," said Professor McGonagall, hurrying towards the Entrance Hall. Everyone else was quiet, waiting, not sure of what to do.

Cody, however, knew what to do. Scowling, he ran for the doors, past McGonagall who cried, "Cody, no!"

But he did not rush out onto the grounds, and he surely didn't kneel. He held up a hand back that said 'wait', and cautiously pushed one of the huge double doors open about a foot and a half. He poked his head out, his eyes raking the edge of the trees. He didn't see anything, but he knew they were there...somewhere. The woods had a horrible, waiting feel about them. Cody scowled and called out as loud as he could, "Nuts to you!"

There was shocked silence behind him, and a more ominous one from the woods, but no Killing Curse came sailing from the shadows. Finally, Voldemort laughed, sending chills up and down Cody's body.

"Brave child. You doubt, boy, that I tell the truth?" came his sinister voice, still amplified.

Cody took a deep, steadying breath, glancing once back at the crowd of people beginning to congregate in the Entrance Hall, and Cody looked back outside. "Yeah! You lie!"

When Voldemort laughed again, Cody became less and less sure that he _was_ lying. "Do I? Step out then, child! You'll not be harmed. You must see that I speak the truth. You must see that only I can save you and yours...that only my mercy will spare your life."

Uncertain, Cody looked back at the people behind him, and McGonagall frowned, nodding her head in answer to his unspoken question. "Go ahead. But be careful." Biting his lip and gripping his wand tightly, Cody stepped out onto the marble landing and peered into the woods.

In the dim light from the approaching dawn, several figures stepped from the woods. One, he recognized as Hagrid...taken prisoner, then, but alive. The others were Death Eaters...and Voldemort.

Across the grounds, Cody met the monster's eyes, as they narrowed in cruel delight. Cody grimaced, gazing at the skeletal body, the inhuman cruelty etched in his features, the great snake looped about the monster's shoulders. But then Cody heard Hagrid's voice, sobbing, and saw what the gentle giant carried in his arms.

It was Harry. And from what Cody could see...he was dead.

Cody felt his eyes widen slowly, horror washing over him as he stared at Hagrid and Harry, then looked back to Voldemort, whose expression was that of unholy glee. Voldemort laughed again as Cody turned tail and ducked back inside. "Professor!" he cried, staring frantically up at McGonagall. "I-I don't think he's lying!"

There was a shocked silence, and then Professor McGonagall made a noise of disbelief, brushing past Cody. "Don't be stupid, of course he's lying!" she cried, and ran out onto the sweeping front steps.

There was a moment during which everyone was silent.

Then McGonagall's voice, terrible and anguished: "NO!"

That seemed to break the spell holding the rest of them back, and Cody was swept along as everyone spilled out onto the steps, onto the grounds below, all gaping at the edge of the woods, where Voldemort and the others still stood. Bellatrix Lestrange cackled madly as others echoed McGonagall's cry, their grief spilling from their voices.

The people began to shout, furious, cursing at the Death Eater, shouting their fury and their grief...

"SILENCE!" Voldemort's voice rang above them all, a flash of light banged above them all, and the entire lot of them was struck silent.  
Cody tried to yell, but found that no sound came out. But he was not scared, and nor, he saw, was anyone else. They were angry.

"It is over!" Voldemort cried. "Set him down, Hagrid, at my feet, where he belongs!"

Cody clenched his fists furiously at Voldemort's casual address of Hagrid, his command to lay Harry at Voldemort's feet. Sobbing, Hagrid knelt down, setting Harry's body gently onto the grass. Neville, beside him, looked furious.

"You see?" said Voldemort, beginning to pace up and down. "Harry Potter is dead! Do you understand now, deluded ones? He was nothing, ever, but a boy who relied on others to sacrifice themselves for him!"

Ron's furious voice suddenly broke the Silencing Charm: "He beat you!" A chorus of voices echoed him, and Cody caught sight of Voldemort's furious expression.

Voldemort cast the Silencing Charm once more, but Cody felt that it was weak, that it could be easily thrown off...why?

Voldemort once again shouted that Harry had tried to save his own skin, that he had died while running away, but Cody didn't believe a word of it...not a word!

Neville suddenly broke away from the crowd, clutching his wand, and Cody gaped in shock. Several people yelped in surprise as Neville ran in front of everyone, raising the wand in his hand, aimed at Voldemort's chest. Cody ran forward several steps, sure that Neville was about to die, when there was a bang and a flash of light, and Neville was thrown backward onto the grass, Disarmed, but unhurt. Cody stepped to the front of the crowd, watching, horrified, as Neville shook his head clear.

Voldemort laughed as he tossed Neville's wand aside, his voice dropped to an inhuman hiss. "And who is this? Who has volunteered to demonstrate what happens to those you continue to fight when the battle is lost?"

'No,' Cody thought frantically. 'Not Neville too, not him too!' Shaking, Cody gripped his wand as Bellatrix Lestrange's gleeful voice came from the trees.

"It is Neville Longbottom, my lord! The boy who has been giving the Carrows so much trouble! The son of the Aurors, remember?"

"Ah, yes, I remember," said Voldemort as everyone watched, silent. There was a sort of horrified fascination about the survivors' silence as they watched Neville and Voldemort face one another down. Neville looked incredibly alone there, between the survivors and the Death Eaters, standing defiantly, unarmed. "But you are a pureblood, aren't you, my brave boy?" asked Voldemort.

"So what if I am?" demanded Neville.

"You show spirit and bravery, and you come of noble stock. You will make a very valuable Death Eater. We need your kind, Neville Longbottom."

Cody felt his jaw drop as he stared in disbelief at Voldemort; certainly he had not just told Neville he should join the Death Eaters! To work alongside Bellatrix Lestrange, who tortured Neville's mother and father into insanity? Alongside the Carrows, who had spent much of the school year making his life miserable? The indignation came back full force.

But Neville didn't hesitate, and he didn't back down. He shook his head in disgusted denial. "I'll join you when hell freezes over! Dumbledore's Army!"

"Dumbledore's Army!" Cody roared in answer, his voice nearly drowned by the great cheer from the survivors, the echoes of "Dumbledore's Army" from every single member. He had never been so proud of his friend as he was at that moment, and whatever happened from that moment on, Cody would never forget Neville's bravery.

"Very well," said Voldemort smoothly, and everyone went silent. Voldemort's terrible voice was soft, but it sent cold chills down Cody's back. "If that is your choice, Longbottom, we revert to the original plan. On your head be it."

Cody and half the others ducked as Voldemort waved his wand, and one of the windows above them shattered, showering glass on everyone. Cody yelped, ducking away from the shower, as something dark whooshed over his head and soared into Voldemort's hand: Cody blinked on seeing what it was: the Sorting Hat.

"There will be no more Sorting at Hogwarts," said Voldemort to the assembled crowd, and Cody scowled furiously at the words. Did he honestly think they'd let him _have_ Hogwarts? "There will be no more houses. The emblem, shield, and colors of my noble ancestor, Salazaar Slytherin, will suffice for everyone. Won't they, Neville Longbottom?"

But Neville had no chance to reply; his body went rigid, and Cody recognized the Full-Body-Bind.

"Hey!" Cody shrieked, taking two running steps forward, but the Death Eaters raised their wands in unison, and nearly everyone, Cody included, were knocked backwards off their feet, held back by Shield spells, knocked back by Impedimenta Jinxes.

"Neville, here, is going to demonstrate what happens to anyone foolish enough to continue to oppose me!" called Voldemort, forcing the Sorting Hat onto Neville's head. Cody let a cry of fear as Voldemort set the Sorting Hat on fire.

Others cried out, too, fought against the spells holding them back, desperate to save Neville, to do _something_!

But at that point all hell broke loose.

Battle cries from behind the walls sounded, and grew steadily louder. A large herd of centaurs charged from the forest, shooting their bows at the Death Eaters, who scattered with cries of pain and shock. The spells holding the survivors back and Neville prisoner broke, and Neville cast the flaming Sorting Hat from his head, stamping out the fire.

Cody ran towards him. "Neville! Are you okay?"

Neville nodded shakily, frowning in bemusement as he grasped something within the Sorting Hat, something bright silver, something with huge rubies set into its hilt; the Sword of Gryffindor! The same sword that they had tried to steal from Snape's office months before!

Cody's eyes widened as Neville swung the sword above his head, taking three great, long strides forward, and swung--not at Voldemort, but at the great snake he carried. Cody's confusion was overshadowed by Voldemort's shriek, a terrible sound among the suddenly renewed battle, as the snake's head flew into grass, blood pouring from the mortal wound.

Neville was wandless, helpless against Voldemort; Cody raised his wand, sending all of his will into a solid Impedimenta Jinx, a spell he'd never yet failed to perform, and knocked Voldemort's aim off ,even as he raised his wand to Neville and Neville dived out of the way.

"Run!" Neville cried as he sprinted off, still carrying Gryffindor's sword. Cody bolted after him, and Voldemort's furious Killing Curse only barely missed the two of them and sent Cody's heart beating frantically.

Voldemort's giants roared angrily, fighting off something that Cody could see only as wispy shadows, fading in and out of sight...except for Buckbeak, who dived again and again at the giants' heads. Grawp the giant pummeled his bigger cousins while they were too distracted to hit back. The centaurs charged straight into the group of Death Eaters, shattering the united front they'd presented to the survivors of the battle.

Cody yelled as Neville suddenly tackled him, and a jet of green light soared above them. Cody returned with a Stunning Spell, and ducked the Death Eater's retaliatory curses. He didn't even know who it was and had no time to thank Neville for saving his life.

Everyone fled from the giants' huge feet for fear of being trampled, and the battle in general was being forced back towards the castle. The first of the fighters ducked inside, and continued their fight there. Voldemort shrieked orders at his followers, and Cody barely knew who was standing beside him as he ran for the castle also, staying alive only by the barest instinct. Charlie Weasley sprinted past him, followed by what seemed to be half of Hogsmeade, and Cody gaped. "ALL RIGHT!" he cried, realizing that Charlie must have gone for reinforcements at some point during the confrontation, and now they were here. He also recognized some of the parents of the Hogwarts students, and other people he had met before in his years among wizards. And now they were all there, and all rising up against Voldemort's regime.

'Now who's outnumbered?' Cody thought gleefully.

He yelled and ducked as several centaurs sprinted inside, their hooves making an awful racket on the stone floor, and Cody grinned as he caught the eye of one he saw often in the forest. It was a male named Kendrid, the one who had first pulled Cody back from the attack in the woods after the failed sword theft. The centaur smiled and Cody waved, before he plunged back into the fight, dueling Antonin Dolohov.

Cody realized with sudden, sick fury this was the man that had killed Lupin, and he fought Dolohov with every bit of will and strength he could muster. Someone else joined the battle at Cody's side, but he barely saw who it was, not until Dolohov lay in a crumpled heap...unconscious, not dead, but certainly hurt. Cody's furious Sectumsempra hex had seen to that!

"Shouldn't have let Carrow teach us that, you worthless git," he growled.

"Good job, kid," murmured Kyle Tiller, standing shoulder to shoulder with Cody and looking on Dolohov with disgust.

Cody thought it was at that moment the battle began to sway in favor of the Hogwarts fighters; the reinforcements from the forest and from Hogsmeade were overwhelming them, and everywhere Cody looked they were being taken down, most dead, some perhaps unconscious...swarmed over by fighters. Somewhere Cody felt satisfaction, but mostly he was just sick...sick at the sheer brutality of the battle. Dueling Cody enjoyed...he could understand dueling, understand the honor, or whatever it was that sparked the duel. Even small battles, like the one at the Ministry of Magic two years before. But this...this was something bigger, deeper, and uglier. Something he would never forget.

Someone shrieked, and Cody blinked to see a hoard of house elves swarm the Entrance Hall, led by none other than Kreacher, the house elf from Grimmauld Place. Cody gaped in astonishment as the small creatures leapt fearlessly into the fray with knives and other kitchen tools. He caught sight of a dark shadow in the corner, and realized it was Chance. He winced as the lethifold reared up, launching himself at the nearest Death Eater, a very short one, enclosing him completely within his folds. 'Guess I won't need to feed him again soon,' Cody thought numbly, watching in horrified fascination. The man did not struggle long.

"Come on!" Kyle yelled, making a dash for the Great Hall,and Cody shook his head clear. His heart pounding, he followed, awed by the scene within: Voldemort was fighting three of Hogwarts's warriors; Horace Slughorn, Minerva McGonagall, and Kingsley Shacklebolt dueled him, darting around the monster, working as one entity. He was glad to see that the Head of Slytherin fought for Hogwarts! Voldemort's face was etched with fury as he fought, refusing to be taken down by them. Cody had seen Kingsley fight, but never McGonagall or Slughorn, and their ferocity and skill deeply impressed him.

Bellatrix Lestrange was fighting three DA members: Luna, Ginny, and Hermione, who fought with equal ferocity, but Bellatrix was holding her own well, laughing with mad fury as she fought.

But when she nearly killed Ginny with a roar of "AVADA KEDAVRA!" there was another shout, equally as enraged, and even louder.

"NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!" Cody's mouth fell open as he snapped his head around to look at Mrs. Weasley, who in that moment scared Cody. "Out of my way!" she snarled to Ginny and the other two girls, hurling furious curses at Bellatrix Lestrange.

"GET HER, MRS. WEASLEY!" Cody screamed, his voice hoarse from all the yelling and crying he had done that night. He almost forgot about Voldemort as Molly dueled Bellatrix, as the floor around them buckled from their furious spells, and everyone in the Hall gave them a wide berth. Bellatrix laughed at the sight of the portly Molly Weasley, refusing to let anyone help her in this personal duel, her fight against the woman who tried to murder her daughter.

"Get back, get back! She is mine!"

Bellatrix taunted her, asking what Mrs. Weasley's children would do once Bellatrix killed her. And then she said the fatal words: "When Mummy's gone the same way as Freddie!"

Cody hissed angrily, as Mrs. Weasley snarled, "You will never touch our children again!"

Bellatrix only shrieked gleeful laughter, and Molly aimed her wand; she froze as Molly's curse hit her in the chest, and Cody suddenly knew that Molly Weasley had killed the monster. Bellatrix Lestrange collapsed to the floor, her face still locked on its mad laugh.

A horrible scream echoed through the chamber, and Cody spun around to see Voldemort, his face contorted in a shriek of fury as Bellatrix fell. He raised his wand to Mrs. Weasley, but she'd never turn in time—he'd kill her right there!

Several wands rose, but someone beat them all to it: "PROTEGO!"

Cries of shock rose all around as someone threw off an Invisibility Cloak right in the middle of the Hall and stood facing Voldemort.

Harry Potter.

"I don't want anyone to help!" called Harry as he began to circle Voldemort, even as people still cried their relief and astonishment. "It's got to be like this!"

And with a chill, Cody knew he was right. Everyone watched, their faces avid with fear and anticipation. Cody spotted Graham Pritchard and slunk over to stand next him, also affording him a better view of Harry and Voldemort's duel.

"Potter doesn't mean that," sneered Voldemort. "That isn't how he works, it is? Who are you going to use as a shield today, Potter?"

Amid several hisses from the watching crowd, Harry said, "Nobody. There are no more Horcruxes." Cody finally understood why Neville had attacked Voldemort's snake, and not Voldemort; she had been a horcrux. "It's just you and me. Neither can live while the other survives, and one of us is about to leave for good."

Voldemort looked less and less human as he circled, his expression one of mean amusement as his scarlet eyes stared. "'One of us?' You think it will be you, do you, the boy who has survived by accident, and because Dumbledore was pulling the strings?"

More angry hisses from the crowd; it was psychological warfare Voldemort was trying to pull, but it wasn't working; Harry was as calm as ever.

"Accident, was it, when my mother died to save me? Accident when I decided to fight in that graveyard? Accident, that I didn't defend myself tonight, and still survived, and returned to fight again?"

"ACCIDENTS!" screamed Voldemort as Cody cheered, his voice joining several others. "Accident and chance and the fact that you crouched and sniveled behind the skirts of greater men and woman, and permitted me to kill them for you!"

"You won't be killing anyone else tonight," said Harry. "You won't be able to kill any of them ever again. Don't you get it? I was ready to die to stop you from hurting these people."

"But you did not!"

"I meant to. And that's what did it. I've done what my mother did. They're protected from you! Haven't you noticed how none of the spells you put on them are binding? You can't torture them. You can't touch them. You don't learn from your mistakes, do you, Riddle?"

"You dare!" hissed Vodemort, enraged.

"Yes, I dare! I know things you don't know, Tom!" To hear Harry calling Voldemort "Tom" was bizarre beyond imagining, and seemed to diminish Voldemort somehow, as when Dumbledore had done the same thing back at the ministry of Magic. "I know lots of important things that you don't. Want to hear some before you make another big mistake?"

The crowd had gone silent, staring at the two of them, who seemed to be the only ones just then who were completely alive; everyone else had become like wax statues, silent and still.

"Is it love, again?" Voldemort sneered. "Dumbledore's favorite solution, love, which he claimed conquered death! Though love did not stop him falling from the tower and breaking like an old waxwork! Love, which did not prevent me stamping out your Mudblood mother like a cockroach, Potter, and nobody seems to love you enough to run forward this time and take my curse. So what will stop you dying now when I strike?"

But Voldemort seemed very much to want to know Harry's secret, his vital information, for Voldemort had not yet struck. He only circled endlessly, like tigers on the pworl, and both out for blood.

Cody wanted to know too!

"Just one thing," said Harry quietly.

"If it is not love that will save you this time, then you must believe you have magic that I do not, or else a weapon more powerful than mine?"

"I believe both," said Harry.

Cody cringed at the sound of Voldemort's laughter, a sound that surely could not come from any human mouth. Graham put an arm around Cody's shoulders. "You think you know magic than I do? Than I, than Lord Voldemort, who has performed magic that Dumbledore himself never dreamed of?"

"Oh, he dreamed of it, but he knew more than you, knew enough not to do what you've done."

"You mean he was weak! Too weak to dare, too weak to take what might have been his, what will be mine!"

"No, he was cleverer than you, a better wizard, a better man."

It was surreal...the two of them circling each other, Voldemort throwing out insults, Harry calmly replying. Voldemort looked like a beast about to strike, but Harry reminded Cody suddenly of Dumbledore, who would always remain calm even when others were losing their tempers and yelling and screaming. His calm, matt-erof-fact manner was royally pissing Voldemort off!

"I brought about the death of Albus Dumbledore!" Voldemort snarled.

"You thought you did, but you were wrong."

"Dumbledore is DEAD!"

"Yes. Dumbledore is dead. But you didn't have him killed."

_What? _Cody was not alone in gaping at Harry at this statement, as he went on to explain that Dumbledore had arranged his own death. But...how could that be?

"What childish dream is this?" spat Voldemort.

"Severus Snape was never yours, Snape was Dumbledore's from the moment you started hunting down my mother. You never saw Snape cast a Patronus, did you, Riddle? It was a doe...the same as my mother's, because he loved her nearly all his life, from the time they were children. You should have realized! He asked you to spare his life, didn't he?"

Snape loved Harry's mother? _Snape? _Who Cody never thought could love anyone?

Voldemort apparently thought the same. "He desired her, that's all. But when she had gone, he agreed there were other women, and of purer blood, worthy of him!"

"Of course he told you that," said Harry contemptuously. "But he was Dumbledore's spy from the moment you threatened her, and he's been working against you ever since! Dumbledore was already dying when Snape finished him!"

From that point on, Cody understood little of the conversation...a few gasps around him told him that others had at least some idea, but Cody had no clue. He learned that Snape was dead, and it caused an unexpected pang of regret. Snape was not a very nice man. He was a bully, and he'd allowed a lot of cruelty to happen while he was Headmaster. But he had a spark of decency, and he was brave...Cody could never deny his guts!

But the Elder wand... Cody wasn't sure what that was, only that Voldemort held it in his hand, and was absolutely certain that it would ensure Harry's death. It was a powerful wand, one that could only be used by someone who defeated its previous owner. As Voldemort had killed Snape, the wand's last possessor, he believed the wand was now his...but Harry thought otherwise. It was complicated and involved, but the important thing was whether or not the wand's powerful properties would work for Voldemort...or not.

Trembling, Cody realized he was about to find out, and he silently prayed with all his might that Harry was right, and that Cody would not have to watch yet another friend die.

It happened just as the sun broke over the horizon, the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall suddenly glowing gold with the sunrise. Cody clenched his teeth, balled his hands into fists and tensed in every muscle.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

"EXPELLIARMUS!"

Voldemort's spell was deadly, powerful, malign. Cody knew that well. Harry's spell was one they'd learned their first year, a defensive spell, one that could never kill anyone. With an incredible crash like a thunderclap, the spells collided in midair, sending golden sparks flying into crowd; several people ducked.

But Harry did not fall. Voldemort's wand spun from his hand, flying into the air, his own spell backfiring. Harry caught the wand as Voldemort fell backwards, his unnatural eyes rolling back, already staring and blank.

Lord Voldemort, the man who had spread terror and sorrow among wizardkind for decades, fell to the floor, dead at last. The silence in that second was unnatural, making the cheer that sounded a moment later all the more shocking in its volume. Hundreds of people in the Hall, wizards, centaurs, house elves, and ever other creature that crowded the halls was cheering, and Harry disappeared in a pile of people hugging him.


	121. Y7, C43: New Day

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 43: New Day**

Cody was in shock. He suddenly wanted to be away from the noise and the cheers, and as the people began to celebrate their freedom, he slipped quietly to the edge of the Hall, weaving among the people to slip through the doors of the Great Hall. He realized vaguely that he was crying, and wiped his eyes absently, but he wasn't sure _why_ he was crying. Shock...he supposed that was mostly it. He thought of the whole long, terrible, terrifying, exciting, unbelievable night, as he slipped through the front doors of Hogwarts. He thought of things he had done he hoped never to do again, and of some things he _wanted_ to do again...but never would there be a battle...or a victory...like this again. It was all over.

He took a big breath and looked out over the forest, the tops of the trees glowing gold in the sunrise. The air was warm, the grounds still and silent, and Cody began to cry in earnest. He didn't care why anymore, all he knew he had to do it or something in him was going to break.

Graham came out about five minutes later, after Cody had calmed somewhat, feeling better for his tears.

"You okay?" asked Graham quietly, sitting on the step next to Cody.

"Yeah," said Cody quietly. And it was even true. "Now. Kinda...stunned I guess. From everything. What did they do with Voldemort's body?"

"Oh, that," said Graham dismissively, as if talking about a sewer rat someone had disposed of. "They put it in that room behind the Great Hall. You know, the one that we all got penned up in before our Sorting. Didn't want them near the bodies of our—of—the people on our side. Bellatrix's body's there too."

"Good," said Cody. He couldn't bear the idea of Voldemort being anywhere near Lupin...and Fred... He took a deep breath, closing his eyes, and leaning against his best friend. He felt suddenly grateful to have been in Slytherin, to have met Graham.

"Come on, shrimpy," said Graham softly, and Cody shot him a look. "Let's get back inside. Everyone's there."

And Cody found that he _did_ want to be back inside with all of his friends. "Okay." 'Shrimpy, is it?' he thought fondly. He supposed he couldn't argue. He was the youngest fighter there by two years at the least. Several decades in some cases, like McGonagall and Aberforth.

Cody and Graham walked together back to the Great Hall, among the hundred of bloodstained, bruised, and battered fighters. But even for their injuries, their losses, people were laughing. There was such a free, victorious, relieved air to the room that even people who had lost their loved ones were smiling, talking with friends, speaking of the battle, venerating about those who had died as heroes.

The House tables were back, but they were full of all kinds of people, students of every House sitting not according to their Houses, but according to where they wanted to sit. The Malfoys were even there over at the Ravenclaw table, all three of them, huddling together. Cody realized that none of them had fought in the battle. Maybe there was hope for them after all.

Grawp was outside looking in through a smashed window, and people were throwing food into his mouth. The scene was so surreal and strange that Cody had to laugh.

"Hello, Cody," said a voice behind him.

Cody turned and saw Kendrid, the centaur he'd seen earlier. He had blood on his arm and on his face, but he smiled down at Cody all the same.

Graham looked fascinated, never having been so close to a centaur before, but Cody grasped the centaur's forearm and received the gesture in return. It was a greeting among centaurs, and a gesture of friendship. "Hi, Kendrid."

"You fought bravely tonight, young foal. I think that perhaps you will not be a foal too much longer."

Cody blinked. Not a foal much longer? Not long ago he would have protested being told he was growing up, even in the rather unique way centaurs had about them, but now, well... "Well, maybe," he said finally, and Graham snickered.

Kendrid smiled. "You will make a fine adult, Cody. When it is time. For now, I think we should join the herd. It is good to be with your friends, and your people." He looked up, his expression oddly wistful, and Cody impulsively took him by the hand.

"Yeah, you too," said Cody, giving Kendrid's hand a little tug. He looked mildly surprised, but he nodded, and followed along, clopping carefully along the tile floor below.

Cody only then realized that the House tables were laden with food, and his stomach rumbled. He, Kendrid, and Graham joined Neville Longbottom, who still had the sword of Gryffindor with him, and was looking rather pleased at the admiration he was getting from several people. Neville's grandmother was even there, her face almost young as she gazed proudly on her grandson, her obnoxious, vulture-topped hat resting as ever on her head.

Neville broke into a grin when he saw Cody, standing up, and Cody ran over to hug him.

"You were awesome, Neville," said Cody fervently. "Brilliant...I can't believe you just...just told off Voldemort! That was great! I was proud of you!"

Neville blushed faintly, but he was beaming. "Thanks," he said. "Well...it's like with Dumbledore's Army. When you find something worth fighting for, it is easier."

Cody nodded and sat down, Graham beside him. Kendrid remained standing, getting himself a plate of food, though it was clear he was not very used to human utensils; Cody wondered if they even used plates. The centaur's out-of-place demeanor was somehow endearing. Cody himself grabbed a large turkey leg to gnaw on, wishing there was some extra rare steak around. He was famished, and he had gotten used to craving raw meat when that happened, thanks to Greyback.

"Hey!" called an excited voice. Cody looked up to see Seamus Finnegan standing up over on the bench of the Hufflepuff table, several teachers nearby. "Kingsley Shacklebolt's been named temporary Minister for Magic!"

A great cheer rose up from the crowd, and Cody found himself even joining in. It seemed impossible he could feel happy, could cheer, or feel enthusiasm, with Lupin only hours dead...but he did. There was too much love and camaraderie in the room for him to grieve. That would come later. But for now, he was with people who loved him.

Kathy Skinner and Kyle Tiller joined them all at the Slytherin table, and Cody looked up at Kyle, suddenly a little nervous. Cody had killed Dustin Tiller, Kyle's brother. He had a sudden, irrational fear that Kyle would attack him, at the very least hate him for what he'd done. But Kyle was smiling as he sat down, gently squeezing Cody's shoulder, his face as friendly as ever. Kathy declared she could eat an entire thestral, and the entire table laughed as one of the nearby house elves squeakingly offered to get one for her.

"No, thanks," said Kathy, smiling. "I think I'll make do with this plate of roast potatoes."

The morning wore on, and the sun rose steadily above them, across a clear sky. People ate, they talked, they laughed, they wept...Cody did all of those in turns...but most of all they were together.

McGonagall came over to them fifteen minutes or so later to tell Neville how proud she was of them, to tell Cody how she was so sorry for Lupin, but how her pride for him was just as strong. She looked at the small group of Slytherins: Cody, Graham, Kyle, and Kathy, and said that they had done their House proud, and showed everyone what true Slytherins were like. How their determination and cleverness was just as much as asset to the school and the wizarding world as Gryffindor's own qualities. Cody felt warm at her praise, and Graham struck a smug, smarmy pose, making McGonagall throw her arms up in amused exasperation.

"Not to mention arrogance!" she added. Everyone laughed, and Graham looked entirely pleased with himself.

Owls came swooping in every few minutes, bringing news of family who were safe...or not. The innocent people had been released from Azkaban, and Cody had to smile when he saw Luna being reunited with her father. Xenophilius Lovegood looked painfully thin, but he was smiling and crying at the same time (and wearing some weird robe that look like it belonged on a Chinese emperor). In fact families were reuniting all over the Great Hall. News of Death Eaters who were fleeing the area, maybe even the country, or were being captured by the true Ministry of Magic.

For that matter...Cody knew what happened to Snape. But where in the blazes were the Carrows? He had to ask several people before he found someone who knew: McGongall. She told him what had happened up in the Ravenclaw common room, how Alecto Carrow had caught Harry looking at the statue of Ravenclaw, how he had Stunned her. How Amycus and McGonagall had gone there to see what was wrong, and how Harry knocked the bastard out after he spit in McGonagall's face.

Cody clenched his fists and snarled to think of someone spitting at McGonagall, a teacher he respected greatly, and cared for a great deal. Much less a worthless Carrow!

McGonagall and Snape had dueled, and the Carrows were still up in the Ravenclaw Common Room, tied together hand and foot. Cody smiled in grim satisfaction. "They'll go to Azkaban, won't they?"

"They will," said McGonagall grimly. "And serve them right."

---

Later that morning, as people finished eating and the house tables were cleared away, Cody joined the Weasleys for a while, wanting to spend some time with the _all_ the people he loved. He did not mention Fred, but he spent a lot of time next to George, who looked very lost...and he hadn't made a joke all morning. Mrs. Weasley spent most of the time crying, but saying over and over how grateful she was for those who had survived.

Ginny had brought Chance the lethifold from wherever he'd gone after its supper, handing him over to Cody when he joined them. He was very glad to see Chance, who seemed just as glad, slithering over and wrapping around Cody. He was rather thicker than usual. Several people backed up in alarm, only relaxing when Ginny explained that the lethifold was a friend. In fact people seemed to get used to the idea quickly. Cody supposed that after Voldemort, a lethifold wasn't so scary.

He himself felt a little lost, though...kind of separated from the others. As the morning wore on, he found that Dustin Tiller'swords kept going through his head, as if there was a dementor somewhere making them repeat in an endless loop.

'You're bad luck, Gregor! Bad luck! Anyone who's ever taken you in is dead!'

Cody did not truly believe that he was bad luck. But Dustin's words were still true...his father had been killed by his blood mother, who in turn had been killed by Aurors. His true mother, the Muggle whose name he proudly wore, had been murdered by Cody's own fourth cousin. And now...Lupin and Tonks, killed in the last battle.

Cody swallowed hard, glancing over to where the dead had been laid down, many of them covered in cloaks or blankets, some lying with their eyes closed. They looked strangely unreal.

He laid his head against Chance, hugging him gently as if he were an extremely strange teddy bear. Chance seemed content enough to be cuddled; he wrapped himself around Cody's waist, laying his head on Cody's shoulder.

Soon, the talk began to die down, as people began to tire. When the immediate shock, elation, fear, sorrow, and everything else began to die down, people realized they had not slept...that they had fought for hours, that they had gone through on ordeal that their bodies were only now reacting to.

McGonagall got up in front of the assembled crowd and told them that anyone wishing to stay at Hogwarts were welcome, that they would find shelter there, and most people seemed ready to take her up on her offer. Even the centaurs said that they would stay at least one night, for one of their own had been badly injured and could not safely leave yet. Cody was alarmed to see that Firenze was the injured one, but was assured he would recover. Bane, the one centaur who had been most set against allying with the humans in any way, seemed most upset by his former herdmate's wounds.

"He realizes he was wrong," said a voice over Cody's head, and he jumped. It was Kendrid again, following Cody's gaze. "When we saw that Harry Potter had been killed...or thought he had...he realized at last that his pride and bigotry might have helped to lose this entire war. And he gathered our herd to fight."

"And boy did you," said Cody, smiling a little. "Those Death Eaters weren't too happy."

Kendrid chuckled. "No. I imagine the woman I shot with my bow was none too happy, certainly."

"Will you teach me how to shoot a bow?" asked Cody suddenly.

Kendrid blinked, but then he smiled, and nodded. "I will, Cody. May I assume, then, that we will see you again?"

"Definitely," answered Cody. For one thing, he rather thought he might have to come back again for his seventh year. It wasn't as if he learned a whole lot, and no one had taken their exams. For another...he would miss Hogwarts if he never came back. And he had made a lot of friends who never left the castle and its grounds. Yes, he would be coming back in one way or another.

People were beginning to leave the Hall, then, as they sought out places to sleep. Even Chance was asleep, draped over Cody's head, and Cody laughed a little. He was heavy, and Cody was very, very tired and sore.

"I think I need to get some sleep," he murmured.

"Yeah...let's go," said Graham. "By the way I managed to save some of your stuff from the other seventh-years. It's battered but fixable."

That was good news! "Thanks," said Cody. "Come join me in the Gryffindor dorms. I doubt anyone'll care. And if they do...well, tough rocks." He looked up at Kendrid and clasped his arm again in farewell. "I'll see you again, Kendrid...and thanks. Thanks for all your help. Tell Bane and the others I said so?"

"I will, young Cody. And so it is farewell for now."

Cody nodded sleepily. As he left the Hall, he wandered over to let the Weasleys, and Neville, and his other friends where he was going, before tromping up the first flight of stairs. Why did the Gryffindor common room have to be in a damned tower, anyway?

By the time he and Graham arrived, and Cody had given the password, they were exhausted. Cody led the way to the seventh year dorms as he went, thinking vaguely they'd all have to go to the Room of Requirement to get theit belongings. He would almost miss that little room...the camaraderie they'd all share, the homey treehouse quality of it. Yes, he would miss it. But he was also glad to be where he belonged.

Harry was fast asleep in his bunk when Cody got there, and on impulse, Cody smile, laying his hand for just a moment on Harry's unruly hair. Ron was there also, but not asleep yet; he opened one eye to see who had come in, looked Cody over, eyed Chance, and said sleepily, "If that thing eats me, I'll haunt you until the end of your days."

Cody began to laugh; he couldn't help it. Suppressing it so he didn't wake Harry, be shook with laughter, climbing into his bunk and laughing into his pillow. The whole, terrifying night ended like this...with Ron threatening to haunt Cody if Cody's lethifold ate him.

It took a while to calm himself down.

Eventually the seventh year dorm had nine people in it: Cody, Seamus, Dean, Harry, Graham, Neville, Ron, Hermione (no one cared much that she was a girl), and Kreacher the house-elf. Cody was astonished to see the change that had come over the elf.

Cody and Graham shared a bunk, with Chance acting as Cody's blanket, as he'd gotten accustomed to in the two weeks of living in the Room or Requirement. Cody feared he might have nightmares, but he didn't; he fell asleep straight away and slept straight through.


	122. Y7, C44: News and Mourning

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 44: News and Mourning**

When Cody woke, it was to gentle shaking; he glanced first at the person shaking him, a little confused to see Arthur Weasley there, looking upset. Cody glanced at the clock, yet more confused that it was five o'clock, and that it was still light out. "Is it morning?" he mumbled groggily.

"No," said Mr. Weasley, his expression softening a little. "No...it's evening. You've slept about five hours. I know it's not enough, but--"

Cody suddenly sat up, Mr. Weasley backing away quickly in surprise, and Cody looked wildly around him. The battle! And...and Lupin. "I forgot," he whispered.

"Understandable," said Mr. Weasley, his voice breaking the slightest bit. "I can hardly believe it, myself." He stopped a moment to compose himself, then continued. "I--well--I wouldn't have wakened you, not until supper, but there's something..."

Rubbing his eyes vigorously, Cody looked around, trying to bully his fatigued brain into working. Everyone else was still asleep, and beside him, Graham let out a sort of derisive snort, and moved suddenly, as if doing something rather active in his dreams. Cody slipped out of bed, wincing at how sore he was. "You...are you all right, Mr. Weasley?" asked Cody.

Mr. Weasley sighed. "We've just gotten into contact with Andromeda Tonks." Cody swallowed hard. "McGonagall's up in her... Dumbledore's... office waiting for her. She wanted to know if you wanted to tell Andromeda the news of her daughter. She knows you were rather close to Andromeda, and very close to Lupin. If not, Cody, it's all right. I can do it."

Cody could only stare, openmouthed, for a few moments before finally closing his mouth. "I can do it," he said, trying to swallow again. But it got stuck. "I want to." Poor Andromeda...she lost her husband only months before, and now Tonks.

"You're sure? I know you've been through a lot...and that's a horrible understatement."

Cody turned to his bedstand, where sat four wands. One of them was Graham's, and Cody set that aside. One was Cody's, which he clipped to the belt loop of his torn, filthy jeans.

"I'm sure," said Cody, scooping up the remaining two wands.

If Mr. Weasley wondered about the wands, he did not ask. He only nodded, putting a hand on Cody's shoulder as he headed to the door of the dorms.

Cody saw that the entire Weasley family was in the common room, kipping on the sofas and chairs. All except Mr. Weasley...and Fred. George looked so wrong without his brother. Cody lowered his eyes unhappily to the floor and left the common room.

The corridors were quiet...most people had only gone to bed a few hours before, and Cody figured they were sleeping. He saw a couple of ghosts he recognized vaguely, but no one else as he headed for Dumbledore's office. It had been Dumbledore's so long...Cody didn't think he'd ever stop thinking of it as "Dumbledore's office".

He took a deep breath as Arthur uttered the password, "freedom", and the way was opened.

Andromeda was already in McGonagall's office when Cody got inside, feeling suddenly very young and nervous. What kid ever had to tell someone that their daughter was dead? But Cody had shouldered a lot of burdens that most people his age never had to shoulder. It hurt him somehow, in a way, and made him feel only sick and unhappy.

Andromeda had obviously just arrived, for she was covered in soot from the Floo network. She looked sick with worry, and Cody wondered what McGonagall had told her.

"Cody," she said, looking slightly surprised. "You...Minerva said you had news of 'Dora? Tonks?"

She suspected, Cody thought suddenly. There was hope on her face, hope that Cody might tell her differently, but her eyes did not reflect any of that hope, and he suddenly wished more than anything that he did not have to shatter that hope.

Cody never thought it would be so difficult as this. He clenched his teeth hard enough to make his jaw ache, but it didn't stop his eyes from tearing up, nor spilling over. He had to force himself to look at Andromeda...however easier it would be to tell the words to the ground, Andromeda deserved the respect of eye contact. Cody suddenly wished that Merlin or Chance was there with him.

Andromeda knew before Cody spoke, but it still had to be said. "I-I'm sorry, Andromeda," he said. His voice shook and he tried valiantly to steady it. "Tonks...she, well—she fell in battle." Fell...that sounded better...not so horrible as "dead".

"No..." Andromeda stared at Cody, slowly shaking her head, her face draining of all color. McGonagall rushed forward to steady the woman, guiding her over to a chair to sit before she fainted. Andromeda looked up at McGonagall and then at Arthur, then finally at Cody. Her eyes were bright but still dry...only dreadfully haunted. "Did you see how it happened?" she whispered.

"I...saw some," said Cody, wiping at his eyes. "I was fighting some jerk that was hiding in the forest. I...heard Tonks yell. Then I heard Remus--" he stopped short, his throat contracting almost enough to hurt, and forced a breath into his lungs. Arthur grasped Cody's shoulder, lending him strength, and Cody was able to continue. "He cried out her name. I w-was running for them, Tonks...Tonks was already on the ground. Remus was...really angry. He was fighting three people."

Andromeda bit her lip hard, and Cody winced to see a trickle of blood run from her lip, unnoticed by her. "And...and Remus? Where..." But she trailed off, perhaps realizing the answer for herself.

Cody looked down at the floor, only now remembering the sight of Remus falling, of his body on the ground. He was no longer crying, but felt he could start again at any moment. "I couldn't get there in time... Dolohov. He's the one who got Remus. I...don't know who...who got Tonks. It was—w-was Bellatrix Lestrange, Antonin Dolohov, and a-and Dustin Tiller."

"I believe it was Bellatrix," said Arthur softly, putting an arm around Cody's shoulders. "Tonks was fighting her in particular."

"She's dead," said Cody, narrowing his eyes. "Bellatrix is dead, and she deserves it!"

"Tonks died a hero," said McGonagall, sounding like she had a bad cold. "She and Remus died fighting for Hogwarts."

"A-and for everyone," Cody added.

"Remus, too," whispered Andromeda.

Cody pulled gently from Arthur, and walked over to where Andromeda sat, looking shocked and somehow lost, and he held out the two wands. "The purpley one...that's Tonks's," said Cody, though he realized Andromeda probably already knew that. "I picked it up...I didn't want to leave it there. This one's Remus's...Teddy should have it."

Andromeda took the two wands dazedly, looking at Cody for just a moment before she seemed to crumple, sobs suddenly shaking her body. As always, the sight of someone else crying set him off, too, and he leaned forward to hug her. He wished more than anything he could take it all back...turn back Remus's and Tonks's death...take back the awful sight of George alone in the common room, his brother taken from him. He would have given anything to turn it all back.

He didn't know how long they stayed that way, but it was long enough for Cody to be sore from not moving. He straightened up, putting his hand on Andromeda's shoulder, and she looked up at him, grasping his hand.

"Thank you," she whispered. "For..." She looked down at her daughter's and Remus's wand, and didn't finish, but Cody understood.

"Come, Andromeda," said McGonagall quietly, coming over and offering her hand, and helping the younger woman up. "Do you...want to see them?"

"Yes," whispered Andromeda.

McGonagall put an arm around Andromeda's shoulders, guiding her towards the doors. "Come, then." McGonagall put a hand on Cody's head as she passed, and then they were gone.

Cody turned to Arthur and burst into tears. "I want them back!"

"I know, kiddo," Arthur murmured, holding Cody and smoothing back his tangled hair. "I do too...all of them." Cody thought Mr. Weasley might be crying, too. "Come on...I'll walk you back to Gryffindor Tower.

Cody nodded and wiped his eyes and his nose on the sleeve of his school robe...it was unsalvageable, anyway. It had been ragged when he went into battle, but now it was only barely recognizable as clothing.

When the two of them got back to Gryffindor Tower, people were beginning to wake and congregate in the common room. The Weasleys looked curiously at the pair as they entered through the portrait hole, both crying. Mr. Weasley went to join his family, and Cody went to meet Graham and Harry, who were coming down the stairs from the dorms. Chance slithered after them.

"What happened?" asked Graham, looking alarmed.

"I j-just told Andromeda about T-Tonks..."

Harry's expression was that of sympathy, but Graham only looked puzzled until Harry told him that Andromeda was Tonks's mother.

"Aw, jeez..."

Graham sat down on the stairs, and Cody sat down next to him, taking the time to get a hold of himself. Chance slithered into Cody's lap, wanting attention, and he absently stroked the creature. It helped to calm him. Harry squeezed Cody's shoulder before going all the way down to greet the Weasleys.

"Hey," said Graham, turning around to look behind him. "We're kinda blocking the way...you wanna go get something to eat?"

Cody nodded and gathered Chance up in his arms. He did want badly to eat.

The rest of the day passed in a sort of surreal daze. Many of the people from Hogsmeade had already left the castle to go back to their homes and families. Many of the Order...those who were left...had also left. Kingsley Shacklebolt had been working almost nonstop at the Ministry, beginning to sort out the unholy mess that had begun not with Voldemort's takeover of the Ministry, but long ago, even before Cornelius Fudge had taken the position. Cody wondered vaguely if Fudge had been killed, too.

Cody went to the Room or Requirement and gathered his belongings, smiling a bit to see he wasn't the first person to go back in there since the battle. Someone had put three magical photos on his trunk, of the Room of Requirement while they were using it as their personal hideout up until yesterday.

Yesterday. Only yesterday, Cody had lain in his bright green hammock, being bored, and wondering when Harry would come back so they could kick some arse. He could scarcely believe it.

He read the scribbled note on the back of one of the photos: "Cody – I took these a couple of days ago. I know you like photos. Hope you like these. Years from now we'll remember Dumbledore's Army, and what we fought for. –Seamus Finnegan."

Cody smiled again, slipped the photos into his trunk, and after a moment's thought, took down his hammock and one of the Slytherin hangings, and added them, too. Then he left the room, his broomstick in hand, his trunk hovering obediently after him.

After he stowed his belongings in the dorm, he and Graham went down to the Slytherin common room and dorms, which were completely deserted. Cody gathered his battered belongings from beside Graham's bed, and dragged those upstairs, too. It was good to keep busy...that meant that he didn't have time to dwell on his sorrow.

Everyone else seemed to be in the sort of daze Cody was, moving about like zombies, still dead tired and sore from their wounds, and their fights. Cody still had wounds that weren't healing quickly because they were magically induced, and would need care for a few days.

He had to wait in line for a shower, but once he did, felt a hundred percent better. And after that...a good night's sleep.


	123. Y7, C45: Tales Told

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 45: Tales Told**

The next few days were surreal and exhausting. Samantha and Merlin were brought to Hogwarts by the Weasleys to be with Cody. Cody introduced Chance to them (Samantha was impressed, Merlin was less so), and showed Samantha around the castle. He introduced her to everyone he could think of, finding some happiness in Samantha's enthusiasm.

He told her the news about Remus, which she took surprisingly well. Cody was touched that she was more concerned about Cody. She hadn't been nearly as close to him as Cody was, and it was a great comfort to have her there. Andromeda brought Cody's belongings there, too, since Cody didn't know where he would go once he left the castle.

Hagrid took the thestral feeding duties over again, complimenting Cody on the good job he'd done with Hagrid's creatures, and pleased that Cody had taken such a liking to Chance. "I'll help yeh get yer paperwork fer him," he said, and Cody thanked him.

The families of those who were killed came to see their loved ones and see to arranging their funerals and all the other arrangements. Cody helped Andromeda with Tonks and Remus, who were buried in the same plot. Cody cried through most of the arranging, and so did Andromeda, but there was something sort of therapeutic about it.

Cody did not speak at Remus's funeral, but he was one of the pallbearers, which was almost as scary as fighting the Death Eaters. But there were five others, so it wasn't difficult physically...only intimidating. It was so...final. Coatl Carrow came to the funeral, which surprised Cody. His uncle shook Cody's hand and told him quietly he was sorry for his loss. And Cody thought he even meant it.

---

It wasn't until five days after the battle, in the afternoon, that he really got a chance to talk with Harry, himself. Cody hadn't wanted to bother him, knowing he'd been through a lot, too, and knowing that he was very busy--he was a very popular person since his defeat of Voldemort.

Cody had kept to himself in the morning, not even going down to breakfast, and only snagging a sandwich or two for lunch. He didn't really want to talk to anyone. In the evening, he asked Hagrid if he could go in to feed the thestrals instead, and he agreed willingly enough. Samantha had convinced some of the Quidditch players (both former and current) to take her out on the Quidditch pitch to play, and as Cody trusted them to look after her, he let her go. He was glad of the opportunity.

After telling Professor McGonagall where he was going, Cody went down to the Forest, thinking he'd also see if any were hurt, though he didn't know how he'd tell if they were hurt or not. (But he suspected they'd eaten well the night before...some of the Death Eaters who had died in battle looked slightly chewed on.) Hagrid surely tended any wounds, but Cody had grown fond of the beasts, and wanted to check on them anyway.

Remembering how Voldemort had taken refuge in the forest for the battle, Cody kept his wand out...just in case. But there was no one there except those centaurs who were not still up at the castle. They all greeted Cody in a friendly, even fond manner.

The woods were quiet, and as creepy as ever. Cody actually took comfort from its creepiness, because it had become familiar to him. It was a good thing he knew his way by then, because Harry had the Marauder's Map back, and that was how Cody had found his way through the forest to begin with.

He was in for a shock when he stepped into the thestrals' clearing, and his first confused thought was that Buckbeak had somehow summoned a whole lot of his friends. But after the initial surprised, Cody realized with a cold chill what he was seeing: the thestrals themselves.

"I've seen death," he whispered, suddenly remembering the vague, smoky shapes he'd seen attacking the giants along with Buckbeak. The thestrals...though he didn't know why they weren't completely visible then. The thestrals knew Cody, and didn't understand why things were different this time...they could always see Cody, after all. They didn't understand he had never seen them. Cody stared, as one of them came over and nuzzled him in an affectionate sort of way.

They were amazing beasts, and Cody might have been intimidated if he didn't know what they were. They were big, like horses, but painfully thin. Their leathery skin covered powerful, sinewy muscle, but the bones beneath showed in every angle. Their eyes were completely white, their bodies gleaming grays and blacks.

"Wow," Cody whispered.

A scuffling sound caught Cody's attention, and he looked over to see, for the first time, the foal that he had met during that first detention with Hagrid, in October. So long ago! He had felt the foal, had gotten to know him, but never seen him.

He was half-grown now, and Cody smiled as the young thestral galloped up, closing his eyes and nudging Cody for attention. Cody laughed and pet the little thestral for a few minutes.

The beasts were okay, for the most part. There were a few injuries, but they were mild, and already beginning to heal over. Once Cody determined that they were all there (and being able to see them made the task hugely easier), he stood up to head back to the castle. The forest was peaceful here; Cody thought he might visit here more often. And the thestrals were even better company when visible.

Feeling calm, though a little melancholy, Cody went to the lake to sit in the sun, and watch the giant squid swimming laps across the lake's length. He laughed a little as one tentacle crept onto the bank to wave at him before disappearing into the depths. Cody was considering maybe stripping to his shorts and taking a swim when he heard footsteps behind him.

"Hey, Cody."

Cody looked up to see Harry walking toward him, alone. "Hi," he said in a little voice, looking Harry over...Harry looked different somehow. Older. Cody had seen him in clothing other than school robes of course, but to see him wearing Muggle clothes here, at Hogwarts, was strange. Especially knowing that Harry wouldn't ever wear his school robes again.

"You holding up okay?"

Cody didn't answer for a moment...he wasn't sure of what the answer _was. _"I want Lupin back," he said finally.

"I know," said Harry, sitting down and putting an arm companionably about Cody's shoulders. "I know. Me too."

Cody sighed, looking down at the grass. "I'm kinda scared, too. I guess I don't need too much looking after...I did a lot of stuff by myself since I came to Hogwarts, since I was little...but now I don't have a guardian at all."

"I know what you mean," said Harry. "The Dursleys never really took care of me, either. I did a lot on my own, too. And then I found Sirius."

"And lost him," Cody whispered.

"Yeah...and lost him...but you know what, Cody?" Cody looked up at him, a little puzzled at his light, warm tone. "He's not gone. I saw him. And I'll see him again."

Harry seemed absolutely sure of this fact, and Cody gazed at him, astonished to see that Harry was smiling. It was a sad smile, but it was there.

"I haven't told you much of what happened to me this year, have I?" Cody shook his head. "Well...let me tell you...and you'll understand."

And so Cody heard the whole story of Harry, Hermione, and Ron's quest to find Voldemort's horcruxes...of how they destroyed them one by one, and finally ended up at Hogwarts. A couple of parts Cody knew about, from Remus and Potterwatch, but most of it was new. The three of them had been through a lot. He heard of the Deathly Hallows, three immensely powerful artifacts of which Harry's Invisibility Cloak was one.

It was when Harry witnessed Snape's death, and Snape gave Harry some of his memories, and Harry finally understood everything. How Snape truly had been working for Dumbledore, of how Dumbledore was dying before Snape ever killed him. Cody felt guilty for a moment about some of the trouble he had caused Snape, but then he thought of what Snape had done to Hogwarts, and how he had let the Carrows torture him and his friends, and didn't feel guilty anymore. Perhaps Snape did not truly work for Voldemort, but Cody didn't think he could ever forgive the man.

But Snape was forgotten as Harry said that he, Harry, was an accidental horcrux.

Cody blinked a lot at that part, particularly when Harry said that he had to die before Voldemort could be killed. Harry hadn't even known that he would be able to return to complete his task. He intended to die that night, and as his death was near, he was finally able to open the Snitch Dumbledore had left him.

"'I open at the close'," Cody murmured, remembering the cryptic message.

"Yeah," said Harry, shivering a little. "Inside was the third Hallow. Voldemort had the Elder wand...the wand that couldn't be defeated. And I had the cloak...and now Marvolo's ring. Remember me telling you about that?"

Cody nodded mutely; it had been one of Voldemort's horcruxes.

"The stone in the ring was the Ressurection Stone. It brings back the dead...or...it brings back the dead in a ghostly sort of form. Not truly alive again...only lost. But I used it a little differently. I did bring some people back...but only for them to come and get me."

"B-because you thought you were about to join them?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah." And then he smiled again, looking back up at Cody. "My parents. Sirius. And...Remus, who'd only died maybe an hour before. I-I saw him in the Great Hall with you before I went to meet Voldemort."

Cody stared; Harry had spoken to Remus?

"Yeah." He smiled again, giving Cody's shoulder a friendly squeeze. "I know this won't make it all better, Cody...but he was there. And he was younger and healthier than I ever saw him before. And you'll see him again, Cody. He said he regretting dying just after his son was born...but he hoped that Teddy would understand why he did."

"I'll make sure he knows!" choked Cody, his eyes burning again. Maybe he wasn't out of tears after all.

"Yes. And will I. And he told me he was proud of you, Cody. He said to make sure you took care of Samantha...and that he would see you again."

Harry was silent for a while, letting Cody cry against him. Cody's grief was made fresh again, hearing Remus's last words to him, but he was comforted in a way, too. He liked the idea of Remus and Tonks being together...and Remus not having to deal with the horrible stress and worry of being a werewolf, or of the stupid, stupid war. And he was comforted to know that Remus was not gone forever.

"Oh," said Harry quietly after Cody had calmed. "I have something for you." Cody wiped his eyes on his robe (he had been wearing his school robes, because it felt weird not to), and sat up while Harry reached into his jeans pocket. He pulled out what Cody at first thought was a large marble. "Dolores Umbridge—that horrible, worthless prat—she had this. She was using it in her office to spy on people." He held the orb up, and Cody was shocked to recognize Mad-Eye Moody's magical eye.

Cody gaped in shock. "That's—it—Umbridge? She had it? That—that--! How _could she?_ That's sick!"

Harry's lip was curled in disgust. "She had the locket horcrux, too. We had to go fetch it from her. But I took this...no way was I letting her keep it. The Ministry must have found Mad-Eye that night...I assume they buried him. But I know Mad-Eye liked you. Thought you were mad yourself, but he liked you."

Cody let a strangled sounding laugh.

"I think he'd get a kick out of you having this. And I know he'd want it put to some use. You know him..."

"...Constant Vigilance!" Cody exclaimed in unison with Harry, and they both laughed. Cody felt sorrow for Mad-Eye, but fondness also, as Harry handed over the eye. It spun, just as Cody took it. He yelped and dropped the eye, where it swiveled to peer at him. Cody only stared, and then began to laugh. The very first time he'd touched the thing, he'd done the exact same thing.

As twisted, as bizarre as it was, Cody felt it was a little bit of normalcy, almost as if Mad-Eye would come out of the bushes and smirk in his twisted way. And it was a reminder...a reminder that Mad-Eye wasn't gone, either. Not for good.

Cody picked up the eye. He didn't know how he could use it...but he would keep it. A little reminder of the old ex-Auror. A fitting reminder of someone whose sense of humor was as twisted as his scarred face.

"Thanks."

"Anytime," said Harry. "But tell me what happened in the battle; I didn't see a lot of it. I was busy looking for the horcrux and dealing with Malfoy. I'm told you managed a Patronus! What form did it take?"

Cody could not help a proud smile, even as he wiped his eyes dry. "A lethifold."

Harry blinked. "A what? But—aren't they repelled by Patronuses?"

Cody laughed wearily, nodding his head. "Yeah...they are. I know, it's weird. But...well, Chance...that's my lethifold...he saved my life. And he knew exactly what he was doing. He was with me all that time in the Room of Requirement. I didn't even need a blanket; he was loads warmer than any normal blanket. He...well...protected me, I guess."

But Harry was nodding, and Cody knew he understood. "Patronuses can change sometimes when something happens. I don't know what yours would have been...but now it makes sense. Besides...knowing you I should have guessed it wasn't going to be normal. You're just...weird."

Cody nodded in agreement, still smiling. People were still calling him weird...that was good. It was normal. "Anyway...after that everything just went nuts. "

He told of fighting, of finding Graham had snuck back with the Creeveys. He told of Remus and Tonks's death...and of how he, Cody, had killed Dustin Tiller when he taunted Cody about it.

"I never want to do that again," Cody whispered. "Ever." He glanced sideways at Harry, whose expression was solemn, but not accusing. "D-did...I mean...am I a murderer, Harry? I'm not...I'm not sorry he's dead. He killed my mum, he tried to kill me...but..."

"No," said Harry. "No, you're not a murderer. Magic is a powerful, dangerous thing. It can kill or heal with a word. You learned the curse in Carrow's class?" Cody nodded. "Well that didn't help," Harry muttered. "But these things happen. You'd just seem Remus die. Tiller was taunting you about your mum and Remus. You were angry, upset...all of that. I've used an Unforgiveable. On Carrow. The Cruciatus Curse...and I enjoyed it. I hated him for what he did to Hogwarts and my friends, and his spitting on McGonagall was just the last straw."

The Cruciatus Curse on Amycus Carrow! Cody felt savage satisfaction in that, and wished he had been there to see it. "Sorry I missed it," he muttered. "Everyone hated them. I coulda sold tickets to see that!"

Harry laughed rather grimly. "Yeah...yeah I bet you could have. At least you didn't have to deal with the acromantulas. Voldemort sicced those on the castle."

Cody shuddered. "Kingsley said they might...I'm glad, I think, I didn't see those."

"Wish I hadn't," muttered Harry. Cody didn't blame him; he rather thought Harry had met more than his share of the vicious things. "They're the ones that grabbed Hagrid--he didn't like them so much after that."

Cody didn't blame him.

They talked a bit more that evening, of lighter things, before Ron came over to join them, and then Neville, Graham, and Hermione. Cody was glad to see them, it was just yet more normalcy at a time when Cody really needed it.

Samantha did not return until people were sitting down to supper. Most of the adults had left the castle already to go back to their jobs. George Weasley had gone back to Diagon Alley to clean the joke shop up (the Death Eaters had trashed it), and Arthur Weasley was helping Kingsley in the Ministry. Mrs. Weasley had returned home, but Bill and Charlie were staying.

Kyle and Kathy had also gone home. Kathy was beginning her Auror's job, and Kyle went home to his parents. He had to break the news about Dustin, which made Cody feel very guilty. But Kyle did everything to reassure Cody, and even reminded him that had Cody not killed Dustin Tiller...Kyle would have.

The Muggleborns who'd come back to fight were there, as well as most of the other students, so that Cody could almost pretend that it was a normal Hogwarts supper. Almost.

"Mum says you'll be staying with us, kiddo," said Bill quietly as Cody stuffed half a chicken leg in his mouth. "If you want to, that is."

Cody hastily swallowed the huge bite he'd taken and looked at Bill, slightly startled. He hadn't really thought about where he would stay. He was still very much a minor, even in the wizarding world. He wondered, for a moment, if he should. Tiller's words came back to him then, about how anyone that had cared for Cody was dead. He frowned, shoving the thought away; was he really going to listen to Dustin Tiller?

"Okay," said Cody, smiling a little. He rather liked the idea of staying with the Weasleys, in fact. "Will you be there?"

"For a while, at least," said Bill. "But soon I will be going back to Egypt. But magic's neat that way. It's a lot easier to visit people in other countries, and you can even come with me, maybe, on one of my exploits. But I think Charlie's staying around for a while, he's applied for a job in the Ministry here, the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. I think they were glad to have another wizard in the department that can deal with dragons."

Cheered by the idea that Charlie would be sticking around, too, Cody went back to his food.


	124. Y7, C46: It's not Goodbye, After All

**Hidden Heritage**  
**Year 7**  
by Hyena Cub  
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language, and death.

Genre: Harry Potter

**Chapter 46: It's not Goodbye, After All**

The next day, Hagrid took him to the Ministry of Magic to visit with Kingsley about keeping Chance. Normally the Minister himself wouldn't exactly be involved in a case of exotic pets, but Cody said he wanted to see Kingsley anyway, and find out how he was doing.

As he and Hagrid stepped into the Minister's office, Chance was draped around Cody's shoulders, sniffing around at the large room, decorated with plants, flowers and portraits. Kingsley was standing behind his desk, beaming down at Cody. "Welcome," he said warmly, extending a hand.

Cody took it, and shook; Kingsley clasped both of his hands around Cody's for a moment before letting go. "Hi, Kingsley," said Cody, then smiled. "Minister, I mean."

Kinglsey laughed appreciatively. "Thank you for that, but for you, I am still Kingsley."

"Congratulations," said Cody. "I'm glad you got it."

"Thank you again," said Kingsley again, his eyes drifting to Chance. "And so this is the creature?"

Cody nodded, slipping a hand beneath the half-grown lethifold to stop him trying to slither off and explore the room. "This is Chance. He saved my life. No, you can't sniff Kingsley's flowers, you'll make a mess."

Seemingly understanding the words, Chance stopped trying to sneak off and instead draped his head over Cody's. Cody laughed.

"He did?" said Kingsley in surprise. "How?"

So Cody told him the story, and told him how Chance had eaten a Death Eater during the battle. "He knew what he was doing both times," said Cody. "He passed loads of people on our side. But he only attacked the Death Eater--a short one, small enough for Chance to grab."

"Fascinating," said Kingsley softly. "May I hold the beast? Will he be nervous of a stranger?"

"No, he's okay," said Cody, removing Chance from around his shoulders with some difficulty (he was getting heavy!) and handing him over to Kingsley. "Just don't squeeze him hard; they think that's an attack because that's how they attack. He might try and drape on you—that's okay. He's just sniffing you. Their noses are on the bottom."

Kingsley nodded his understanding, taking Chance from Cody and looking the cloak-like beast over. As predicted, Chance did slither up, trying to sniff at Kingsley's face, but he gently held the beast away from his head. "A beautiful creature. But deadly. If need be, do you know how to restrain him?"

"Patronus Charms repel lethifolds," said Cody, and actually smiled. "And I can do one. I finally got it right. But unless the lethifold's already attacking someone, you can use other magic like levitation charms and all. Won't stop them trying to attack, but'll help when trying to deal with 'em."

Hagrid beamed proudly at Cody as Kingsley handed Chance back. Sensing his opportunity, Chance tried to escape again to explore, but Cody wasn't having any of it.

"Nice try."

Kingsley laughed. "You know the creature well," he said. "I have spoken with Hagrid beforehand, and am convinced you know well how to care for the creature. I have spoken with those within the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, too."

Cody rather thought they could do with a shorter name.

The new minister rummaged in his desk and brought out a piece of parchment on which Cody glimpsed his name, and handed it across the desk. "This is the paperwork you will need to prove you have permission to keep this exotic creature," said Kingsley, and Cody grinned excitedly. "Continue to care as well for him as you do now, Cody."

Cody laughed, looking at the paper and beaming at the words. "Thanks—thanks, Kingsley!"

"You're welcome. Oh...and one other thing. I know that you are far younger than other students in your year, and that the others are all able to perform magic outside of school. I would like to make a deal with you." Cody looked up, interested. "I would like you to repeat your seventh year at Hogwarts. As I understand it, many others are also repeating this year...unfortunately people did not learn as they should, and wish to make up for it."

"Boy, that's for sure," muttered Cody.

"Once you have taken your N.E.W.T. tests, and are a fully qualified wizard, I shall arrange for the Trace to be lifted from you. After all, you have learned the same things as your older classmates, and I believe you can be trusted to use magic on your own outside of school."

Speechless, Cody could only stare, until Hagrid clapped him on the back and sent him sprawling on his knees. Wincing, Cody stood back up, rubbing his shoulder, and Chance reared up in irritation at the sudden disturbance. "Thanks," Cody said wryly.

"Sorry kid," chuckled Hagrid. "But yeh seemed a bit shocked, there."

"I-I am," said Cody, looking back to Kingsley, who looked amused. "I...that's...yes! Of course I'll agree with that... I was kinda thinking of it anyway since I missed my exams."

"Then it is settled, then," said Kingsley. "I will inform Minerva that you will be at the Opening Feast this fall."

Cody smiled; he liked the idea of attending Hogwarts one more year. A normal year. And now there would be no fear, there would be no uncertainty, no constant fighting... Yes. He liked that idea. "I guess I'd be with the sixth-year boys, then?" he said.

"Yes. I don't know if any other seventh-year Gryffindors will repeat their seventh year or not, but you may be the only one. If so, you will bunk with the sixth-years, now moving into seventh."

With a pang and an unpleasant chill, Cody realized that there would be an open bunk among the seventh-years: Colin's. He sighed, nodding a little morosely. "Okay," he said. "And Kingsley...thanks."

"You're welcome." Kingsley held out his hand again, and Cody took it. "I must continue my duties now, young Cody, but I am glad to have seen you. Good luck to you."

"Thanks." Cody waved at the man as he and Hagrid left the office, and Cody felt an incredible, warm bubble in his chest. Things _would_ be okay. They were already beginning to be okay.

Cody spent all afternoon telling people he was allowed to keep the lethifold, resulting in many people shaking their heads or telling him he was mad as a hatter. At dinner, Cody ate a Blood Lollipop and revolted half of Gryffindor. Katie Bell watched him in mild fascination, shaking her head.

"Still doing that," she muttered.

"Always," muttered Ron. "The kid's a ghoul."

Cody laughed...and it felt good.

That night, after everyone had finished eating and had dispersed to their own devices, Cody found himself wandering the corridors rather aimlessly. Samantha was in the Ravenclaw Common Room with some of the friends she had made at the castle, and Chance and Merlin were in the Gryffindor dorms chasing each other. (They'd become surprisingly good friends.)

As Cody was gazing out of a nearby window at the summer-touched grounds, Harry approached with a very happy smile on his face. "Hey," he said. "I've found something that you need to see."

"It doesn't have anything to do with something I'll have to get revenge on you for later, does it?" asked Cody suspiciously.

Harry chuckled. "No. Just the opposite; you will be very happy about it."

Intrigued, now, Cody followed Harry up three flights of steps, to the corridor where Amycus Carrow's office had been. He curled his lip as he passed it, peering inside. It had been stripped of everything; Amycus's belongings, the rather gruesome hangings that Snape had hung on the walls the previous year (Amycus had left them up); the room looked bare and empty, waiting for the next Defense teacher. Cody liked it far better that way! 'Wonder who the next one's gonna be,' he thought.

Harry led Cody past that corridor onto a main hallway on the fourth floor, on the way towards Gryffindor Tower. Cody blinked as he heard a voice among the normal talk of the portraits...a voice that was impossible. He frowned, looking at Harry, but Harry only smiled and said nothing as he walked.

Their destination was a portrait. It was about four feet high, set near one of the main stairwells, against a warm-tan wooden wall. It was a full-body portrait of a man with longish, brown hair, warm brown eyes, and worn-looking robes. The man looked at Cody with pride and love.

Cody felt his legs turn suddenly rubbery, and Harry had to grab him before he fell, and even then he almost couldn't stand. "Remus," he whispered.

Remus's face was as it ever was, familiar, warm, friendly... He was standing in the office he kept when he taught at Hogwarts, so achingly familiar that Cody felt faint again. A grindylow in a tank stood by the blackboard, and Remus's desk was full of papers, the walls full of interesting pictures and the office itself full of interesting items. Cody barely noticed as Harry conjured a chair for Cody to sit in so he didn't have to keep holding him up.

"I'll let you two talk," said Harry, looking rather pleased with himself as he left the deserted corridor.

"Thanks, Harry," said Remus, before turning his gaze back on Cody. "I'm so proud of you, Cody."

Cody tried to speak, but he was too shocked that he couldn't say anything for several moments. He moved his jaw, trying to shake his brain into gear, but words just wouldn't come. All Cody could do was look. Finally he was able to squeak out, "I-is it...it's not...is it really you?"

Lupin chuckled, sitting down on the floor of his portrait so that he could talk a little more easily to Cody. "It is, in a way. Do you know how wizarding portraits work?" Cody shook his head. "A true wizarding portrait can only be of one who has died. Otherwise a magical painting of a person will be like a photograph, with movement only, and a very base personality, if any at all. But a true portrait is not painted by anyone's hand. It appears when a wizard or witch has died, and it appears in a place where he or she has made a great impact."

"Like the Headmasters," Cody murmured. Still shaking, Cody looked around at the many other portraits that lined the walls...watches and wizards of past years, who all were watching the little scene. Many smiled at him. One gaily dressed woman waved merrily. "You _did_ make an impact here," said Cody suddenly, turning to Remus. His eyes were burning and he wiped them impatiently. It seemed almost too good to be true that he could talk with Remus, to hear his voice again. "You did. People like Neville. The people you taught except stupid Draco and his stupid goons. Everyone liked you. They learned from you. A-and you died protecting Hogwarts!"

"I did," agreed Lupin, his smile a little sad now. "My true spirit has moved on...beyond the point where I died, I know only what others have told me of my fate. A portrait is an essence only. An imprint of a person's earthly form."

"I...don't get that," said Cody, wiping his eyes again, and feeling very confused.

"It's not an easy concept to grasp," said Lupin in his patient way. "When a person dies, his soul...spirit...whatever you like to call it...moves on to another place. Harry has told me this, and it coincides with most wizards' belief about death. But if one becomes a portrait on his death...the parts of him that were physical...sort of transfer into the picture, and that includes the memories and personality of the mind. So...in a way...yes, it's me. it's what bound me to Earth. I'm not a copy or an imitation, nothing could be further from the truth."

A great happiness suddenly clenched Cody's chest, and he had to gasp in a breath. "I-I'm glad," he managed to say. "I'm glad...I'm glad you can stay here now...and you've got the whole castle, and loads of other people to talk to..." He swallowed hard as Remus's smile widened. "And me, too. You're not...it's not like a ghost, is it? Trapped here?"

"No," assured Remus. "Not at all. My spirit is free...my true self...and you will see me again there when you die. As for me, this essence of myself, I am not trapped here. It's just another world...another stage of life. Much like death itself."

Cody was still confused, but he didn't care. All that mattered right then was that Remus was _not_ completely lost to him. He had felt comforted when Harry told him...but hearing Remus himself saying it made it all the more convincing. Having Remus here, where he could talk to him any old time...it _did_ seem too good to be true.

"I'm glad I told you I loved you," he finally whispered. And he had, only a half hour before Remus was murdered. "I'd n-never said it before."

"But I knew," said Remus softly, his smile warm again. "Maybe you never thought to say it in words, but words are just words sometimes. You said it in your own way, many times. But...I also am glad you told me...and that I told you."

Neither of them said anything for a long time; Cody couldn't stop crying, and Lupin didn't seem inclined to try and make him stop. He never had. He'd just hold Cody and let him cry. Now he couldn't hold Cody...but for some reason, Cody didn't feel bad about it. Having Lupin there was enough.

Once he'd calmed, Cody began telling Remus everything. What happened after Remus and Tonks had died, about killing Dustin, about the funerals...everything. All Cody's worries, fears, triumphs, and stories he told.

The two of them talked for hours. The sun had long set, and Cody's rear end was numb from sitting, but he didn't really care. His heart seemed to get lighter with every word the two of them exchanged. The other portraits sometimes joined the conversation, and Cody was glad to have them—he knew them, after all, from his years at Hogwarts.

"I'll be coming here one more year,' said Cody finally, his voice hoarse from talking. "So I'll see you a lot. I'll come and annoy you when I get bored."

Remus laughed. "I would love that," he said.

"Maybe Harry'll let me borrow the Marauder's Map again," mused Cody. "If he's not coming back...that thing's awesome! How'd you guys make it?"

"Several years' worth of exploration," said Remus, "and a lot of research on magical mapmaking. I'll help you out if you'd like to try and replicate the effect."

"Brilliant," Cody murmured. "Graham'll love it." He was about to say something more, when he was suddenly falling, letting out a startled yelp as he landed hard on the floor. Harry's conjured chair had vanished. "H-have I been here that long?" Cody said wonderingly, getting a little shakily to his feet and rubbing the sore part on his behind. How undignified.

"You have," chuckled Remus, looking entirely too amused. "It is nearly two in the morning."

"Two! No way—jeez. No wonder I'm tired." He glared at the spot where Harry's chair had been, then looked back up at Remus, suddenly smiling. "I guess I should get back to the dorm...it's way past curfew! And I don't really wanna have detention the first day back next year."

"No, that would be a rather unpleasant way to start term. Perhaps not as unpleasant as finding out the Carrows were the new schoolteachers...but still."

Cody laughed tiredly, nodding in agreement. "Well...I think everyone's leaving tomorrow," said Cody. "So...maybe the Weasleys'll let me visit over the summer! I bet they will. I bet Professor McGonagall'll let me."

"She likely would," said Remus, "but you won't have to do so merely to visit me. The centaurs, perhaps, or the thestrals, but not me." Cody frowned, cocking his head curiously. "Are you familiar with Phineas Nigellus?"

Cody snorted. "Unfortunately. That git—talk about smug! And mean, too!"

"You won't hear me argue," said Remus. "The important thing is...he has two portraits. One in Grimmauld Place, and one in the Headmaster's office. I, too, have two portraits." He smiled again, getting up to his feet. "I was not so great a wizard to have my second portrait in an impressive place like St.Mungo's, or the Ministry...but to me it's more important."

"Where is it?"

"At the moment, in the Gryffindor Common Room." At Cody's confused blink, Remus grinned. "Go on up and have a look. I'll see you there."

Having said this, Remus slipped out of his frame and into the next portrait, and Cody knew he would make his way through the various frames in the castle...he'd probably beat Cody there, for that matter!

Confused again, Cody ran for the stairs, huffing and puffing up the various staircases, nearly getting stuck in the evil Vanishing Step on the way to Gryffindor Tower, and finally arriving before the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Password?" she asked, looking half asleep.

"Alpha Orionis."

She gave him a rather stern look. "Have you any idea what time it is? You're lucky Mr. Filch hasn't caught you."

'Things are definitely getting back to normal,' Cody thought, irritation and fondness warring for dominance as the Fat Lady proceeded to tell him off for being so late after curfew. Only after she considered him sufficiently scolded, did she swing forward to admit her.

"Finally," Cody muttered as he climbed through.

"I heard that," said the Fat Lady, swinging shut a bit harder than normal. Cody stifled a laugh.

When he got to the seventh-year dorms, Cody saw that Harry and Neville were still awake. They greeted Cody quietly, and it was evident that they both knew about Remus's portrait. "Hi," he whispered, looking around.

The portrait was on Cody's four-poster bed, and he beamed as he saw it. It was about half the size of the other one, but otherwise identical. Remus was sitting in the chair beside his desk, grinning at Cody.

"You can take it with you," said Neville. "So once you leave Hogwarts, you won't have to leave him, too."

Cody stared, openmouthed, as he realized that Neville was right! "Awesome," Cody whispered gratefully. He had a lot to be grateful for, he realized. A lot. And they were things he could never properly express enough gratitude for.

"I can travel at will from this to the other portrait," said Remus. "But for now I think I will let you be. You'll need to pack...and you should make sure tomorrow morning that Samantha has everything with her. She's sharing a bunk with Ginny, isn't she?" Cody nodded. "I'll check in on you tomorrow though. But for now...sleep well, Cody."

"You too." Cody waved a little dazedly as Remus left, and Cody carefully set the portrait alongside his table; he would have to show it to Samantha. Then he turned to Harry. "Thanks."

"Anytime, kid," said Harry. "I found him when I was looking for Hagrid; McGonagall wanted to talk with him and didn't know where he was."

"I'm glad," said Neville, grinning at Cody as he lay down on his four-poster. Cody noticed that Gryffindor's sword sat on his bedside table, and had to stifle a giggle. Neville would be keeping that with him until he left on the train tomorrow! "I'll see you, Cody. Dunno if I'll be coming back next year or not, but I do know that this isn't goodbye."

"Definitely not," said Harry. "We're family, all of us. We'll be seeing a lot of each other."

Cody nodded, as Harry, too, closed the curtains of his bed then blew out the lamp, leaving Cody alone.

He looked to his belongings, scattered all around his bed, and began cramming things into the newly-repaired trunk Graham had salvaged for him. It was more beat-up than ever, but at least it was savable. His course books hadn't been so lucky.

When he felt under his bed, his hand hit something light that skittered away at his touch. Grabbing it, he brought it out and peered at it as if he'd never seen it before. It was his toy Sword of Omens, the plastic replica of the weapon used in his favorite television show, ThunderCats. It had been his favorite toy all throughout his childhood...and still was, he realized. He'd brought it to Hogwarts all his years there.

He rummaged in his bright trunk for a moment before bringing out the dagger Remus had given him, and slid it from its metal sheath. The dagger was quite a lot heavier than the Sword of Omens though smaller, its green and silver gleaming mellowly in the lamplight. Remus had given it to Cody in honor of his bravery...to tell Cody he valued him as a fighter. As an adult.

One blade from childhood, the other adulthood. Cody looked at him both, feeling a little chill...maybe a chill of fear, maybe of anticipation. And where was Cody? Somewhere in between, he supposed. He remembered again how he'd wanted to find a way to keep from growing up, but he had never really gotten around to it.

"Well," he muttered softly, putting both weapons into his trunk and closing it tightly. "Maybe I'll give it a try." If he didn't like adulthood, he could always revert to the original plan! Smiling a little, he took one last look around the dorms before blowing out the lamp.

---

_Author's note: Cody's journey is far from over. But for now we have come to a stopping point in the quest, and must take a little time to decide which path to take next. Thanks to everyone who has stuck with Cody and his voyage through Harry's world thus far...and he thanks you, too!  
_


End file.
